My wife and I are taking seven months off and traveling for seven months. My current plan is to leave my M3 in an underground garage with a cover on it for the entire time we're gone.
Will my car be okay? Would it be better to have someone start it every so often? Is there anything I need to do -- like disconnecting the battery?
Get a trickle charger which will maintain the battery - 1 end plugs into a wall outlet and the other in the cigarette lighter. Supposedly they work fairly well (friend has 1 for his 911 he doesn't drive much in the winter). They also have solar powered 1s but not sure how well they work or if it'd work since you mentioned underground garage. I plan to get the 1st (wall outlet) this winter as I don't drive my M3 much then (i.e. snow, salt, wet, etc.).
Also fill the car with gas so there is less chance of condensation in the tank. I would blow up the tires to the maximum psi if I'm leaving it that long. I also would not use the parking brake....just leave it in gear. Lastly, open the windows slightly so moisture doesn't collect inside the car.
Or just disconnect the battery. In addition to filling the tank up, add fuel stabilizer. Agree with pumping the tires up to full pressure versus putting the car up on jack stands.
Search for winter storage on here or the net and do that....the prep is the same.
Both are microprocessor controlled to maintain the battery without over charging. I use them with good results and several batteries (cars and generator).
With the batterytender or the battery minder, which model is for the 02 M3? I'm not mechanically inclined, but also have an 8 month trip coming up. I had to replace my factory original battery after being gone for just one month, and don't feel like shelling out any more money for a new one this coming summer.
You can get an official BMW battery charger. Works the same as the others and won't over charge. I use mine whenever I leave my car for longer than a few days.
I'd hook up a battery minder ( I use one for motorcycle battery, great results) OR if you don't have an outlet near the car just remove the battery and hook it up to a battery minder somewhere else.
I just left my car alone for 5.5 weeks and the battery was empty and completely shot.
I moved to Texas for a year and left the M3 at home in Az.
I pumped the tires way up (though I put the OEM wheels on and not the RG-4's) and removed the battery, filled the tank.
that's it!
After 10+ months I reinstalled the battery and cranked her up and she ran like I had never been away.
My wife and I are taking seven months off and traveling for seven months. My current plan is to leave my M3 in an underground garage with a cover on it for the entire time we're gone.
Will my car be okay? Would it be better to have someone start it every so often? Is there anything I need to do -- like disconnecting the battery?
Thanks for all the great information. I'm leaving the car in a commercial garage for storage. Good security, but no easy access to a power outlet. Should disconnecting the battery solve my problem just as well as using one of those trickle chargers would?
I found the battery this morning, but I'm not sure how to disconnect it. There are two red wires running to it (huge ones) and one black wire. Do I just loosen the nuts and disconnect the wires? Maybe wrap them in plastic so they don't accidentally make contact?
Disconnect the black one. It is safer to do so, because the black one is the ground and connects to the chassis. So if you touch the chassis with the wrench while taking it off, you will not have a fireworks show.
For 7 months, I would consider taking the battery out and leaving it somewhere with a trickle charger. Remove black wire, THEN remove the red one. remove the bracket holding it down and lift the battery out. Be careful, it weighs about 50 pounds, and if you touch metal with both posts, you get sparks.
How much is a new battery, if I do need to replace it?
How would I hook the battery up to a trickle charger if I did remove it and do so? The dealer said I'd be fine just disconnecting it -- does he know what he's talking about?
Either one in the smallest size would be fine. The BMW branded charger is the 1.25 amp Battery Tender. I have 2 small Battery Tenders, 2 - 6 amp versions and 1 Battery Minder. They all work fine.
The Battery Tender Jr would be fine is the battery is disconnected or out of the car. In the car, I would go with the Plus as there are things that draw current. The Power Tender Plus is the 6 amp version and provides a reasonable charge rate in case you have a low battery.
For hooking them up, out of the car, you hook the red clip to the Pos terminal, the Black clip to the Negative and plug the thing in. It is reverse polarity protected, so if you hook it backwards, it just doesn't do anything. The lights tell you it is hooked up and working.
