Question: battery discharge when car is not used?

[Mark H]

I have been told that when the Stinger is not driven for a week or more, its electronics drain the battery and the car needs to be recharged or jumpstarted. Does this accord with people's experience? What can be done to reduce power consumption when the car is expected to be parked for more than a couple of days?

 

[moinmoin]

I have been told

Hmmm. Interesting. Told by whom? The dealer? A friend who does not own a Stinger? Inquiring minds like to know.

What someone(?) told you does not jive with my experience. I had the car sitting for two weeks or longer, several times during the 4 months I have owned it now, with no problems.
What's not so nice when the car is sitting for long periods is the rust developing on the brake disks.
If you really have to park it for a long period, put the car on a trickle charger.
And make sure, that your fob/key is not in the near vicinity of the car. If the two can "talk" to each other, the battery will drain.
Good Luck.

 

[Mark H]

Hmmm. Interesting. Told by whom? The dealer? A friend who does not own a Stinger? Inquiring minds like to know.

What someone(?) told you does not jive with my experience. I had the car sitting for two weeks or longer, several times during the 4 months I have owned it now, with no problems.
What's not so nice when the car is sitting for long periods is the rust developing on the brake disks.
If you really have to park it for a long period, put the car on a trickle charger.
And make sure, that you fob/key is not in the near vicinity of the car. If the two can "talk" to each other, the battery will drain.
Good Luck.

 

[Mark H]

Thank you. His sister owns a Stinger, but your remark about separating the fob from the car could be the issue.

 

[StingMe]

I have been told that when the Stinger is not driven for a week or more, its electronics drain the battery and the car needs to be recharged or jumpstarted. Does this accord with people's experience? What can be done to reduce power consumption when the car is expected to be parked for more than a couple of days?

You never want the battery to go dead. Once they are fully dead, their dependability is compromised.

When parking the car for more than 1 week, use one of these:

Battery Tender Plus 021-0128, 1.25 Amp Battery Charger is a Smart Charger, it will Fully Charge and Maintain a Battery at Proper Storage Voltage without the Damaging Effects Caused by Trickle Chargers

Price: $44.00 & FREE Shipping
https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-0128-Maintain-Damaging/dp/B00068XCQU

 

[Mark H]

thank you, but this is not practical for me. I park my car outside my house. To use this or any other charger, I would need to leave the cargo hatch open to connect the charger to power. Too bad they don't have a wireless charger (like they have for phones) .....

 

[bumble bee]

When u sit at a light or something like that....your car go to idle.

 

[westcoastGT]

I was away for a month and the car started perfectly when I got back , BMW's are the cars notorious for battery drain . We had terrible dead low/dead battery issues given we dont put many miles on our cars and they were constatly needing charging . We ended up leaving them on trickle charges most of the time .......................

 

[bumble bee]

Thanks my man!

 

[eljay]

And make sure, that your fob/key is not in the near vicinity of the car. If the two can "talk" to each other, the battery will drain.

Hmm, this makes me wonder. My key drop is next to the door from my entry hall to the garage. With that door closed, I can stand in the entry and lock my car. Do I need to stash the keys upstairs? (What a pain.) My first floor has a small footprint which wraps around the garage, so going up is about the only way I can get distance between key and car. Or maybe I need a lead-lined key box, haha. I'm guessing anywhere I can communicate with the car is too close?

 

[Ucinn]

No, as long as your mirrors arent coming out, they arent in range. Which is probably about 10 feet from the car, 20 to be safe.

 

[moinmoin]

I can stand in the entry and lock my car.

Your situation is typical, so is the shelf next to the door that leads to the garage.
If you have not experienced any problems, I would not worry. But once you experience battery problems, consider a small metal box ... think Faraday Cage.

 

[westcoastGT]

Your situation is typical, so is the shelf next to the door that leads to the garage.
If you have not experienced any problems, I would not worry. But once you experience battery problems, consider a small metal box ... think Faraday Cage.

I built a Faraday cage for our router !

 

[eljay]

I built a Faraday cage for our router !

While you were answering, I was reading about how to make a Faraday box with HVAC tape. Great minds . . .

Thanks for all the advice, guys.

 

[StingMe]

thank you, but this is not practical for me. I park my car outside my house. To use this or any other charger, I would need to leave the cargo hatch open to connect the charger to power. Too bad they don't have a wireless charger (like they have for phones) .....

How about this? Just put the panel on the dashboard so it gets sun.

$57.16 & FREE Shipping

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-1163-Solar-Maintainer/dp/B004Q83TGO

 

[SonomaGT]

You never want the battery to go dead. Once they are fully dead, their dependability is compromised.

When parking the car for more than 1 week, use one of these:

Battery Tender Plus 021-0128, 1.25 Amp Battery Charger is a Smart Charger, it will Fully Charge and Maintain a Battery at Proper Storage Voltage without the Damaging Effects Caused by Trickle Chargers

Price: $44.00 & FREE Shipping
https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-0128-Maintain-Damaging/dp/B00068XCQU

Thank you for sharing this. We have an old trickle charger, and I'll be purchasing this one. Great reviews on Amazon, and I like how it shows you the battery percentage. Thanks again - very helpful!

 

[SteveCo]

thank you, but this is not practical for me. I park my car outside my house. To use this or any other charger, I would need to leave the cargo hatch open to connect the charger to power. Too bad they don't have a wireless charger (like they have for phones) .....

You don't need to connect directly to the battery - there is a positive electrical connection point (and numerous body grounds) under the hood. On my summer car with a similar battery configuration I have a CTEK connector permanently wired to the forward charging points under the hood for winter storage. Power to the charger (when connected) can be fed through various body openings, including from under the car. CTEK makes an excellent line of smart float charger products ...

 

[Mark H]

How about this? Just put the panel on the dashboard so it gets sun.

$57.16 & FREE Shipping

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-1163-Solar-Maintainer/dp/B004Q83TGO

Wow! Amazing! Thank you!

 

[Mark H]

You don't need to connect directly to the battery - there is a positive electrical connection point (and numerous body grounds) under the hood. On my summer car with a similar battery configuration I have a CTEK connector permanently wired to the forward charging points under the hood for winter storage. Power to the charger (when connected) can be fed through various body openings, including from under the car. CTEK makes an excellent line of smart float charger products ...

Thanks. I will investigate. Just got the car and haven't explored it yet.

 

[Bobr]

Some car alarms allow to set engine auto-start options to recharge battery when voltage is low. But on new modern cars with standard equipment 2 weeks should not be an issue.