mr80

I have a 2008 RX-8 (base model) that I bought in California. I'm now in Ontario, Canada. My job takes me on long trips away from home.

I left on a trip in September, and came back for three days in November. While I was away, a friend started the car every other week and ran it for 5-10 minutes. I took no other step/precaution. When I returned, the car didn't start, but the battery was somewhat alive. I push-started it, and ran it for a few minutes. I was only home for three days, and my office is less than a mile away, so I probably drove it for about 20-30 miles before leaving on my second trip.

While I was away, the car was started every other week or so, and my friend said that one time it didn't start up right away but he did manage to start it and drive it around the parking lot. The car was garaged, and the temperature was around freezing most of the time.

I got back yesterday, and the battery was absolutely flat. Doors didn't even unlock remotely. I'm now considering my options.

To get the car running again, what is the best option in terms of battery life and alternator life:
a. Jump-start
b. Buy a battery charger, charge the battery overnight, then plug it in and start.


Once I get it started, do I need to replace the battery? Is it reasonable to expect a battery to hold charge for 6 weeks, when the car is only run for 5 minutes every 2 weeks?



This traveling lifestyle is going to continue for at least a year. I plan to be home for about 3 weeks now, before going away for 6 weeks again.

What is the best option for me going forward?
a. Do nothing, jump start it every time I come back (cheapest)
b. Upgrade the battery to one that can be expected to hold charge for 2 months
c. Don't upgrade battery but buy a battery charger and use it to maintain the battery when I'm away (or recharge it when I come back)
d. Upgrade the battery and use a battery charger


Thanks for any insight

Old Rotor

"d" batteries wear out 3-5 years on a cheapy is what you can expect.

Mazurfer

"d"

mr80

What's "d"? And by "cheapy" do you mean the base model, the battery, all RX-8's??

Mazurfer

You put four choices................"A", "B", "C", or "D"......and we both replied "D".
C'mon man.......it ain't rocket science!


True he should have separated his response a little more, but you should've figured it out!


In terms of a charger, let me go see what I have in the garage as I rather like it and would work for you.

mr80

oh. crap. all this travel and jetlag is making me dumb.

thanks

but... what about starting it today? to charge with the alternator or to charge with a charger, that is the question

Mazurfer

Now, I went and look and I have the Schumaker SC-1200 charger. I'll try to put the pdf file here so you can check it out, but it might be too big to attach.
I like this charger and would do you good. read 12.3 and 12.7 of this manual.


I'll even go this far for ya. Think I got mine at Amazon, but I did just use Nextag to see where cheapest. $29.71 with free shipping, I'd be jumping all over this if I needed one!


http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SC-...ef=pd_sbs_sg_1

mr80

Cool. Thanks a lot, Mazurfer....

AustinY

I have a Schumacker XC103 battery charger and it works well during the winter. If your battery is totally dead then charger will not work. Get a good charger with an automatic volt sensor so it will not over heat or cook your battery when you are gone. This one is about $80 in Wal-mart. You will need to have at least 1 volt in oder to use this type of charger. If the battery is totally dead, you will need to jump start your battery with a portable jump start and then quickly connect the changer back to your battery. The RX8 will not start if the battery is only 60% charged (my battery is about 2 yr old), once the battery has been charged to 95%; switch the charger to engine start mode and the car will start smoothly. Once the battery is fully charged, leave the charger on Maintenance mode when you are gone.

mr80

Thanks for the tip. Does the battery have to be in a garage or something when I'm away? I'm in a condo, and there is no power outlet in my underground garage, and my unit is pretty well sealed up. Is there a risk of Hydrogen release during maintenance or is that only when charging from near-dead?

Also, judging by all of you guys' comments, it seems that I can't really get away with storing my car for 6 weeks without at least trickle-charging or maintaining my battery in some way. Is that correct?

Mazurfer

AustinY, I assumed he knew he needed to get a new battery.
I pretty sure either your suggestion(XC103) or mine has those other capabilities.

Mazurfer

There ya go.....now you f*&^ up the plan!
I don't think I would have it charge up in the condo, just too much risk IMO.
Can't run a good quality extension down to the garage in any way?

Guess you could always completely disconnect the battery(both positive and negative) from the car and do that. You'd have to do the normal resets when you hook it back up though.

mr80

Yeah, condo life is just complicated . Fortunately I'm renting for now, and I've resolved to not buy a condo, or a house with HOA so I can work on my car in the house that I paid for. I'm pretty sure I can't run an extension, but I'll check. So as long as I can get an extension cord down there, I keep the battery attached to the car the whole time, right?

Let's say I can't get the extension cord to the car - in that case, how's this for a plan: when I leave, I just disconnect the terminals and leave the battery in the car. Then, I come back, remove the battery, take it up to my condo, and charge it by the window (or in the balcony), and put it back in the car the next day. The downside is that the battery might discharge completely in the time I'm away. And I'm guessing this isn't good for a car battery.... right?


But whyyyy? . Ok seriously, I understand that this is the general consensus - that my existing battery needs to go. I'm just curious as to why. Did I f**k it up by letting it drain completely? Or did it only drain completely cuz it's f**ked?

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

buy a new deep cycle battery, Sears plantium or Optima Yellow top will do.

jrx13

Depending on how much you want to spend, I've got another idea!

Option "e"
You buy a remote start for your car, one that has voltage sensing. Turn this on from the remote.
It will then start the car for you while your away whenever it senses the voltage going down. You can program the run time to like 10 minutes or more I believe. My remote start (on my truck) has this option. It's a Clifford 50.7x Then your friend doesnt have to come over and keep starting your car for you! Of course if your garage is sealed, this won't work too well!

AustinY

My battery was drained completely a few days ago and it was very very cold. I jumped start the battery with a portable jump start. Then reconnected it to the charger. Remember you need to have some volts left in your battery in oder to use the charger. The whole process took less than 1hr with turbo charge mode and my RX8 was running again. But I think I will get a new battery soon.

For winter storage, I know some people just remove the battery and hook it up to a float charger in a warmer place.

Btw, fill your gas tank before you leave because moisture is bad too.