So, long term storage and battery & other questions

A

Aebous

Elite
 Okinawa
So as many of you know, I'm stationed in Okinawa and my vehicle is being stored courtesy of the U.S. Government. Anyways I get an email saying my battery is dead and having to be jumped for the monthly maintenance checks. The vehicle is supposed to be ran for 20-30 minutes and I'm wondering if this is on to allow the battery to maintain a good charge? Also the battery is maybe two-three years old. I can't remember the name now, but shouldn't that still be an OK time for a battery?
Also if the battery is having to be charged/jumped every month is that bad for the vehicle especially considering I still have until October 2016 before my vehicle will come out of storage?


Unrelated question, they rotate/move the car (supposedly) each month to avoid flat spots on the tours, but with me running Michelin pilot sport 2's will that be often enough to avoid flat spots?
Also if they develop flat spots will driving fix it or do I need to make them give me new tires?
 
Depends how long the car is in storage for but it needs to be kept permanently on charger such as a ctek battery conditioner. Letting the battery go flat and recharging over long term will kill it. Also starting the car once a month or every few weeks for half an hour won't do it much good unless taken for a good drive to get the oil and exhaust system up to temp. Get a charger fitted and then forget about the car until it's ready to be used. If your talking storage over a year then I would look at selling to be honest.

Normally with tyres its best to over inflate to minimise flatspotting although I've never had probs storing a car for six months without moving it.

Tim.
 
Yeah I'm pretty sure they aren't allowed to drive it period. I believe they run it 20-30 minutes. Just looking at other horror stories from military people storing the car is really making me want to pull it out of storage and let my Dad maintain it. Not that he's good with cars just that I'd trusty him a lot more than these guys. Oh well they are about to get my foot in their ass one way or another for letting my battery die.
 
I dont understand how battery is empty each time.. it is not full, or then something is discharging it.

When i storage my cars (winter time) long period in our countryside barn, i take negative terminal off from battery. In october when i drive car there i am sure that battery is full. I charge it with ctek or similar charger. After it is full, i take that negative terminal off from battery. In springtime i just put that negative back, and start car. No any problems ever. And we have -30celsius in winter.. and the storage is cold.
So i suggest that you buy ctek or similar charger, connect it and let it be. If that is not problem for storage people. I dont see any benefit to start car once/month. Usually i start car after 5-6 months storage first time, never had any problems.
 
Yeah that's what I'm wondering to. What is causing the battery to discharge. I asked that as well as if the battery is disconnected in between mx
 
The car will draw some power when sat and locked. Even more if the storage people have a secure compound where they leave the cars unlocked, as more electronics are working before the car goes to sleep mode once locked.

Starting the car and leaving to idle isn't an ideal engine speed for the alternator to charge. So the battery may well have been good, but lost more charge when sat, than the 30 min idle topped up.
A few months of low battery charge and insufficient recharge on the alternator will kill it. It is possible to recondition after a few discharge / recharge cycles, but not guaranteed.

Is it cold where the car is stored? The cold will further reduce the battery's performance, so quicker to discharge between periods of use.

The storage place should use a battery tender or disconnect the negative terminal. A 30 min idle isn't ideal for the battery, or the car, as the oil pressure in bigger engines isn't always enough to lube the whole block using just idle speed with cold oil, needs more revs.

I'd leave it with your Dad if you can, and use the forum to set better storage conditions than that company are offering.
 
When we purchased our E89 we didn't drive much but over the first Christmas we left it in the garage the car was locked for two weeks , when we came To use it again the auto cut out stopped working it showed up on the instrument panel , we took it to ryebrooks who checked it out , they said due to all the electronics the car shuts down some systems when the batt charge is low,the service man said we should either use the car far more or buy a batt conditioner , he gave me a photocopy of the BMW version and guess what it was a CTEK with a BMW badge on it , I ordered a ctek that day , now when we leave the car there is no problem the ctek is attached .:thumbsup:
 
My M135i has been hooked up to a Ctek since last October, theyre a life saver for batteries. A car battery doesn't like not being used or sitting in a cold environment without being actively charged. I'm always amazed when people wonder why their car is dead when its been left standing for a few weeks or months.

I remember when I used to overwinter my MINI Cooper S without using a charger the most I could leave it was 3 weeks tops and it would only just crank the engine over and usually the electrics would play up with the rev and speedo needles vibrating lol. It just became a pain starting it just to put some charge back in so secumed to a charger, hook up and forget :)

Tim.
 
Thanks guys for all the info. The car is in the states, south Carolina to be exact. I believe it is humid there. I have to look into whether or not the USAF will still ship it if I pull it out early. I'm thinking they probably won't.
 
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