The sort of scum that look for unoccupied houses to burgle would not operate in any one area for weeks; they would only be in one area for a couple of days.
Seeing the same car outside a house for two or three consecutive days wouldn't attract their attention, but anything out of the ordinary would make them think why.
Chris
Do they work through glass OK then? I'm pretty sure the output would be seriously reduced, depending on the type of glass it has.
Sound commonsense from Mr C as ever ;-)
Chris
I know for a fact at least some modern BMWs log the time since the last start and if it's more than what they say (three weeks, IIRC) won't replace the battery under warranty.
What I really wanted to know is if I can just disconnect the battery. The end result will be the same if left anyway. But I'm not sure about if it can be locked up afterwards.
If they're looking that closely then they'll just steal the radio anyway.
A good long hot run is ideal before a lay up. You don't want any acidic water in the exhaust or condensing into the sump. Then wash and wax, vac inside, tyres pumped up to 40psi, squirt of WD40 on both sides of the discs, oily rag up the exhaust, no application of the handbrake! Battery on trickle charge a week before he returns, or use a GOOD battery maintenance charger - lots of them will overcharge.
A cover or a location where tree sap or bird droppings won't be a problem would be best. There is no need to bother starting it on a regular basis, it rots the exhaust, deposits crap in the oil and achieves nothing. Roll the car forward half a rev now and then if you get the chance and don't forget to reset the tyre pressures. Be aware of a sticking clutch on restart and poor braking action for the first few times. The clutch sticking shouldn't be a problem if the car is fully up to temp when driven before the lay up, drive it round the block in the pissing rain and it might be!
Anything longer than a few months, or a classic, needs much more attention. I've been laying a classic up overwinter for 25 years or so and the routine, running to around 80 points is now honed to near perfection by feedback such that it used by an increasing number of owners. It gets an MOT, followed by a full clean outside, underneath with a pressure washer and inside, and then a full service, with brake pads retracted and a whole host of other protective things with wax and silicone spray/grease over the space of two lazy 5 hour days before it goes into the dehumidified garage. I know I can return to the car 6 months later, or in one case a few years back 18 months later and it will be on the road in less than 30 mins, start on the button and run all through the summer without missing a beat - others with the same model will piss about fiddling with things every weekend during the summer when they could be driving.
Perhaps you missed the part that it will be parked in the street? Also absolutely none of this is needed for a new car left for three months in the summer. It's only the battery that's going to be the problem.
Nedavno Mrcheerful napisa:
I have a car ('88 Audi 100 2.3E) that I do not use, and I start it up once every month for a half an hour or so.
Should I not do that? What is the best (low budget) way for keeping the car unused for a couple of years?
As others have said prep it (good run with minimal electrics on to get everything fully to temp and charge the battery a bit), see if you can disable the alarm or ultrasonic sensors and then park it up all locked up (i.e. double locked so the deadlocks kick in, if it has them?). If the battery is flat when they get back to it give it a jump start and tell them to take it on a long run.
Leaving any kind of charger attached inside the car is an invitation for the local scrotes to investigate :)
If you/they are are worried then rather than running the engine every couple of weeks or weekly why not just plug in one of those rechargeable booster battery's (the ones that plug into the cigarette socket) at that frequency just to keep the battery topped up? They might need it to start the car in future if this is going to become a regular occurrence.
if the storage is dry and airy then the engine will not suffer till many years have passed. starting it up puts lots of condensation and unburnt fuel into the engine which leads to rusting of the bores, valve stems etc. so if you start it every few weeks you are just encouraging more damage.
I'd be inclined to get a gizmo such as this:
Would beat farcked radio code and software plus the car would still be alarmed.
Agreed. We have an old A35 which is rarely used but quality of fuel has not been a problem.
Nedavno Mrcheerful napisa:
The car is outside under the tin roof (on four poles). So whatever humidity is outside... But it is not as humid here as it probably is in the UK.
0.03Amps * 24 hours * 90 days = 64.8Ah = Deep discharge = Battery ruined => Sued for bad advice.
Hmm. 'Up to 170mA in daylight'. If that is a max it actually means in bright direct sunlight. And of course nothing at night. It may even
*discharge* the battery when the light level gets too low.
Indeed. A car battery left *fully* discharged for even a short while won't be recharged *ever* by the car charging system so will need either a specialist charger to *try* and get it going again (over several days) or replacement.
If that were truly the case then it's no different from just using the car for short journeys.
If I'm not using the SD1 and don't want to lose it's space outside my house I start it once a week and run it at a fast idle until it's reached full temp. Which takes a while. Then at least double that time. Bit boring but doesn't seem to have done it any harm. But what you mustn't do is just stop it long before the oil has reached working temperature. But this applies to driving a car too if you want it to last.
'Only' is IMHO an understatement. If you have a handbrake that uses pads rather than shoes, and the handbrake is left on, and it rains, like it does in some major cities in the UK for around 200 days a year then the pad material will absorb moisture. Not a problem in semi-regular use where there is some heat cycling, but leave it there for a few weeks in close contact with the disc and the pad can often remain adhered to the disc face, preventing proper release regardless of what has been engineered into the mechanism in the way of a spring or hydraulic seal geometry. The first time you drive off there is reasonable chance that you'll rip friction material off the face of the pad.
One week is enough for some cars to experience some stiction in handbrake pads, three months almost guarantees it.
Preventing flat spots on the tyres by overinflating them and rolling the car on a monthly basis makes a huge difference to wheel balance when you commence using the car again although it's more of a problem in cold conditions. It can take many miles for any 'set' the carcass has taken to recover. In that time you'll have shaken fillings loose, and sometimes bits of trim, and stirred up crap in the fuel tank etc.
No it won't go off, as far as petrol is concerned 'summer fuel' lasts considerably longer than 'winter fuel' before it goes stale.
But, if the tank really is 'filled up' ...then it gets interesting
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