I have a 2008 LS 460 which sits idle for six months each year while we are in Florida for the winter. Any suggestions to keep the battery alive? Would it be harmful to the electrical system to disconnect the negative terminal of the battery for the six months? Thanks for any advice.
Did my 2005 LS have a switch on the bottom side of the dash for long term storage?

 

Buy a battery tender. Inexpensive and will keep your battery topped up without over-charging it. You should also add fuel stabilizer, run the vehicle for ten minutes or so to distribute it through the fuel system.

Disconnecting the battery won't suffice, especially if there's any chance of freezing.

 

The battery-tender is a good idea. Do you think the car's electrical system would be harmed if the battery is disconnected for the six months?

 

No, not at all. No worries there. Again, be sure the fuel system is treated. The battery tender can be purchased at Walmart for about 25-40 bucks, depending on features. I personally use a Schumacher and it is excellent.

 

I agree with Roadfrog. Also, Sta-Bil makes a quality fuel stabilizer.

 

If you disconnect your battery and add Stable it should be just fine. Just make sure you leave the car with 1/3 of a tank, run the car for some time with the Stable in it so that it reaches the fuel injectors before you shut it down for storage.

 

+1 on the Stabil and the tender.

 

In addition to what the others have said, I would leave the gas tank full so that there will be no condensation in the tank. Change the oil and filter (unless it was done very recently). Inflate the tires to the highest recommended psi, probably 44. If the car is going to be subject to extended freezing temperatures, I would empty the windshield washer of all fluid. I know most read good to -20 (or -30) degrees F, but if it freezes it could split the holding tank.

If you think there may be moisture where you store the car, you may want to put a desiccant container in the passenger compartment. In addition to Schumacher, CTEK also makes an excellent battery tender. Depending where you live, field mice may also be a problem. You can put steel wool in the exhaust pipe (don't forget to remove it, put a skicky on your steering wheel). I've heard all kinds of things for the engine compartment, from moth ***** to poison, but I don't think any of them really work. Just hope for the best!

 

Just me, but for 6 months sitting, I'd also put it up on jack stands to get it off the tires. I get flat spots in my Benz & SC430 tires if I leave them for even two weeks and I get some light rhythmic pulsing from the tires for the first 3-5 miles of driving. For 6 months I'd expect that to be even more pronounced. The LS doesn't get that much time "off" so I haven't noticed it on that but a 5500lb car (I have the 600) sitting on rubber seems to offer the potential for flat-spotting.

 

+1 on jack stands. Might be a little more of a pain but it is the proper way for long term storage.

 

Agreed. My Mustang sat for a couple of years on brand new tires and are now shaped like Fred Flinstone's tires.

 

I had the same question last fall when we were getting ready to go to HI for the winter. Now we were only going to be gone 3 months not 6. In the end I could not make myself go off and leave a hot battery tender/charger plugged into the wall even though the garage is heated and cooled and hooked up to my LS unattended for that long. I think the battery tenders are great if you or someone else can eyeball it every once and awhile. In the end I topped off and treated the fuel made sure everything that I could I shut off and left the battery hooked up. When we came back the LS cranked slow at first then fired right up. I have doubts that it would have fired up after another 3 months. I believe the key here would be to have a good battery with a full charge on it when you left.

Dennis.

 

Well actually, this is the kind of circumstances where battery tenders are intended and designed for, (NOT checking on them once in a while). Battery CHARGERS on the other hand, should be checked.

Putting your battery into a level of discharge like you do will only shorten the life of it. Your car's electrnics don;t like it either.

 

Chris

I hear what you are saying man but I just could not do it. I would have spent the whole time in HI worrying if it would short out, or if the house got hit by lighting and the surge ended up in the LS electronics. When we leave for the winter we unplug everything we can inside the house.

Dennis

 

Just read an article about the tender. It's always on and monitoring but not always charging. It's a float charge that turns on and off delivering a low amperage charge only when needed. No fear of damaging the battery. If it's about the fear of leaving an electrical appliance plugged in that's another issue.