Z storage and maintenance during Winter

b15

Thats odd. I still have my oem battery and during the summer there's times where I dont drive it for 2-3weeks and it still starts right up.

Do you have any aftermarket electronics? Maybe your battery is going bad?

rebe945

I finally read the manual ( funny huh?) and it says to disconnect the negative terminal on the battery for storage over 30 days to prevent battery discharge.

rebe945

Its been so shity here this winter . Anyways, I change the oil right after putting her back on the road , if it helps or not, next year i will use a battery trickle. Recently it didnt start well when very cold so I ran it 35 min in nuetral( any difference on that) and moved her out back and forth to roll the tires. Next yr, maybe differnt.

MacCool

Disconnecting the battery for storage is an unnecessary inconvenience, window reprogramming, radio etc, if you just hook it up to a $40 Battery Tender (maintainer, float charger...whatever, but not a trickle charger).

They recommend disconnecting in order to prevent parasitic drain. If it's on a float charger, that doesn't matter.

critical

what's this thing winter you speak of?

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blackcherry20

except for the dryer sheets...we live in the country and mice can wreak havoc so I do use dryer sheets.

Started up and drove mine yesterday for the first time since 11/1/13. No issues.

Hubby is a mech. He voiced same condensation concerns so mine sits for months w/o being started.

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forza370z

Yea I have aftermarket sound system wired up with the capacitor. But because my battery dies very often during the winter time, might as well my battery is going bad.

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TheGreatOne

Hoping to take mine out of storage in 2 weeks...

It sits the whole time, I used to just disconnect the battery but last 2 years, but using a trickle charger. Oil change as soon as I take her out.

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MacCool

Trickle chargers can be dangerous. Since it doesn't shut down, you can overcharge the battery and boil off the electrolyte. A float charger or battery maintainer like a Battery Tender monitors the charge state and shuts down when charged. You can leave it on all winter without fear of damaging the battery.

Codename067

Sorry, I can not comment on this.

I live Los Angeles.

xD

MacCool

No need to apologize. You probably can't help it.

kenchan

it's like a big kick in the ballz.

SouthArk370Z

You'll be better of not starting the engine at all than running it for a few minutes. If you do start it, let it get up to operating temp (oil 140-180F) and then let it run for 5-10 minutes. Your procedure is probably OK but may be a little on the short side if ambient temp is very cold - go by the oil temp gauge.

How often your should crank the car up, if at all, is open to debate and will depend on conditions in the storage area. If the humidity is low and temperature swings are small (so the engine doesn't "breathe"), you can probably go 3-4 months with very little condensation. High humidity with large temperature swings will mean more condensation.

As others have mentioned, you're probably not going to get the exhaust warm enough to get rid of excess moisture (the combustion process is constantly making water which will condense after you turn the motor off so it's impossible to get rid of all the water in the exhaust pipes) but it's better than having water in the oil and most exhaust parts are designed to be corrosion-resistant.

As for the battery, I highly recommend that you use a float charger if you won't be starting the car every 3-4 weeks or so. They are cheap, easy to use, and will save all the stored data in the ECU/radio/&c.

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jlo370z

full tank with stabil, battery tender NO starts.. hasnt started since 10/31 and im not happy about that LOL

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Mark1010

Full tank, battery tender without a start since 12/02 and plan to take her out next weekend.