MX-3.com

I dont drive my car much anymore unless i go to the track. But i start it at least once a week and let it run for a bit...sometimes drive it around just to keep it fresh and not let it sit stagnant for to long.

My question is how long would it take at idle for the alternator to charge battery back to full(battery is in good shape only time it gets used is when i start it now and again). I would assume it would only need to charge what the battery got drained to start it. I just dont want my battery to die after say 3 months of starting and idling. My car idles high to so im sure its enough to charge.

That would depend on the battery itself. I have a drycell battery that recharges to full charge in under 5 minutes of run time.. WAY faster than any other battery I have ever seen. At a guesstimate.. I would say probably 10-15 minutes to be safe. If your getting battery drain while the car is sitting.. you could always install a battery cutoff switch.. usually very inexpensive and easy to install.

Tunes67

its not a good assumption to think that if you dont use your battery, it won't lose any charge. i don't think letting it idle is going to do much, since obviously your car uses some electricity, which is going to use energy from the alternator and take away from the energy available to charge. i unhooked my battery once when it was running and it died. so obviously my alternator is not putting that much out at idle.

a good battery should be able to sit awhile without going dead tho. i barely start up my jeep once a month and its fine.

Yeah my Mazda B2000 Pickup rarely gets started but maybe once every 2 months and it never has a problem.

Tunes67

sweet