Dear Members, My friend has just purchased a 512TR. Whilst not in use over winter he would like to connect a battery charger to keep the battery in good condition. Having only had the car a couple of days he has quickly glanced through the manuals but cant spot where the battery access is located. He has a feeling you may have to remove a front wheel ?? Car is Right hand drive. Any feedback very welcome, Thanks, Dave.
in USA LHD models when you open the front lid there is a horizontal carpeted panel behind the wheel . Just remove the carpet & the batterys right there under a small door, No need to remove a wheel, on US cars anyways
Hey, how come the US got spare wheel? Did it come with a jack as well? If you meant front wheel, the battery is in front of the front wheel, not behind.
Hi i have a f512m uk car you can only get to the battery by taking the front wheel off but it has a battery cut of switch under the bonnet
Steve, You reply seems to corrispond with my friends suspicions. I wonder if it's possible to connect a battery charger via the battery cutoff switch connections ? We are looking for an easy way to connect a battery maintenance charger over the winter months without having to keep removing the wheel to get to the battery connections. many thanks, dave
there is a battery jump pole under the engine bay but not easy to get to get a battery optimate and fit to the battery properly and then have a conector under the bonnet [front] and then plug it in when you need to
This is straight forward on the 512TR. The battery is located in the front luggage compartment. Upon opening the front bonet, on the right hand side(passenger side), you will find an access door/cover that is covered with carpet and has two thumb type fastners holding it closed. Simply give them a half twist and lift up the access door and you will see the battery. The F512M is different, because of the headlights, and the battery can only be accessed by removing the right front wheel and then removing the inner fender grill. As far as a battery charger connection, I recommend the BatteryMinder(#12112) from VDC Electronics, as it also incorporates auto float control and a desulphation function. You can either hard wire the pig-tail connector directly to the battery, or use their alligator clip type of pig tail. I bring out the charger leads through the top of the battery access cover, and then close the access door, but not all the way to leave just enough free play for the wires, then connect to the charger itself, then close the front bonet but not in the latched position. No drilling or hole making is required. On a F512M, I have directly wired(hard wired) the charger pigtail to the battery, and you can bring the pigtail up and over to the exposed area just next to the headlight assembly and fasten with a small clamp. Then, all that is needed is to simply open the front bonet and connect the charger itself. If you are going to leave the car in a "stored" state for a long time, I would also recommend covering, or stuffing a small towel into or over the fresh air vent so as to keep out spiders, dust and other things. This will also keep the interior smelling nice and new. Hope this helps you out.
UK 512TR's have a carpeted panel on the right hand side of front luggage compartment,just open up, you dont need to remove wheel.
We are very grateful for all your replies and will hook up an optimiser over the weekend. Looking forward to taking the car out for the first time - only delivered (on trailer) this week. Many Thanks, dave and John