You have a car in perfect condition on display. A customer wanders round, seemingly excited and ready to buy. They ask for a test drive. You hand over the keys, knowing the drivetrain is in immaculate condition.
But then everything goes wrong.
The customer sits in the driver’s seat, puts the key in the ignition, and turns it. There’s a click. Nothing happens. Or maybe the engine cranks slowly. Perhaps it even starts, but feels like the starter motor only just managed to turn the engine over.
The customer looks at you. You can already read their face: “No thanks!”
A battery’s condition can make even the best vehicles seem unreliable and a risky investment. And when your cars sit on the showroom floor for weeks or even months, with doors constantly opening and the occasional short-distance drive, the battery is put under extra strain.
Thankfully, a little battery showroom maintenance can make all the difference.
Why invest in showroom maintenance?
Aside from short journeys, the lights and in-car infotainment systems are the biggest drains for car batteries. When someone opens the car door, its interior lights come on. After only a dozen or so times, the battery’s state of charge (SoC) starts to dip.
And because the vehicle might rarely be driven, and certainly not for long distances, the alternator never has a chance to top it back up.
In most cases, a discharged battery is an easy fix. Charge it. That’s all. But the customer doesn’t know that. For all they know, there could be a significant underlying electrical gremlin. That makes their purchase far riskier and, therefore, unlikely.
As well as losing the sale, your reputation takes a hit. Nobody wants to be known as the dealership that sells cars that won’t start. That’s why your showroom maintenance should involve routine battery testing and charging.
What should showroom battery maintenance involve?
The overall objective of your showroom battery maintenance is simple, to keep your display cars at a functional SoC. How you achieve that depends a little on your organisation, as we’ll discuss in the next section. However, in the meantime, you’ll need the following:
- Battery tester – a device for checking the condition of the battery. Ideally, this should go beyond a multimeter, which won’t uncover certain underlying faults. It should include SoC and state of health (SoH) tests as a minimum.
- Battery charger – a device for charging your car’s battery. Invest in a newer model, as older units may not be suitable for certain modern battery types (EFB or AGM, for example). Look for chargers that adapt the charging current based on live feedback such as internal resistance and temperature.
Ideally, source battery chargers and testers specifically developed for showrooms.
How to implement a battery maintenance schedule in your showroom
As mentioned above, the best way to implement a battery maintenance schedule in your showroom depends on you.
What does your showroom sell?
How big is it?
What is your maintenance capacity?
And so on. For example, some showroom-specific battery chargers can be connected to the battery terminals through the engine bay, and placed, invisible to the customer, underneath the car, so you can charge the battery every few days.
You could also design a schedule with multiple spare batteries. Your technicians test and charge these in the workshop. Then, after close twice per week, they test the batteries fitted to cars in the showroom. If any have a low SoC, they swap in the charged unit, take the discharged batteries back into the shop, and begin the testing and charging phase all over again.
If your showroom is larger or you don’t have the resources for such an operation, you could have your technicians use a battery tester before or after public opening hours. Use a small charger to return affected batteries to a full SoC.
Showroom maintenance solutions from Rotronics
At Rotronics, we stock dedicated showroom battery maintenance solutions. Here are two potential strategies our clients implement:
DEFA battery showroom solutions
The DEFA Showroom 32A is designed for showrooms like yours. It attaches to your displayed cars’ 12-volt batteries, but the cables feed through the engine bay. This allows you to position the charger out of sight of the customer.
It has an innovative, fan-less design, so customers won’t hear it. Simply connect the discreet cables to the battery, then press the power button. The Showroom 32A goes through a short-circuit protected seven-stage charging cycle, so you can leave your vehicles to charge even while customers wander.
And if your showroom is filled with electrically-demanding vehicles like EVs or trucks, or you otherwise need to charge Lithium or LiFePO4 batteries, you may need the DEFA Showroom 50A. Similar to the 32A model, the 50A delivers more current and is suitable for a wider range of 12-volt battery types. Don’t forget to disconnect the charger before moving the car.
#2 CTEK CONNECT solutions
CTEK CONNECT solutions are simpler yet still effective. The indicator eyelets (M6 or M8) are secured to the battery and then the connector/traffic light end is fed up to the bottom of the windscreen across the car’s battery terminals. This acts as a voltage reader, and illuminates a light based on the condition:
- Green = voltage is above 12.65 Volts
- Amber = voltage is between 12.4 and 12.6 Volts
- Red = voltage is below 12.4 Volts
If the indicator shows amber or red, you then bring in your CTEK charger (MXS 10 or XS-7000) to recharge the battery.
This can be an equally effective strategy, especially for showrooms with high turnaround. However, you’ll need to pay extra manual attention to batteries that discharge faster than others, and may need technicians to do more after-hours work.
Source your battery charger from Rotronics
If you’re looking for a reliable in-house battery management system for your showroom, look no further. With a wide range of battery chargers and testers from trusted brands like Midtronics, CTEK, and DEFA, Rotronics has everything you need.
We’ll help you create the ideal showroom maintenance plan for your business, utilising the ROBIS cloud software and our specialist showroom testers and chargers.
Contact our team of automotive battery experts today for more information on pricing and developing a charging solution tailored to your showroom.
