Howdy,

I purchased a Red Top last year for my '92 ES300.
The last 2+ months the car has been mostly up on the jackstands while receiving a new braking system and a new suspension.
There have been occasional test drives, plus a once-every-two-weeks startup, and one trip to the independent service shop for some work.

However, during this "downtime" I've had to jumpstart the car several times. Having completed all the work above, this morning I actually got in 'er for the triumphant first drive to work, but then I tried to start her up again after 2 hours and she's dead again.

Can just 2 months of downtime kill off a RedTop like this? I'm pondering whether or not I should just go pick up a new battery once someone gives me a jump here during the lunch hour.

 

From my experience, 2 months of downtime can kill most batteries. That happened to my BMW 325i when I was away for 3 months. My cousin killed his Red Top in Mexico because he hadn't used his VW Golf for at least 3 months while he was busy doing work on it. I ended up having to get another Red Top for him.

I still have my Red Top of 4 years but earlier last year when I was working at home most of the time, I'd go for a while without taking my RX300 out and sometimes when I'd start it up, sometimes the central console would only display time (not the infamous 1:00 A.M. issue that happens with RX300s when there batteries are on the way out), but I wouldn't be able to turn on the radio or AC (though air would come out, I couldn't control the temp/fan speed). Eventually a few minutes later, it would come back on.

However, since then, I've used the vehicle more often and haven't had an issue if I go a few days or even a week without using the vehicle.

 

i say just get a battery charger and charge up the red top and you will be fine. as for the battery i would just disconnect it if your not driving the car.

 

I bought a Swearingen 50-10-2 battery charger.
I set it to the 2-amp slow-trickle-charge and let it charge overnight.
This morning, the Red Top, and the rest of the car were good to go.
Woooot!

 

for sure good stuff. yea its hard to kills those red tops. me and homie tends to get them for free, because we know some guys that work for the navy. i guess they think the battery is junk. but we just charge them up and they work like new. since they are dry cell and not acid type like in standard cars.