lawjaii

Hi guys, i will be going away for vacation for exactly 1 month. Leaving the rx350 at home. Should i be disconnecting the battery?

I went away last year for 6 weeks, battery died and had to be jumped. But last year i barely drove the rx so i think it might not had enough charge in it when i left.

Anybody with experience?

Thanks

Raoul

I disconnected the battery in my truck Jun 27th, came back Nov 29th.
Didn't know what to expect after five months but, it fired right up and has had no issues.

I'm sure it would have been dead if left connected.

Airbalance

I had a knee replaced on Dec 5 , my 2011 Chevy pickup oringal battery, sat outside in -25°c tempertures for 4 weeks when I decided to give it a start with the remote , it fired right up
I would just leave the battery alone

Htony

Just to be sure, hook up battery mender to keep all the settings.

salimshah

It all depends upon how strong the current battery is.

I have one of those trickle battery tenders which I hook up when I am away fro more than a week There are some exotic tenders, but I have couple of the cheaper harbor freight ones which with coupons can be had close to $5.00


Salim

ukrkoz

$20 battery tender and you are good to go for longer than that.

MacCat

Don't disconnect your battery - buy a $25 battery charger.
This isn't the big one - it's called a "Trickle charger" and runs around 2amps max.
It's designed to keep your battery topped off, without over-charging it.

Boat people know this trick - all the boats in the marina have trickle chargers built-in.
It keeps your battery in top condition, warm, and ready to fire up.
You don't even have to disconnect the wires, just unplug the charger.

(This is not a full sized battery charger, but most of those also have a "Trickle charge" mode)

ColAngus

Do nothing and don't give it a second thought.
Enjoy your vacation!

mandyfig

Trickle Charger...peace of mind...

MellonC00

sorry for the elementary knowledge on this stuff. What is a battery "mender" vs. a trickle charger? I've seen tickle chargers before but never a battery mender.....

salimshah

Mender is typo/auto_correction ... the intended word is 'tender'

The purpose of the trickle/tender is to provide low current ~200mAmps .. so that the battery is not heated up. Heating can evaporate the electrolyte --> drying of the plates --> shedding of the material --> shorting of the plates etc etc.

For safety reasons the battery must be charged in a flame/spark free environment and should not be left unattended. Smart chargers monitor the activity and cycle on/off and cutoff as needed.

Salim

tempestv8

Buy a quality multi-state smart charger, and leave it on the vehicle whilst you are away. The smaller the capacity of the charger, the better. No need to purchase a high power unit.

Also, you can connect it directly to the battery terminals without needing to disconnect the main leads.

Htony

Just to be sure, if I were you I'd connect quality smart trickle charger(battery minder) to the battery.

riredale

As per my contrarian nature I'll say here that what you could use is not a trickle charger, but a compact battery pack. The trickle charger will need to be plugged and unplugged. But there's no certainty that the battery would be dead without one. A battery pack, on the other hand, is about the size of a paperback book and in a worst case will be able to jump-start in a matter of seconds. Costco had them last Christmas for $40. Just buy one, charge it up, then leave it in the trunk and check once a year for full charge.

Htony

What? today's trickle charger has brain(simple electronic circuit) it'll only charge when battery goes low. As soon as fully charged it'll stop charging. Ever heard of floating charge? Battery pack is fully charged Lithium
battery module. When it is depleted, it requires recharging by some means like plugging into a USB charging port or charger. Any how better get a quality ones, not the El Cheapo flooding the market which can cause damage.