Guys who store your cars come in!!
01-08-2010, 02:48 PM
#1
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Guys who store your cars come in!! Since Feb. 09 I have been storing my car in my parents garage. It has been driven 750 miles since that time. I crank the car every 2 weeks religiously till warm up and 5 minutes after that. I have put 3 batterys in my car in that amount of time. I am getting tired of the battery problem and have checked anything that may keep a draw on the battery and I can't find anything. Last week I replaced the battery again and had my starter and alternator checked and they were both good. I have been looking at getting a "battery keeper" to keep plugged up while its in storage. Have any of you guys used them or can recommend one to me. Thanks for the help guys.
01-08-2010, 03:00 PM
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I have an aftermarket cd player with aftermarket speakers but they are stock size and location. I don't have any subwoofers or amp. The alarm is factory and its the little red light on the dash.
01-08-2010, 03:01 PM
#4
Since Feb. 09 I have been storing my car in my parents garage. It has been driven 750 miles since that time. I crank the car every 2 weeks religiously till warm up and 5 minutes after that. I have put 3 batterys in my car in that amount of time. I am getting tired of the battery problem and have checked anything that may keep a draw on the battery and I can't find anything. Last week I replaced the battery again and had my starter and alternator checked and they were both good. I have been looking at getting a "battery keeper" to keep plugged up while its in storage. Have any of you guys used them or can recommend one to me. Thanks for the help guys.
Generally, you won't be charging the battery all that much at idle.
Me, personally....I use a $20 "Battery Tender". Yes, that's the brand name. Just leave it hooked up to the battery and walk away.
I use a Battery Tender on my Formula (which has seen 2k miles in 3 years), on my Fiero, on my R1, on my Gixxer....EVERYTHING!
I have a Battery Tender for each of my vehicles...it just makes sense.
Also, I use only Optima Batteries! I love them...no corrosion whatsoever.
Also...use Fogging Oil before you let the car sit.
Here;
Add Seafoam to gas tank.
Drive car....once warm, change the oil. Drive car for a few minutes (to allow all new oil to circulate through engine really good and allow Seafoam to work its way into the injectors).
Park the car but DONT shut it off....yet!
Take can of Fogging Oil (Sta-Bil makes this) and spray PAST THE MAF into the Throttle body at an "elevated RPM" using your throttle body.
Kill the engine, either by key, or by the Fogging oil.
Plug in Battery Tender.
Walk away!
The car can sit there for up to 6 months with no problems...
01-08-2010, 03:22 PM
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I have poured stabil into the gas tank so I don't think seafoam will do me any good. This fogging oil peaks my interest what is it and what does it do/prevent. When I do drive it I feel a little hesitation around 2k rpms at light throttle. I feel that that is a dirty MAF and I can fix that issue. Its just this battery draining that is pissing me off. This battery tender I like the price and does it have like an auto shut off to prevent over charging. Thanks for the input guys I appreciate it.
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01-09-2010, 05:47 PM
#8
regarding stabil, the fuel system on every car since 199x is a closed sealed system. Gasoline now has 10% ethanol and that is what hurts gas the most in storage IF the gas is exposed to outside air such as gas in a carburetor, then because of the ethanol the gas will absorb moisture and go bad, and stabil doesn't do much to combat this. I've seen this firsthand on carbs on boats over the past 5 years, you can see the water droplets leave rust/corrosion stains in the bowls of the carb.
If you car is only sitting 3-6 months, you don't need stabil. Just fill the tank with fresh gas and leave the gas cap on. And if you want to use fogging oil, which is more for carb'd engines, you may contaminate your O2 sensors and definitely make sure when/if you spray it that you get the red shooter on the can past the MAF sensor, if that oil gets on the MAF it will most likely fubar it. Fogging oil can be bought at west marine or any boat store, I wouldn't use fogging oil on you car, only on things like your lawn mower, outboard or carb'd engine.
regarding the battery, i've posted a few times here about battery related posts, you should be able to search on my username and read them.
In short, every car battery and any battery for that matter, self-discharges. Lead-acid car batteries self-discharge quite a bit compared to alkaline or Ni-Cd batteries for example. A brand new battery on the store shelf which has never been used, if it sits for 6 months or longer at 70F in the store, will self-discharge and can be down around 50% when you buy it.
In your car, you start it and drain the battery a certain amount but letting it run only a little bit won't necessarily charge the battery back to 100%.
