2005 2.5L TDi Auto Touareg - Electrical Question

BenEadir

Hi all,

I got a gift of a Caddy Motion golf battery in car charger (I'm forever forgetting to unplug the battery and bring it with me) but before I install it I'd like to get some advice from the guru's here.

1. The website of the device http://www.caddy-motion.com states in their FAQ that the Caddy Motion only charges the golf battery when the car is being used and can't discharge the car battery. I know from sad experience that the early Touareg's were wired in such a way that if you leave something charging via the cigarette socket and turn off the car whatever is charging will continue to charge and could fully drain the car battery. Could the Caddy Motion actually have in built technology which prevents this from happening even if the turned off car is still sending power through the cigarette charger?

2. The installation instructions state that the caddy motion unit is only suitable to be installed into vehicles with a negative earth system. How can I suss out whether the Touareg has a negative or positive earth system?

Cheers all,

Ben

BenEadir

^^^^ Bump

This is very unlike Boards, not a single contribution??

C'mon DIY forum, please give me a bit of help here.

Ben

Jimdagym

BenThere wrote: »

1. The website of the device http://www.caddy-motion.com states in their FAQ that the Caddy Motion only charges the golf battery when the car is being used and can't discharge the car battery. I know from sad experience that the early Touareg's were wired in such a way that if you leave something charging via the cigarette socket and turn off the car whatever is charging will continue to charge and could fully drain the car battery. Could the Caddy Motion actually have in built technology which prevents this from happening even if the turned off car is still sending power through the cigarette charger?

Is there a charging light on it so you can test it?

George Dalton

All modern cars are negative earth.

I haven't a clue about your golf question

two wheels good

If your cig. lighter is only live when the ignition is on you won't have a problem. You could wire it to a similar point in the fusebox instead.

You could try it as instructed - and carry a pair of jump-leads just in case.

Negative earth: Look at the battery and notice the heavy lead from the -ve battery terminal is connected to an earthing point.

BenEadir

George Dalton wrote: »

All modern cars are negative earth

Cheers George, that's great.

Ben

BenEadir

two wheels good wrote: »

If your cig. lighter is only live when the ignition is on you won't have a problem.

The cigarette lighter remains live after the ignition is switched off I'm afraid so I'm relying on the charger to somehow identify this and switch itself off.

I guess the only way to find out is to give it a try and keep a pair of jump leads with me.

Thanks

Ben

Jimdagym

Jimdagym wrote: »

Is there a charging light on it so you can test it?

BenThere wrote: »

The cigarette lighter remains live after the ignition is switched off I'm afraid so I'm relying on the charger to somehow identify this and switch itself off.

I guess the only way to find out is to give it a try and keep a pair of jump leads with me.

Thanks

Ben

Did you check for a charging light?

BenEadir

Jimdagym wrote: »

Did you check for a charging light?

Not yet Jim, I'll install it tomorrow and check then. I do believe there is one so I guess I'll know the answer to my concerns fairly quickly!!

Cheers,

Ben

dharn

when your caddy battery is connected to the mains it generally remains on trickle charge which means it will continue to draw current, also if your drive home from the golf course is short your car charger may not fully charge your battery, so i dont know how you will get around the problem of not running down your car battery