To take my car for a drive?

[SerenDippitty]

Not so see anyone, not to go shopping, not to get out of the car, just to drive around a bit for the sake of the battery?

Jeez.

Just leave the engine running for twenty minutes. You don't have to actually drive anywhere.

Remember not to put the radio or any devices on. And no lights, obviously.

Your battery will be fine like this.

It’s illegal to have your car idling

Look up the words “essential” and “journey” and “only” in the dictionary...

Look up the words “essential” and “journey” and “only” in the dictionary...

I'm starting to think MNHQ should stick it to the top of every page...

I would do it combined with a trip to the supermarket.

Not everyone of us has a top of the range car with a fancy at home battery charger. MN gets more ridiculous by the day.

Driving your car so your battery doesn’t go flat is essential if you have to go to work ffs

I'm starting to think MNHQ should stick it to the top of every page...

But then 90% of the threads would be redundant...

Going for a drive is not essential.

You already know this.

Just disconnect the battery if you’re not moving it for a while

My battery died last weeks after 2 weeks of not being used. £129 for a new one.

I think there will be a lot of dead batteries if people stick to the restrictions and only do short and infrequent journeys. Leaving the car idling is illegal but driving to charge the battery also isn't allowed. We're planning to do a maintenance charge on our car. It should be ok for now though. Our other car is electric so doesn't have this issue (it does have a "car battery" but the big battery charges it if necessary)

Oh ffs, go for a drive if you want, you wont be putting anyone at risk.

How is going for a drive and staying inside your car at all times a risk?

It is an offence to idle your engine unnecessarily. Things like recharging your battery, or running the heater if you've been stationary for ages and it's cold, or running the engine to troubleshoot a fault, are necessary. The offence also does not apply when you're not on a public road.

It's also an offence to leave the vehicle unattended with the engine running, and anyway that's asking to get it stolen. If you need to run the engine to charge the battery, sit in the car while you're doing it.

Buy a solar car battery charger.

Well I still haven’t done it. I have had trouble with the battery recently. But I will look into a solar battery.