Your best bet is put a battery float charger on it for the time the car is in storage, and DO NOT start the car. All the cold starts is just wear and tear and every warm up/cool down cycle will introduce moisture via condensation into the engine oil, shortening the life of the oil. The best thing to do is change the oil prior to storing the car, run the car 10-20 minutes to circulate the fresh oil, then do not start the car again till it's done with storage, keeping a float charger on the battery the whole time.
read up at batteryfaq.org
good float chargers are batterytender,
I have a batteryminder which does desulphation,
and you can pick up cheapo float chargers from places like harborfreight,
the key with float chargers is that is maintains the battery at 13.0-13.5 volts and does not charge greater than 1 amp.
DO NOT get a battery charger from say sears or walmart that says something like 10/2/50 and looks like this. If you leave it on the battery for an extended time it will cook and ruin the battery
you want a little charger that looks like a simple transformer, and make sure it specifies charging at 1 amp or less, and that the float charge holds the battery less than 13.5 volts, use a volt meter if you have to.
I have this from harborfreight which works ok, $10, not as good as a batteryminder but cost a lot less
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...112&zmap=42292
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...2201_200332201
If you car is only sitting 3-6 months, you don't need stabil. Just fill the tank with fresh gas and leave the gas cap on. And if you want to use fogging oil, which is more for carb'd engines, you may contaminate your O2 sensors and definitely make sure when/if you spray it that you get the red shooter on the can past the MAF sensor, if that oil gets on the MAF it will most likely fubar it. Fogging oil can be bought at west marine or any boat store, I wouldn't use fogging oil on you car, only on things like your lawn mower, outboard or carb'd engine.
regarding the battery, i've posted a few times here about battery related posts, you should be able to search on my username and read them.
In short, every car battery and any battery for that matter, self-discharges. Lead-acid car batteries self-discharge quite a bit compared to alkaline or Ni-Cd batteries for example. A brand new battery on the store shelf which has never been used, if it sits for 6 months or longer at 70F in the store, will self-discharge and can be down around 50% when you buy it.
In your car, you start it and drain the battery a certain amount but letting it run only a little bit won't necessarily charge the battery back to 100%.
Your best bet is put a battery float charger on it for the time the car is in storage, and DO NOT start the car. All the cold starts is just wear and tear and every warm up/cool down cycle will introduce moisture via condensation into the engine oil, shortening the life of the oil. The best thing to do is change the oil prior to storing the car, run the car 10-20 minutes to circulate the fresh oil, then do not start the car again till it's done with storage, keeping a float charger on the battery the whole time.
read up at batteryfaq.org
good float chargers are batterytender,
I have a batteryminder which does desulphation,
and you can pick up cheapo float chargers from places like harborfreight,
the key with float chargers is that is maintains the battery at 13.0-13.5 volts and does not charge greater than 1 amp.
DO NOT get a battery charger from say sears or walmart that says something like 10/2/50 and looks like this. If you leave it on the battery for an extended time it will cook and ruin the battery
you want a little charger that looks like a simple transformer, and make sure it specifies charging at 1 amp or less, and that the float charge holds the battery less than 13.5 volts, use a volt meter if you have to.
I have this from harborfreight which works ok, $10, not as good as a batteryminder but cost a lot less
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...112&zmap=42292
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...2201_200332201
01-09-2010, 06:13 PM
#9
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Thanks a lot thats very helpful info I did change the oil at storage and 1 time since then with full synthetic. I will look for a good battery keeper so u guys say I shouldn't crank my car at all. I thought you should to keep things "fresh" but if its not needed I won't just get a battrey keeper and be done with it. Thanks again
01-09-2010, 07:34 PM
#10
by that if you mean starting it once in a while, that's doing more harm than good. every time you start your engine cold you introduce a little bit of blowby contaminants into the oil, which normally get burned off once the car has been running hot for a good while but this process takes its toll on the oil. Then once it's hot and you shut it down, because of the temperature change condensation happens and is how moisture can get into the oil. And the moisture which is water, when mixed with blowby contaminants from combustion forms acid, nitric i think. Don't misread all this and think you should never shut your car off, but starting an engine often and not letting it run at normal operating temp for a period of time is far worse then letting the engine sit.
the best thing to do is as soon as possible after an oil change to put the thing in storage and not start it again till it's coming out of storage and will be regularly used, especially if storage is in a protected environment like a garage.
the best thing to do is as soon as possible after an oil change to put the thing in storage and not start it again till it's coming out of storage and will be regularly used, especially if storage is in a protected environment like a garage.
01-11-2010, 10:29 AM
#11
This is the battery tender I use. there small, and they are GREAT for storage. they will actually maintain the battery for long term storage. They have pig tails you mount on the battery and leave there. so its very simple to hook up when you do drive the car...its reverse polarity protected...and you can just leave it plugged in all the time!
http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1...m=DEL_021-0123
Here is what I am talking about with Fogging oil;
http://www.ehow.com/about_4675032_fogging-oil.html
Here is a can of the Fogging oil itself;
http://www.amsoil.com/StoreFront/fog.aspx
I use the fogging oil because corrosion and rust can start forming inside the cylinder's in as little as 30 days.
