leaving town for about 10 days

[zoiks]

Since I'll be leaving my car at long term parking at the airport, I'd like to make sure it starts when I come back. Should I be disconnecting both battery terminals or would disconnecting just the ground one suffice?

 

[satyajitmenon]

How old is the car/battery?

I left my truck parked for like a month - I wanted to disconnect the battery, but forgot. Started up first crank, no problem. Maybe I was just lucky (it's a 2005 Nissan).

 

[Miramonti]

Disconnecting the ground is all you need.

 

[Gibson486]

10 days? If your battery dies in 10 days, it is time for a new one.

 

[JulesMaximus]

10 days is nothing. Unless you have a weak battery it should start right up.

 

[Uppsala9496]

As mentioned, 10 days should be no issue.

 

[LTC8K6]

Check to see if your car has an IOD fuse. If so, that is designed to be pulled for just such a situation. Ignition Off Draw. There may be more than one.

 

[zoiks]

10 days is nothing. Unless you have a weak battery it should start right up.

I think the battery could be weak since due to a certain starter issue, I didn't use the car for several months and that depleted the charge. I used one of those portable chargers to juice it back up and I haven't had any issues since but I'm not sure if I'd trust leaving it at the airport parking about 35miles away from my home for 10 days.

 

[zoiks]

How old is the car/battery?

I left my truck parked for like a month - I wanted to disconnect the battery, but forgot. Started up first crank, no problem. Maybe I was just lucky (it's a 2005 Nissan).

1990 240sx for me. Battery is 8 months old but has been re-charged once using a portable charger.

 

[CurseTheSky]

1990 240sx for me. Battery is 8 months old but has been re-charged once using a portable charger.

8 month old battery and it already needed a recharge once? Ouch.

In that case it might be a good idea to pull the negative terminal. It sounds like you have some kind of parasitic draw somewhere.

 

[zoiks]

8 month old battery and it already needed a recharge once? Ouch.

In that case it might be a good idea to pull the negative terminal. It sounds like you have some kind of parasitic draw somewhere.

Actually it was my fault and not a parasitic draw. The car was parked for several months since there was a problem with the starter and I had a second car that I was using. Due to my own laziness I didn't disconnect the terminals and of course the battery went dead.