Advice please - reducing battery drain, parked up outside in cold!

moxox

moxox

Member
I need to leave a 1.4TDi outside for up to 4 weeks over winter in a location without mains charging facilities. My other A2, (AUA 1.4 petrol) has been excellent, never failing even when covered in deep snow. I'm concerned that the alarm may drain the battery and the diesel needs more energy to start. Is a battery immobiliser a sensible option/solution (I appreciate that the alarm won't work, and that I'll need to manually open the doors&boot)?
I'm reluctant to use the solar recharging option - unless someone can identify suitable safeguards to overcharging etc.
Assuming the battery is in excellent health, any more elegant or simple suggestions please?
 
With my previous diesel campervan, in the winter I would start it and run it about 15 miles, once a month. Despite using no external charging, it never failed to start, even though it had a Lion-branded battery smaller than that in the A2, already a couple of years old when I got it, and which I knew to have been discharged beneath starting-capability on two occasions in its first summer with me. There was no alarm on it, but I don't think the current draw on the A2 OEM alarm is very great at all.

I'd be more concerned about any parasitic drains, but if you're not already having to charge up every couple of weeks, you probably don't have any of those. Given a healthy fully-charged battery as a starting point, I don't think you've got too much to worry about, even in a Scottish Highland winter.
 
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