dxerg3770

My car will be sitting idle for a month. Should I disconnect the battery cable? I've read somewhere modern cars with their electronics, it is recommended to NOT disconnect battery cable unless it will sit idle for months. I'm just concerned car might not start when I come back and dead batteries tend to die quickly again regardless of its age.

bc6152

Invest in a Battery Tender accessory. I store 2 cars from November to April with the batteries attached. Keeps your battery in top shape and ready when you are. There are different models but I paid around $50.00 for mine.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Yessiree.
My GS is connected to a Deltran Battery Tender Plus right now.

gemigniani

I'd disconnect the battery negative cable to preserve the life of both the battery and expensive alternator.

lesz

+1
I would also suggest using a Battery Tender or other similar trickle charger.

For the last 25 years or so, I've always had a vehicle that is not driven during the winter, and I've been using a trickle charger on those vehicles. Not only does it keep the battery charged, but it helps to extend the battery life. Most recently, I had a vehicle that had been stored for 9 winters before I decided to replace the battery, and I probably could have gotten another year out of it, but I decided it was best to replace the battery and reduce the chances of being stranded somewhere.

While the Battery Tender costs about $50, there is also a Battery Tender Junior that sells for between $25 and $30. Its low-level charge is more than sufficient to keep the battery fully charged, and it uses a bit less electricity than the Battery Tender. I've also seen other trickle chargers for as little as $15, but I can't vouch for their performance.

What I would not suggest is disconnecting the battery. If you do that, you will need to spend a good amount of time, when you reconnect the battery, setting up various vehicle systems. If the battery is disconnected, it is likely that you will lose things like your audio settings, navigation system data, vehicle custom settings, etc. And there is a chance that you will find other things that you did not expect not to be functioning properly. For example, on my GX, if the battery is disconnected, you have to go through a several step procedure to get the power windows and sunroof to work properly again.

sderman

Another great use for the Battery Tender is when you are putting in a new battery to avoid losing all the settings. I connect the battery tender's 2 clamps to the car battery's cable ends so when they are removed from the battery the car's systems are still powered. Then, after I clamp the car battery cables onto the new battery I then remove the Battery Tender.

dxerg3770

Unfortunately, battery tender is not an option. Car is sitting outdoor and do not have access to a power outlet.

lesz

I can't speak for how well they work, but there are solar-powered trickle chargers like the one in this link.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Great information!

FastTags

Why. I never disconected my battery. Used to go away long time too. For 3-4 weeks, time after time

Mike728

From experience, the battery will not start the car when he returns. Read the threads here and on the GS forum.

gemigniani

http://lexus2.custhelp.com/app/answe...icle%20storage
What should be done to a Lexus vehicle to prepare it for long-term storage?
"Disconnect negative battery cable."

lesz

That article does not define what is meant by "long-term" storage. Certainly, if I were storing a car for, say, the better part of a year, I would want to follow those procedures, including putting the vehicle up on blocks. However, if I were not going to be driving the car for a few weeks or even for a couple of months, I wouldn't consider that to be "long-term" storage, and I would not want to lose all of my audio system settings, my navigation system addresses, my seat, steering wheel, and mirror settings, my phone settings, all of my vehicle custom settings, etc. And I would be losing all of those things and more if I disconnect the battery.

Mike728

^^ Totally agree. On my wife's CR-V, if the battery is disconnected for a few seconds, the radio goes into anti-theft mode. I'm not sure if our ES's do the same, but there are so many other things that would reset to default. I would rather just charge/jump when I returned, if the BT is not an option, as the battery should hold enough charge to keep things stored. At least, that was the case with mine when it sat for a few weeks and wouldn't start.

gemigniani

I'd rather deal with resetting some settings than deal with the expense and worry about being stranded someplace on a cold wet night due to a compromised battery and alternator.