Fogging helps prevent that build up. It also prevents a "dry start" in the cylinder's upon start up.
As long as i've been using Fogging Oil....and as little as I drive my cars, I can tell you from my own, personal experience....that I have never had a problem with 02 sensor's and when I change my oil (I use full synthetic in ALL of my vehicles) I have very little residue on the magnetic drain plug.
Now, this is not to say that my oil filter isn't doing a good job (I've never opened one up) but by looking at the magnetic drain plug, i'm happy to see that it has very little metal on it.
Last...but not least, get one of these;
http://www.carcapsule.com/
the car condom is, quite simply, full of Win!
http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1...m=DEL_021-0123
Here is what I am talking about with Fogging oil;
http://www.ehow.com/about_4675032_fogging-oil.html
Here is a can of the Fogging oil itself;
http://www.amsoil.com/StoreFront/fog.aspx
I use the fogging oil because corrosion and rust can start forming inside the cylinder's in as little as 30 days.
Fogging helps prevent that build up. It also prevents a "dry start" in the cylinder's upon start up.
As long as i've been using Fogging Oil....and as little as I drive my cars, I can tell you from my own, personal experience....that I have never had a problem with 02 sensor's and when I change my oil (I use full synthetic in ALL of my vehicles) I have very little residue on the magnetic drain plug.
Now, this is not to say that my oil filter isn't doing a good job (I've never opened one up) but by looking at the magnetic drain plug, i'm happy to see that it has very little metal on it.
Last...but not least, get one of these;
http://www.carcapsule.com/
the car condom is, quite simply, full of Win!
01-12-2010, 01:35 PM
#12
just take the battery out if you aren't going to be driving it and store the battery indoors.
also, you may want to invest in an optima red top, these are very very durable batteries, and I bet that'd solve yur problem.
I hope you don't keep paying for replacing your batteries, as they should have AT VERY LEAST a 1 year free replacement warranty no matter where you get them from. And if something is drawing from the battery, you should be able to recharge them, they shouldn't be completely shot.
also, you may want to invest in an optima red top, these are very very durable batteries, and I bet that'd solve yur problem.
I hope you don't keep paying for replacing your batteries, as they should have AT VERY LEAST a 1 year free replacement warranty no matter where you get them from. And if something is drawing from the battery, you should be able to recharge them, they shouldn't be completely shot.
01-12-2010, 06:27 PM
#13
by that if you mean starting it once in a while, that's doing more harm than good. every time you start your engine cold you introduce a little bit of blowby contaminants into the oil, which normally get burned off once the car has been running hot for a good while but this process takes its toll on the oil. Then once it's hot and you shut it down, because of the temperature change condensation happens and is how moisture can get into the oil. And the moisture which is water, when mixed with blowby contaminants from combustion forms acid, nitric i think. Don't misread all this and think you should never shut your car off, but starting an engine often and not letting it run at normal operating temp for a period of time is far worse then letting the engine sit.
the best thing to do is as soon as possible after an oil change to put the thing in storage and not start it again till it's coming out of storage and will be regularly used, especially if storage is in a protected environment like a garage.
the best thing to do is as soon as possible after an oil change to put the thing in storage and not start it again till it's coming out of storage and will be regularly used, especially if storage is in a protected environment like a garage.
Just leave it sit until it's put back into regular action.
01-13-2010, 08:25 PM
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I suggest using AMSOIL 100% Synthetic Oil, AMSOIL Fogging Oil, AMSOIL Fuel Stabilizer. Also, AMSOIL PI cleans entire fuel system in one tank of gas. AMSOIL Powerfoam for the throttle body and upper intake. And, I agree with the battery tender. Only running your car for 5 minutes is detrimental to the engine and does not give the alternator enough time to recharge the battery after cranking.
01-13-2010, 08:34 PM
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does anyone have issues with the car running rough after it sits for a couple months
mines been inside for a couple months without starting it until last week when i took it out to turn it around and it ran like crap. the brakes did not work at all, the tires just spun. it was surging like crazy. is this normal for letting it sit for that period of time? i figured after i drive it for a good week it would straighten itself out?
mines been inside for a couple months without starting it until last week when i took it out to turn it around and it ran like crap. the brakes did not work at all, the tires just spun. it was surging like crazy. is this normal for letting it sit for that period of time? i figured after i drive it for a good week it would straighten itself out?
01-13-2010, 09:02 PM
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OP: ive never had any issues starting the car without charging the battery after letting it sit for a month or so, what kind of battery are u running? i know a few people who have had issues with interstate and optima batteries.