Will idling an engine charge the car battery?

[Alpine]

Will idling an engine charge the car battery?

I have a car which isn't used very often, lucky to be once a fortnight if that and sometimes the trips are only quite short.

Today after about 3 weeks of non-use, I thought I should start up the car to run some charge thru the battery for fear of it going flat if I didn't start it up. I noticed it turned over somewhat slowly this time...

My question is - will starting a low-use car up and letting it idle for a period of time (say 15 mins, maybe 30 mins) actually charge the battery and do it any good? Or will it be better to drive it around the block?

I don't have a plug in battery charger to trickle-charge it - perhaps if the above isn't an efficient way of doing it then I might have to invest in one.
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[dc2dc2dc2]

just drive aroudn the block
much easier
idling does as well

[DLO01]

Idol will charge the battery.

Driving is better.

More time, more charge

Driving longer rather that shorter is best.

[Zilli]

im having this issue with my daily at the moment too... after 3 days not driving it is struggling to start, i think the battery in it is cactus

[CRXer]

u can get some good quality maintenance chargers for about $80 these days.
even ones small & lite enough to mount in your engine bay & just have a convenient lead mounted in your front bumper to plug into power easy without even lifting the hood.

just plug your car into power point,no more hassles,save money on fuel,less pollution,battery always in good condition,even a lot of ferraris come standard equipped with them these days.

[aaronng]

Idling wastes too much fuel for too little battery charge. You're better off not starting the engine until you are ready to go for a reasonable drive. Oh and get the charger.

[phil3842]

get a decent battery and you can leave it sittin for a while

[JohnL]

My understanding is that idling for long periods isn't the best for the engine, especially if starting from cold. At idle the oil thrown from the crank up into the bores isn't all that much, and bore / piston / ring lubrication may suffer. Better to drive it soon after start up to get rpm higher with the increased oil fling this will bring.

At least this is what I read somewhere...

If the car sits unused for long periods it may be worthwhile to disconnect the battery until you use the car?

[Alpine]

Quite often at car yards I see many cars just sitting there idling. Then they come and turn them off. So maybe the idling does charge it enough to keep it juiced up?

[aaronng]

Quite often at car yards I see many cars just sitting there idling. Then they come and turn them off. So maybe the idling does charge it enough to keep it juiced up?

If you didn't start it in the first place, then you wouldn't need to idle it to charge. :)

[trism]

Idol will charge the battery.

Driving is better.

More time, more charge

Driving longer rather that shorter is best.

idol?

like this?

http://www.textually.org/ringtonia/archives/images/set3/after-american-idol-its-time-for-vietnam-idol_14.jpg

[Crapdaz]

reduce your short trips, as they cause more drainage on the battery.
buy a charger prob best if you dont drive often.

[JohnL]

Fast charging of a flat battery (as you get from the alternator) is harder on the battery. A slow charge ('trickle' charge, as you get with a battery charger) is less harsh on the battery. Battery chargers are cheap....

[Alpine]

Kmart 25% off automotive items sale - so got one of these today:

http://www.projecta.com.au/catalogue/cid/3/asset_id/18

Tried charging it up this arvo - light went from orange to green in about 5 hours. Works well. :)

[JohnL]

Claymore,
You seem to know more about this electrical stuff than me (I hate auto electrics!). If the charge light on the dash is off with engine running, is it a safe assumption that the battery is charging from the alternator? I've always made this assumption.

I do know that in the bad old days (when cars had dynamos as opposed to alternators, generating DC directly rather than AC that is then converted to DC) that charging at idle was at best marginal and likely to be less than the currect needed to run the ignition system. So, with an old fashioned dynamo the answer to the original question is probably 'no', but with a more modern alternator it's most probably 'yes' (unless there is a problem with the system).

[JohnL]

^ Thanks.