I use the CTEK Charger, same as the Land Rover one, but without the logo and price tag. They have an extension that goes to their charger for an extra $10 or so to give you 6 more feet. I have the permanent supplied hook-up connected to the jump start point. So I just plug into that and then close the hood. Now I also got, recently another plug point that works with their connector system. I may run that to someplace I can access without opening the hood. It also shows the state of the battery in LED's.

I was using my 30 watt flexible panel to keep the car topped up in the field. But then I remembered I have these two super small tough ex-military panels I use for the 24V airplane as well. They are easier to put up on the dash behind the sunshield and then plug to the OBD port (always hot). I just had to put the 12V charge controller on it instead of the 24V one. Rather stupid one has to do this work around to the not having a camping mode implemented in the car from the factory.

 

Battery chargers shouldn't be needed unless the vehicle isn't used for several weeks.

The vehicle should be capable of being left for two weeks and still start with no issues.

l have never owned a vehicle that couldn't be left for two weeks and still start when l returned to it.

l would say that if your Defender can't do this then there's something wrong with it.

 

Yes, I agree. Unless you're like @Dogpilot that is out bush a lot and the drain on the battery is high, due to it not having a camping mode. Thanks for the photos, this is exactly what I am thinking of doing. Although @PowerfulUK latest reprogramming is a step in the right direction. Our Defender is not going to be our daily drive, so I'm thinking of putting it on a trickle.

 

Sorry yes of course, you don't want a flat battery in the desert or bush.

Solar charger then l guess would be the way forward

A 100w panel could put 50% charge into a flat 100Ah battery on a sunny day.

 

every time door is opened it draws quite a bit of current, rear door not so much so it's somehow ok for camping.
Not super efficient, takes a while to charge too.

 

I do daily my Defender so I've not really considered using a charger. But I have a CTEK Lithium on my F80 M3, and a standard CTEK for my S2000. I also recently bought a CTEK which is the same brand that Maserati sells but I bought it without the logos off of Amazon for my parents Quattroporte which sits 90%+ of the year.

I mention all this to say quite a range of vehicles, and types of electrical systems. And the have all done quite well on trickle chargers. CTEK in particular I know BMW and Maserati supply in their own parts dept (branded for that make of course and a significant up charge).

 

Got the error lamp on the CTEK trickle charger last week, disconnected and did a retry a few days later. Same fault apply
According the manual of the charger, step 5 : cannot keep charge and may need to be replaced.


This battery is from build date of the car 12/11 2020 , so almost 3 years old . Went to my JLR dealer for checking but no time.
Made an appointment for 11/29 they need to do a whole test cycle with an approved Battery testing device according JLR to make a warranty claim, will take 45 minutes.
Still under warranty. Let's see if I can manage to keep it going untill my appointment.

 

I bought the CTEK CT5 trickle charger and currently have connected to the jump start poles under the hood to keep the battery charged during long durations of not driving.

Do anyone think its possible to trickle charge via the towing harness with some adaptor?

 

I use Battery Tender 3A (for AGM BATTERIES) with quick connectors attached to the terminals in the engine bay. Works fine for my two defenders.

 

How did you get on, did you get a new battery under warranty?