After a previous discussion in this newsgroup, I've tried to start and drive my car at least once every two weeks during my Miata's first winter. (It spends its idle moments in a garage that rarely gets colder than 38F.) Last time I tried to start the car, it had been two weeks and I was forced to jump start it. My local Mazda dealer checked the battery and charging system today and told me all is fine.
The mechanic told me the Miata comes with such a small battery, that it cannot go two weeks without driving or charging the battery. He suggested I start it up every two days or so and either drive it or let it run for about
30 minutes. In the alternative, he said I could use a trickle charger and keep it charging between less frequent drives. I have an old mortorcycle battery 12V trickle charger that puts out 0.5 amps which he said should do the trick.Do you who live in cold climes and drive your Miata infrequently over the winter have the same battery issue? Is a 6-month old Miata battery really only able to hold an adequate charge for a few days to a week at a time at most? Should I keep spare AA cells in the glove box for emergency starts? :)
Alan '03 SE