Rarely drive. Storage precautions? Mainly battery related

[arandomguy]

Basically in my current situation I only need to drive the car every few weeks or longer, and often for relatively short distances (maybe 10km-20km if that). Wondering what precautions I should take in storing the vehicle for such periods of time?

1) Disconnect the negative terminal on the battery?
2) Force myself to drive it every one or two weeks? But for how long?

The problem I've now been running into is that the car will not start. I assume this is because my usage is pretty hard on the battery. I've just had a situation where it has been unable to start for the 3rd time now after leaving it parked for 3 weeks. Actually couldn't find someone to jump start it this time so just didn't go out.

I've read maybe the gel type of batteries might be better in this kind of usage?

A trickle charger is problematic as I live in a condo so it is a shared underground space. But from what I understand other aspects of the car suffer from prolonged non usage as well.

 

[jlee]

How old is your battery? I would expect a 10mi drive every few weeks would be enough to keep it in decent health.

I'm not surprised that you're running into consecutive problems now though, as (I assume) the battery hasn't been fully charged since the first time it was jumped.

 

[arandomguy]

That is likely the issue. The problem started after I, foolishly in hindsight, played the radio for 10-15mins while the car wasn't running when waiting for someone. Car didn't start after that. I haven't really been driving much over the last 1-2 years, and even before that was not doing so often during the week as I don't need to drive to work.

Although it did manage to hold a charge for 1 or maybe 2 week periods since that occurred.

The other issue is when I do drive it may be less than 10 miles. A round trip to the nearest grocery store (which is where I sometimes may be going) is under 7 miles. This is also city/sub urban driving as well and so relatively low speeds and RPMs.

I'll need to the check the battery to see the date. I can't seem to the find the receipt for it at the moment. It's the second battery for a 2004 year old car so it definitely is a few years old.

Wondering if I should go disconnect the battery now though? Not sure if I'll have time yet this weekend to look into it (possibly need a replacement).

 

[repoman0]

I'd suggest cruising on the highway for 20-30 minutes every couple weeks, regardless of battery worries, to get the oil up to temp and water boiled off. Good for health of your engine and an added bonus is that it should be enough to mostly charge your battery. If that doesn't solve your starting issues, battery is probably weak and needs to be replaced.

 

[jlee]

I would put the battery on a charger and make sure it gets a proper charge. A highway drive might put enough in it for it to start the engine, but I doubt it'll restore a just-jumped battery to 100% that quickly.

 

[tortillasoup]

Batteryminder 1500. Best thing I can recommend for this situation. Disconnecting the battery will cause the ECU to forget its programming, making smog checks annoying when the time comes around. Batteries have a self discharge rate anyway so even if you had a 70s style car, the battery would still go bad after a while. Cars today are designed in mind with people driving them about 10 miles every day. You do anything less than that, expect a dead battery in a short time and possibly alternator replacement as well.

 

[Raizinman]

Purchase a solar battery charger. It will keep battery topped off.

 

[tortillasoup]

Purchase a solar battery charger. It will keep battery topped off.

As cool of a concept that is, they're expensive and they don't charge the battery the vast majority of the time. I'd only opt for that if I didn't have a readily accessible plug.

 

[jlee]

Purchase a solar battery charger. It will keep battery topped off.

it is a shared underground space

:hmm:

 

[LTC8K6]

The best thing is to have the car battery on a trickle charger.

If that is not possible, then I would get a jump box and keep it charged, and take it with you when you go to drive the car. That way you can get the car started without help.

When you do drive it, you should drive it for at least 30 minutes if you had to jump it.

 

[pauldun170]

Switch to an AGM style battery
Disconnect the cable.

 

[RLGL]

Get a bicycle

 

[kn51]

Also keep in mind the gas in the tank. Toss in a bottle of Sta-bil into the tank to help with the ethanol.

 

[bryanl]

Drive at least 20-30Km on the highway each week with the air conditioner running, even in winter (with temperature turned up). It's good for the engine and the A/C seals. Connect a low current or auto shutoff charger to the battery for at least a few hours a week since it will never fully charge otherwise, regardless of whether it's AGM or conventional.

 

[Raizinman]

As cool of a concept that is, they're expensive and they don't charge the battery the vast majority of the time. I'd only opt for that if I didn't have a readily accessible plug.

You can purchase a 1.5 Watt Solar Battery Charger at harbor Freight for $14.99. I guess for some that could be considered expensive.

It comes with connectors for both direct battery hook up and cigarette lighter plug.

It is item number 68692. It charges in both direct sunlight and cloudy days.

These chargers have been around for well past 10 years. Yes, they do work.

Best thing, you can use one of their 25% off coupons and get about $3.75 more off the price. Not too expensive at all.

 

[boomerang]

The OP just needs a new battery. He's on his second in 12 years.