ClimbTheHill

I have been car lite for a little more than a year now. I typically use the car once every week or two when I have to go to the suburbs.

How do you maintain your car's battery with such infrequent use? My car battery needs to be replaced and it's only about 3.5 years old.

I know it's weird to ask a car maintenance question in a Car-Free Forum, but I figured someone here would have advice on this.

Thanks

Ira B

Anytime I let a motor vehicle sit for more than a few days I disconnect the negative battery cable from the battery although on newer vehicles this may cause problems and you should consult the manual first.

gerv 

I was of the opinion that if you ran it once a week and drove it for > 5 miles, your battery should be of no concern and below link agrees with my theory.

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...2105209AAFKo9V

3.5 years on a battery does seem a little low... there may be other issues, perhaps just a freak dead cell.

bragi

Maybe it's just a bad battery? I drive my car maybe once or twice a month, and the battery seems fine.

Robert Foster

If you have a place like Harbor Freight or Pep Boys get a float charger. It connects to the battery and keeps the battery charged 100 percent. It doesn't come on unless it needs to and it shuts off charging when the battery is fully charged. About 10 bucks and on sale even less.

with a clock and all of the computer things in the car a battery will go flat in a few weeks if you don't run it once in a while. A float charger solves this problem. My RV tow vehicle sits for months sometimes unless I need to go to home depot or the garden center. I plug it into the float charger with the battery connected, works fine.

My wife uses the car about once a week and I tend to drive it on Sunday so it doesn't have the same problem.

Malloric

Sell it, join a car share. Zip cars is the largest and most convenient imo, but there are smaller cheaper options in some markets. I don't know, the big nail in the coffin for me was parking. Parking the damn car was $200, and that was for an unreserved spot six blocks from my apartment. The reserved spots in the garage across the street was $400. With a waiting list. Downtown Seattle is absolute awful for parking though. Unplugging the battery is going to reset the ECU, it's an option but not the best. If you're in a house, hook up a battery tender, but that's not really an option in a public parking garage or street parking.

wahoonc

Float charger, or drive it around the block once every couple of weeks. FWIW I took my dually truck out for a 10 mile run yesterday, first time it has moved in a couple of months. Getting ready to sell that one and buy a Bike Friday NWT. Lose some carrying capacity though

Aaron

dynodonn 

I will warm up and drive my vehicle a short distance every so often, I try to do it at least twice a month, but time just seems to slip by, and sometimes two or three months will go by before I realize it.

wahoonc

Depends on where you live...I am over 70 miles to the nearest ZipCar location helluva ride or walk. I would have to depend on someone like Enterprise and from previous experience you better reserve early or you will be SOL and not driving!

Aaron

TuckertonRR

Another issue with infrequent car use (once a week or less) is that the gas gets stale. The gasoline sold today gets "old" after about a month or two, and can make the cars' engine not work as well as it could. Combine that with the 5 - 10 % ethanol (alcohol) that is in most gasolines sold in the USA and it will slowly rot out your gas tank, and rubber gaskets/seals etc as well. Use a gas treatment thats all isopropyl alcohol (the ethanol in the gas is a different type of alcohol) once every six months or so as well. Also let the car warm up for 2-3 minutes before using it, most engines run better if they have a warm up period.

gerv 

I don't know if that would work for the OP, but at some point you have to wonder why you are keeping a car around so you can start it up every so often... Perhaps that's a down-the-road decision... so to speak.

Roody

I don't know about the OP, but I think sometimes this reflects a fear of not having a car, or no confidence that one can handle crisis situations without one. Or maybe sometimes it has to do with social pressure. It's more acceptable in some circles to say, "I have a car but I don't use it much," rather than say "I don't have a car."

gerv 

Social pressure is there... yes... but many people have never lived -- as children or adults -- in a household without a vehicle. Some of us have peers or family members who have lived without a car, but for a large majority, there's always been a vehicle around.

So, letting go is a bit difficult. It's foreign territory....actually, I confess to having a tinge of this sentiment myself.

ClimbTheHill

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I am most curious about checking out a float charger.

In response to the above, I don't have any emotional hangups about letting my car go, and as I use the car less and less, it becomes less cost effective to own it. I look forward to when I can be rid of it, but living it Atlanta there are many places that are not practical to get to without a car.

For instance, my long-time girlfriend lives in the suburbs (basically car free) so it would be very difficult to get up there on weekends without a car. Also it is nice for one of us to have a car for occasional weekend trips out of the city. Zip Cars are a pain around here because there is too much demand and you have to reserve well ahead of time. Also Zip Car isn't any cheaper to use than my car (car already paid off, insurance very low, excellent gas mileage, parking $20 per year).

One day, when I finally finish school, I will move out of Atlanta to a spot where I can finally go 100% car free. I just spent the last 4 days in Portland, OR. If I lived in Portland, there is no way I would have a car. That city is great.

AdamDZ

3.5 years is a lot for a battery. I replace mine every 2 years and I have no problems if the car isn't used for even couple of weeks in Winter. Disconnecting the battery disables the car alarm, resets the clock and my stereo settings Although my wife drives at least once a week to do laundry and food shopping.

memnoch_proxy

I still keep a battery charging diagram in my wallet and charger cables under the seat.

AdamDZ

I bought one of those heavy duty rechargeable power sources, I forgot the brand, it was under $200. There was a time I notoriously kept forgetting to turn the lights off... It's rated for V8 truck engines. It's got enough juice to jumpstart my minivan several times per single charge. I keep it charged up at home and I also take it along for longer trips. It holds charge for several months.

wahoonc

Depends on the battery. I have several that are rated for 5 years of use, they aren't the bottom of the line cheapos. If buying a battery expect it to last just a bit past it's warranty period.

Aaron

KenSmith

I just replaced the battery on my 2001 ford f-150 - Original battery. 10 years is a great length of time considering the vehicle is not garaged and sits outside in 100 to 0 degree weather. It sits for 3-4 weeks at a time as I work offshore. I agree with several of the posters - a float charger will keep it in good shape.

Ken

USAF1C1X1

Back when I lived in the states and had two cars I would drive them at least once a week. 3.5 years for a battery sounds like it is defective.

ClimbTheHill

I'm installing a new battery today. A cheap one from Wal-Mart. I'll get back to everyone in 3 years with the results. Hopefully, this car will be out of my hands by then.

chucky

I ride 25 miles each way to see my girlfriend 3-4 days a week. Not sure how far it is to your girlfriend's, but I'm just sayin...don't blame it on being "impractical" if the fact is you're just lazy. It gives a bad name to those of us who choose not to have cars...makes people think we're choosing to be impractical and incapable even though nothing could be further from the truth.

Bleep

Drive the car every so often to keep the battery happy and the A/C working properly

ClimbTheHill

I suppose she can ride on my handlebars on the way back.

ClimbTheHill

Ahh automobile A/C, a luxury I have missed for nearly a decade now.