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This post shows how truly little I know about automobiles.
I'm about to garage my smart car for the winter.
My first concern is with the battery. I sort of assume that if I put it in the garage in the beginning of December and don't break it out again until sometime in March, I'll have a dead battery.
My options:
Let it die and just recharge it in the spring. Is this really stupid?
My battery charger will trickle power into the battery and keep it fresh. Smarter? How much power will this use.
And here's where my ignorance comes in -- In either case, since the Battery is under the passenger seat floor, where's the best place to ground it, or should I just go positive to positive and negative to negative?
Finally, is there anything else I should be thinking about (tire inflation/blocks,etc), before I shut it down for the winter.
Garaging the car sounds like a waste to me to, but....
Trickle chargers are completely off when turned off unlike jump-starting a car. Pos to pos, neg to neg is fine. An alternative to letting the battery die is to trickle-charge once a month. It's much healthier for a lead-acid battery to avoid the deep discharge.
You could also disconnect the battery. Self-discharge of lead-acid batteries is slow so you should go through the winter fine. Contact your Smart Car Dealership and they may even be able to outfit you with a battery disconnect so you could do this year after year with less hassle.
If you do a little research you might find excellent pointers for idling a car for long periods of time. Personally, I'd want to take the stress off the tires (car supported in a different manner) and properly deal with any fluids that might become a problem if stagnant for months.
Your car will miss the open road! Treat it right when it comes out of hybernation.
May I ask WHY are you putting your smart car away for the winter????
Sure. I have a one car garage, and a long driveway. During the spring/summer/fall, I have extra parking on the street, but with the snow thang, not really in the winter. So, whichever car is 'back' isn't going to be driven that much.
In the summer/fall, we usually keep our old SUV (>100.000 miles) 'back' in the driveway. The only reason we have it is for snow and ice, to take the kids up to college, and because I couldn't get any decent price for it as a trade in.
In the winter, we keep this car accessable for Ice -- 4 wheel drive is safer IMO.
Soooooooooo, one of our cars is going to get very little use, and I figure that the days of driving with the convertible top down are few and far between until spring comes.
Long and short of it with our other cars, this makes the most sense.
One of the best ways to keep it healthy is to run it. every two weeks or so is good, even if you only get it once a month that would be better than sitting.
The Battery maintainer is a great item. It will not use much at all, they are just a small transformer and are fully automatic, they shut down and only come on to top the battery off.
The one I bought last has a little pigtail that could be installed on the car in an easily accessible location so you could plug and unplug when you want without disturbing the carpet.
All the fluids and all the moving parts love to move. Running the engine helps remove the condensation from the crancase. Even if you start it once a month and don't drive it that will help. if you can move it forward or backward a foot, then the tires have a new place to sit. let it warm up at least until you can feel some heat in the radiator.
Sure. I have a one car garage, and a long driveway. During the spring/summer/fall, I have extra parking on the street, but with the snow thang, not really in the winter. So, whichever car is 'back' isn't going to be driven that much.
In the summer/fall, we usually keep our old SUV (>100.000 miles) 'back' in the driveway. The only reason we have it is for snow and ice, to take the kids up to college, and because I couldn't get any decent price for it as a trade in.
In the winter, we keep this car accessable for Ice -- 4 wheel drive is safer IMO.
Soooooooooo, one of our cars is going to get very little use, and I figure that the days of driving with the convertible top down are few and far between until spring comes.
Long and short of it with our other cars, this makes the most sense.
Ask what people do to put up boats for the season to get a good idea of how to do this right. You are much better off driving the car on a regular basis than "doing it a favor" by putting it away improperly. winter will not harm your top any more than the summer. An inexpensive float charger will keep your battery ready if it sits a few days waiting for roads to clear. Automatic Float Charger - 1.5 Amp - Item - Camping World
just letting it sit will destroy more than using it.
karl
... My first concern is with the battery. I sort of assume that if I put it in the garage in the beginning of December and don't break it out again until sometime in March, I'll have a dead battery.
My options:
Let it die and just recharge it in the spring. Is this really stupid?
My battery charger will trickle power into the battery and keep it fresh. Smarter? How much power will this use.
And here's where my ignorance comes in -- In either case, since the Battery is under the passenger seat floor, where's the best place to ground it, or should I just go positive to positive and negative to negative?
Finally, is there anything else I should be thinking about (tire inflation/blocks,etc), before I shut it down for the winter.
I would keep the battery charged with an electronically self-regulating "smart charger" (has nothing to with smart automobiles). A discharged battery can freeze and will be ruined.
It is always best to ground the negitive side of jumper cables or a charger to some part of the steel frame away from the battery. During charging the battery produces hydrogen, and if the idle car is all closed up, it will be in there somewhere. Best to keep the car open and ventilated.
I would keep the car "alive" with a full battery so from time to time you can go out and have the keys talk to each other. You need not start the car (should not in an enclosed garage); just going through the motions to get to the #2 key position will suffice. I would do an oil change just before laying it up to rid the oiling system of any condensation and contaminants. Likewise I would lay it up with a full tank of gas (with a fuel stabilizer) to keep condensation out. Certainly I would keep the tires inflated. Blocking would be good if practical, but be careful working or moving around it while it is up on blocks.
Last edited by Old smart; 11-21-2008 at 09:39 AM..
Reason: sp.
I agree with Karl and mendo. Fluids like to circulate and keeping the internals of the engine and transmission coated with lubricant is always a better choice than just letting the little thing sit all winter. If you must, Battery Minder, BatteryMinder Battery Chargers $39.90 has their battery minder on sale with $0 shipping, and they are in stock.
Ask what people do to put up boats for the season to get a good idea of how to do this right. You are much better off driving the car on a regular basis than "doing it a favor" by putting it away improperly. winter will not harm your top any more than the summer. An inexpensive float charger will keep your battery ready if it sits a few days waiting for roads to clear. Automatic Float Charger - 1.5 Amp - Item - Camping World
just letting it sit will destroy more than using it.
karl
For long and boring reasons (basically, I didn't need the smart car, but I liked it) -- I have four cars and two drivers. One of them won't get driven much. During the nice weather, it's the SUV (for many obvious reasons) During the winter, we keep the SUV and cars that seat more than 2 in use.
Not optimal, but practically speaking, I know that the car that's 4th back in the diveway just isn't going to be driven.
For long and boring reasons (basically, I didn't need the smart car, but I liked it) -- I have four cars and two drivers. One of them won't get driven much. During the nice weather, it's the SUV (for many obvious reasons) During the winter, we keep the SUV and cars that seat more than 2 in use.
Not optimal, but practically speaking, I know that the car that's 4th back in the diveway just isn't going to be driven.
Ken
You are still better off exercising the car than letting it sit.
You may do as you please of course
karl
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