sampelligrino

Hey guys,

Posting this on behalf of my old man who has his '97 993 C2. No issues with the car, always maintained and up to date with service at his local dealership

He's going to travel for just about the entire month of December, and his 993 will be sitting in his parking garage in SF during that time. He's a bit worried that when he returns the car won't start, but he's never had any battery issues to date. Car has been left alone for about 2 weeks with no issues, but not a full month

He said he could have someone at his apartment complex start the car and drive it around the garage from time to time but I'm worried that will do more harm than good to the battery...another option would be to disconnect the battery fully? Or just leave the car and he shouldn't be worried/see what happens?

LexVan

Just leave it. A healthy battery can last a month. A battery maintainer would be ideal. When he comes back, have him pull the fuel relay, crank the car, replace the relay, and then fire the engine. Store the car locked. Have him put the keys in a safe & secure spot.

If he wants to get crazy, pump up the tires to about 50-55 PSI, and throw in some StaBil at 1 ounce per 2.5 gallons fuel to a full tank. It would be nice if the oil is fresh......<1,000 miles and < 1 year old.

pp000830

Slap it on a trickle charger and leave town.

sampelligrino

He's not as OCD as we are (lol), a bit old fashioned that so long as it just starts and runs in a month he'll be happy. You think pulling the fuel relay is necessary? I'd need to coach him to do that

I wish it was an option, no tappable power/outlets near his parking stall since he's in an apartment building (this was my first thought)

Allen

Obviously, the condition of the battery will determine if it will last a month or not...a good battery should easily last a month. Pulling the relay before cranking is the kind of thing that some we Rennlisters might do...but completely not necessary for the average person.

sampelligrino

I want to say I had the battery replaced last year when I first got the car for him, but memory can be faulty

How simple/obvious is it to do LexVan's recommendation of 1) pull fuel relay, 2) crank car, 3) put relay back, 4) start car (aka where is the fuel relay)?

Thanks again for the tips guys

LexVan

You can also save your pops about $100-200 in beer money by calling the insurance company and putting the coverage on hold for collision coverage.

goofballdeluxe

Then watch, someone will back out of their space and hit his car and leave without putting a note on the car

mike cap

At the most for a month I would disconnect the battery - in case it's older than you think and not up to par. Then no worries and literally a five minute job. Draw is about 50 ma with anti-theft on and enough to drain down a marginal battery after a month. I've had it happen to me twice like that with an older battery - car would crank slow but not enough to fire.

A maintainer is best but I assume he has no 120 vac access.

Railmaster.

A month? Thats more than four full weeks! I would have the car on a flatbed and and let a garage change all fluids before starting it!
And remember that rubber ages too!

Serious answear: Pull the ground strap on the battery and the battery will last a month.

LexVan

Wouldn't that be comp coverage? It's not collission coverage (the more $$ part of the policy) since he's not driving the car. It would basically be considered vandalism, right?

fullbooker

Should be fine.
If car won't start when he returns, get a jump or use one of those portable battery devices to start it.

Churchill

All I would do is disconnect the battery. 993's drain batteries when they sit. Open trunk, lift up carpet flap, 13mm socket on the negative terminal, and done. Takes 2 mins.

rrc715

LexVan

Some people are not reading along.