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I commute on a motorcycle every non-rainy day so my Silverado trucks sits on the street all the time except for a few hours on the weekends. That is obviously not ideal for battery. 3 days is not bad but as some others mentioned, getting a BatteryMinder or BatteryTender brand trickle charger would be a worthy investment imho. Even if it is not in a garage, using extension cable if needed, connect the trickle charger to it and have it do its thing for at least half a day. Do this once a month and you will likely to prolong its life by at least a year but possibly much longer. I would normally get 4 years out of an unmaintained but regularly used Wal-Mart battery, may be 5 if I am lucky but with doing the maintenance routine I mentioned I could easily get at least another year.
But, that also helps stronger starts, stronger running and more fuel efficient engine. Yes, stronger the spark, the better the fuel burns and less fuel is wasted, less gunk in the engine, etc.
I also agree, keep terminals clean. Put some Di-electric grease on the posts/connectors to prevent corrosion and rust.
My cheap workaround is disconnecting the ground cable on the battery. My vehicle doesn't use the clip type that goes on top but instead uses a 8mm bolt that connects to the side which makes this method even easier! Still, a trickle charger to do periodic maintenance would be wise because batteries are not properly charged when the vehicle is used for short distance street driving. They typically start charging properly when you travels at constant 50+ mph for at least 15-20 minutes or so I have been told.
PS. My current battery in my truck is an AGM battery from Pep Boys that costs around $200, but, well worth it imo. They last much longer than standard battery, hold their charge for longer and more importantly, they tolerate getting discharged much better than regular batteries.
We live in a suburb of NYC so it doesn't get as cold as in, say, Michigan, but we often leave the car (no garage) without driving it for as long as 3 days. Is this a good idea, this battery charger?
Thanks!
You know, I'm reading into this that this car is not used much, mostly shorter trips, usually with a good many electrical accessories running. Based on this I'm thinking the battery is not getting charged fully and a trickle charger would be a good idea if practical.
I know air-cooled Bugs are a different breed, but living in Idaho Falls and one winter driving the Bug only at night relatively short trips around town, the battery got weaker and weaker until I wised up and took it out for a good "soot blowing" run every weekend.
That said probably the OP can get away without the charger, although probably with shorter battery life.
Ohh pppplease... 3 days? C'mon, boys. Buy 1 dollar worth battery cleaning tool, clean terminals, lubricate and spray over with battery sealant and don't worry.
Spot on. 3 days is NOTHING to worry about...anywhere in the lower 48. The alternators made today keep up pretty well with the demands. All of that was engineered into your car prior to you ever buying it. The Wally Marth Schumacher 1.5's are fine. If you want to use one, feel free. If not, don't worry.
It won't hurt to use one but, it's probably not necessary if the battery is already in good shape (2-4 years old). Hot climates are equally as tough if not tougher on batteries. I believe, if you turn your accessories OFF before you shut down, batteries tend to get 6-8 years. Leaving your AC on along with your radio puts a huge drop on the battery on start up.
Try shutting everything off (auto climate notwithstanding) or at the very least, your AC before jumping out...takes a second and quick snap of the controls. Buy a quality replacement battery when necessary (Die Hard golds seem to get last 6-7 years) and call it routine maintenance. Me? I charge mine up twice a year but, I live in the South. Car is 14.5 years old and I am on my 3rd battery (6 months old...the original Panasonic lasted 8 years, the last gold, 6).
3 batteries in 14 years? I'm fine with it. I don't wait until they get to the click click cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick state before I spend the whopping $100 for a new one. Not worth the risk....
Charge? Only if it makes you sleep better at night. Otherwise, don't bother......
We have a 120 volt battery charger because we keep our car parked nose-first in a narrow garage, and most jumper cables are too short to reach our car. I guess we could have bought long jumper cables instead, but having the charger is convenient when (a) your neighbors aren't around, and (b) you run into a situation where you need to charge every day.
Situation (b) is a very rare case, but one that happened to us. Our old Prius had gotten into an accident, and though the car still drove fine, its frame was in bad enough shape that our insurance deemed it unrepairable and insisted that we sell it to them so it could be scrapped. We continued to keep driving the Prius until we rented a car, and we found that the 9V (not hybrid system) battery had died. We used our 120V battery charger to charge it up, but found the next day that the battery had died again.
I'm not sure what was the cause behind the battery draining so fast - was it the doors that couldn't close properly, the side airbags that had blown open, or what? In any case, our battery charger really save our butts that week. We used it one last time when the tow truck finally came to take our Prius away.
It's just 3 days. I'm retired and sometimes I go weeks without running one of my cars. I have never had a problem. I have one vehicle that I just start once a month and I don't even drive it, just let it idle for 15-20 mins. I can go weeks because I have 4 vehicles that I drive and I try to not to put to many miles on the new one. I get 7 years out of all my batteries.
It's just 3 days. I'm retired and sometimes I go weeks without running one of my cars. I have never had a problem. I have one vehicle that I just start once a month and I don't even drive it, just let it idle for 15-20 mins. I can go weeks because I have 4 vehicles that I drive and I try to not to put to many miles on the new one. I get 7 years out of all my batteries.
Most of you are way over thinking this!
Yes, 3 days is really not long enough to worry but it could still have derogatory effects on the long run coupled with weather conditions since the car is outside. Over-thinking? Perhaps but I doubt it. Most people can get another year or two out of their battery that is in a car which they drive everyday just by doing occasional maintenance.
Regardless, you mentioned some very impressive figures. Almost too good to believe especially if you are using the typical lead acid or maintenance-free flooded type battery.
It is a fact that, every month a flooded type battery just sits, it loses approximately 10% of its hold capacity as it sulfates. After it loses too much of its hold capacity it might not function at all and it may not even be possible to save (desulfate) that battery.
I am also having hard time believe a standard battery that is only charged by idling the vehicle for 15-20 minutes and once a month at best can last 7 years!
Are you using high quality gel/agm type battery? If not, I think you have an angel watching over your battery!
PS. Most quality trickle chargers are also capable of alerting you of a bad battery which typically means it is not holding the charge but should still work until it is completely drained (a few more starts at least) so it acts as a early warning so you can go get as new battery instead of getting stuck somewhere unexpectedly.
Last edited by TurcoLoco; 11-23-2013 at 01:47 AM..
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