If you use it with the battery hooked up in the car (as normal) easiest way is to hook up under hood. On right side there is a small plastic box near the strut tower with a red + on it Open teh box and hook red clip to the terminal inside. Nearby on the strut tower will be another terminal, hook black clip to this. Plug in. Lights will again tell you if everything is correct.
As for just disconnecting, for 7 months, you will probably be fine, but for that long, I would put it on a trickle charger. But that is me.
For 6 months the battery isnt likely to have issues if disconnected. I have an old s10 blazer I use for yard work and such that sits sometimes for a year or more and cranks up fine. Been doing that with it for 9 years or so. Same battery. Of course it doesnt have any electronics or an on board computer so it doesnt drain the battery down when it sits. Point is as long as the battery is charged when its parked, disconnecting the negative post will have you covered.
What you need to worry more about is the fuel aka gas in the car. First make sure you have at least 1/2 a tank of gas, fulls fine too. Next purchase a fuel stabilizer. Probably easiest to find a good brand of this in a corvette parts site or any other car collector site since vintage vettes and such sit alot. Very common for them to sit thru the winter and all. The fuel stabilizer will keep it from gumming up on you. Thats the biggest problem. I prefer the 1/2 tank method myself on those because gas is only "good" for 6 months. Thats why weedeaters and such run like crap when people keep gas around too long. So 1/2 tank of gas with the stabilizer keeps it from turning to crud and then theres just 1/2 a tank of old gas to deal with when you get back. So fill it up when you get back with fresh gas to dilute the old gas and alls well.
Actually you can get gas stabilzer at most auto parts stores, and it will work fine. Another source is an marine supply store.
DO NOT leave a 1/2, you are likely to get water due to condensation. Leave the tank full. With 3/4 tank or less, drive to the gas station, pour in the correct amount of stabilzer, then fill the tank. Drive to the garage and park. This will also get the stabilzer through the fuel system and into the injectors.
As for the battery life, remember this is a BMW battery. They are NOT durable. Mine went out in 2.5 months from new.
For the tires, pump them up to about 50 psi to prevent flat spots.
I agree. Do not leave 1/2 full. Add a bottle of Seafoam (my favorite) and top the tank off. Drive it so the mixture gets in the entire fuel system. Also make sure you drive the car to full operating temperature before parking it for good. This means 10+ miles. DO NOT HAVE SOME ONE RUN THE ENGINE FOR A COUPLE MINUTES ONCE IN A WHILE. This is bad since it does NOT heat up the entire engine (oil mainly). Just let it sit.
I agree with terry here, as I noted in my previous post.
I did not however use Satbil in the fuelk tank, as modern fuels, and the dry climent here would render that moot.
I did place aprox 50 lbs pressure in the tires to prevent flat spots.
After 10+ months though I connected the Battery (OEM) and it cranked up just fine.
I did however have some software reser by the dealer as I too had my battery go flat after aprox 3 months due to a drain from the CD Changer that was a known BMW defect.
Still running that same battery, at almost 4 year, and for the desert here, that is quite uncommon.
I have disconnected the + terminal under the hood but some electronics are still working in the car. Is this normal? Will my battery drain even with the + terminal bolt off and the hot wire not connected?
Today I bought a bottle of fuel stabilizer and added it to a 3/4 full tank and then filled the last 1/4 tank full with premium 97 octane fuel. I then pumped the 19" michelens up to 50psi and drove home from the gas station. The windows are left open a crack and the car cover is on it. I bought a trickle or pulse charger and attached it under the hood to the + terminal. So am I good now till April?
Today I bought a bottle of fuel stabilizer and added it to a 3/4 full tank and then filled the last 1/4 tank full with premium 97 octane fuel. I then pumped the 19" michelens up to 50psi and drove home from the gas station. The windows are left open a crack and the car cover is on it. I bought a trickle or pulse charger and attached it under the hood to the + terminal. So am I good now till April?
Should be good. Best is to park it when it's been driven fully wamred up (oil+ water) and then some so all condensation is out of the engine/exhaust. I think you're good. The battery definitely will croak without the tender. Mine was already gone after 6 weeks.
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