Do I need a trickle charger?

Get an Optima battery and you don't have to worry about a charger.

 

Which Optima do you reccomend?
I have an 81 308 GTSi.
In the spring, summer and fall I drive her weekly.
Winter as the weather and salt allows.
Note: tho I am retired drive mostly weekends as they are fewer gravel trucks on the roads.

There was in a related thread mention of the poles(?) being reveresed.

This is my first winter with the 308, and already there is salt on the roads
and no rain in site to wash it off just more ice in the forecast.

stephen

 

34R is the correct size. It bolts down at the base with the standard Ferrari hardware.
I bought mine from http://www.1st-optima-batteries.com/. Fast service, free shipping, I was well satisfied.
Regards, Kerry

 

THANKS!
stephen

 

Not true, at least for me. My Jetta (daily driver) has the Red Top and it works fine. Two and a half weeks of non-use with a car alarm on, in cold weather, and the cranking was noticeably slower but she turned over and started but I'm estimating that a 4 to 5 week 'rest' period would've dropped the charge low enough to not start her. My air-cooled VW and my 914 share the other Red Top. I found that if my Optima loses charge if left alone for a month and needs some maintenance time if over a month to build back a full charge.

I have one charger/maintainer that I switch between the jet ski, motorcycle and pleasure car batteries. Batteries are too expensive and the Battery Tender I have has been working flawlessly for years.

 

I want to know about the solar units. I would rather use a solar charger/maintainer but I don't know what to look for. What should the wattage be? Or amperage? Which of those two even matter? What about keeping the battery maintained and not over-charged?

 

I have a 328 and have been using the under dash emergency light plug for my charger for 2 years without a problem. Many others on this site do the same.

 

How old is your battery? I had my red top for over 3 years and never had a problem even when the car sat over winter months. A friend had one in his car which sat for a year and when he turned the key the car started right up.

 

I have 11 Battery Tenders!!!! I love them. Before I discovered them (years ago) my motorcycles had to have batteries replaced every year or two....now they last indefinitely (one is now 7 years old on a Roadking and starts like new). My Porsches were good weather drivers and batteries were good for 7-9 years!! My Kawasaki Mule is still on it's original battery and it is 5 years old. And of course my Ferrari is a good weather driver and has one.
I bought them all on line , can get them at Motorcycle Accessory Warehouse (MAW) www.mawonline.com for $33.95.

 

Good question. A couple years at least.

 

Mounted?
Do you have the clips on the poles or a different type of connection to the battery?
Its friggin cold here in Chicago, I'm stayin', and the 308 is stayin' forever. The permanent idea sounds great!

 

My Battery Tender came with two sets of connectors. One, clips for temporary use and two, wires with ring connectors for use with the tightening bolts on the battery lugs. Both have an connector on the other end that fits with the wire from the Tender. The ring connector one was long enough to fit up by the left side hood strut on my 308. I just put a wire tie there so keep it in place. I put the charger on by opening the hood and plugging the wires together.

Regards, Kerry

 

I did the same thing on the 355; just wired them up to the charging/jump posts in the engine compartment, then zip-tied the plug. Now I just pop the rear lid, plug it in, voila!

vty,

--Dennis

 

My 328 has an Optima and it sits with the battery disconnected for the winter. During our 40 degree heat wave last month, it fired up right away after six weeks. However if the battery stays connected, it does drain in about one month.

By the way, I just replaced the Optima in my daily driver truck after 8.5 years (mostly in Alaska cold).