PSA - Don't use a Battery Tender Jr. on your Z

The BlueMax

I was checking the water level 2yrs ago in the summer & one cell was low & you could see some deterioration occuring but I bought myself some more time by not only using distilled water but by adding a little more acid with it. It has lasted this long but I would be surprised if I got another year out of the factory battery.

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The Blue Max

Verda7junior

Is anyone using the extended storage switch in the fuse block? Nissan expects the car to be stored winters in colder climates and knows that it has a parasitic drain during extended storage and provided an extended storage switch to stop the drain. You just pull out the switch and it cuts power to a few electronic control modules to reduce the current drain. It is actually just a fuse with a big plastic case around it with locking tabs on the side. It's on pages 8-24 & 8-25 of my 2012 owners manual.

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Red 2012 370Z Base Sport 7AT, ExoticSpeed CBE, 13.0@109(sold) Q50RS400AWD 12.2@116 JB1 CBE

kenchan

naw, troyz's just being troyz.

my car hibernates 4months sometimes up to 5-6months depending on weather. no issue. 40psi+ and on flatstoppers.

SouthArk370Z

I'm inclined to believe that you have a bad charger. I'm not sure exactly what the parasitic load is but it's not that much and being a sports car has nothing to do with the situation.

How did you test it? I would use two meters - one measuring volts (with and without the charger) and the other measuring current.

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Vaughanabe13

It's possible the charger is bad, however I followed the procedures given to me by the manufacturer and the charger is supposedly fine. I also used the same charger on my other car (97 maxima) and it was working fine and the light changed to solid green after a couple days (and I verified the battery voltage on the maxima had increased). So I really think it would be a waste of time to try another BTJr when it's a substantial annoyance to drive 4 hours just to get access to the car (round trip).

And yes, modern cars these days have lots of processors and computers that are drawing power when the car is off. It's entirely plausible the quiescent draw of these cars is higher than typical. On the phone they told me flat out that the Jr. would not work properly on this car, so regardless of whether or not I buy the Plus version I'm not just going to ignore what the manufacturer says about their own product.

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2009 Nissan 370Z Touring, w/sport, 6MT, chicane yellow/black.

Troyz

I would think it might be better to drive them around (if possible) to keep the tires round and the gaskets good at least once every 6 weeks even if you can't get out of 2nd gear.

Chuck33079

Plenty of people in this very thread seem to disagree.

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2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

kenchan

kenchan

you have to do it in reverse for full effect. otherwise, tires dont round completely going forward in the cold.

Jasonle

I've been using mine for 2 years and nothing wrong with mine so far.

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2009 Nissan 370z/2003 Honda Soccer Van
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nismosis

My town has been spreading salt like it's going out of style, just at the threat of flurries, so the Z is parked and covered for the winter. I have my BT Jr. on my Seadoo battery right now, but I'll swap them and see if I can get the green blinking light instead of the constant green light on my regular BT (not sure if it's the Plus or not). Interesting topic and thanks for sharing the manufacturer's recommendation.

Jasonle

^ I agree with Kenchan. I have 2 Battery Tender JR I bought from Amazon one for my Z and the other for my Supra and both are doing fine on it....so far.

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2009 Nissan 370z/2003 Honda Soccer Van
Shineauto Amuse Body Kit/UAM Fenders/Bc Br Coilovers/Topspeed Exhaust/Racing Hart Wheels and More My Sexy Beast

TerribleONE

Have to agree, I have not had any issues with mine. I use one on the Z and my GSXR1000

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Ubetit

My car goes into storage for 5 months without any battery tender on it and it starts right up on the first crank. You have some sort of larger parasitic draw than normal.

Zephon13

I'm about to put my Nismo to sleep for the winter. I figure if I just start her up every month or so and maybe give it a drive around the block I should be ok. Or would a trickle charger be better in this case?