Review: 6A Smart Charger and Battery Maintainer

Turning your car’s ignition key and just hearing a click is one of the most frustrating things you can experience as a driver. Usually it will be when you’re already late for work or have somewhere to go. The AA report that the vast majority of their call outs during the winter period are for cars with flat batteries.

Often it is caused by something simple like leaving a car door slightly open so that the interior light stays on, or leaving something plugged into a USB charging port (not all cars automatically disconnect these when the engine is switched off). Or it could be because you haven’t used the car for a while, particularly over winter when the cold weather takes extra toll on the battery life.

Using a product like the 6A Smart Batter charger and Maintainer from RING Automotive will help avoid these interruptions.

The product itself is very neat and compact with a rugged weatherproof exterior, ideal if you keep your car on the driveway and have to charge overnight or during bad weather.

Connecting it is simplicity in itself, attach the crocodile clips to the charger unit then to the battery (Do we need to remind you that red goes to positive and black to negative?) Then select the charge mode on the large single button on the front of the charger and wait. Even if this didn’t come with an instruction manual you’d be able to figure it out very quickly, it is very intuitive to use.

The unit is a smart device so will go into ‘maintenance’ mode once the battery is charged. This is also a great facility if you plan to park up the car for an extended period, or even use it on a motorhome, caravan or motorcycle. It will keep the battery charged over an extended period of time.

The charger is compatible with all types of battery including lead, AGM, EFB, etc. And it can also work with cars fitted with automatic stop/start systems