03-25-2019, 11:01 AM | #1 |
LFX to LT1
Drives: 2017 Camaro Fifty 2SS M6 Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Anne Arundel county, MD
Posts: 234
|
Battery Life
I don't drive my Camaro over the winter. This past year was the third winter it has hibernated; but my new living arrangements as of December 1st had no provisions for a garage. I kept it under a cover directly in front of my townhouse.
Had to hook it up to my battery tender for a day (using a long extension cord designed for outdoor use) in order to start it up. I took it out for a 20 minute spin yesterday, reinflated the tires, parked it and hooked it back up to the battery tender, as the charge on it had not reached 80% yet. Question. Once the battery is charged adequately, will it be enough to run the car all summer? Should I invest in the new battery? The battery never fully discharged, as the accessories worked and my personalized settings never returned to default. Thanks in advance for the input.
__________________
2013 Rally Yellow 1LT - Traded
2017 Camaro Fifty 2SS; Sequence #270 - Sunroof/Nav/NPP/MRC/6speed |
03-25-2019, 11:05 AM | #2 |
Rayvan
Drives: 2018 1SS1LE, Silver Ice Metallic Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 275
|
Battery will survive. No worries.
|
03-25-2019, 06:03 PM | #3 |
Drives: 2017 HBM 2LT RS Convertible V6 A8 Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: NJ
Posts: 654
|
Either a battery tender or just driving are meant to maintain a charged battery, and either one will not do as good a job as a dedicated battery charger at restoring a somewhat depleated battery. Depending on the battery's condition it may take hours to days to get it charged by the tender or just driving. If possible you might want to leave the tender on for a few days, take a long trip, or hook up a smart charger that monitors state of charge during the cycle. Taking only short trips may continue to deplete a battery that's not fully charged to start.
One way to check battery condition is with a volt meter. Do not check the battery voltage unless the car has not been running for at least 8 to 12 hours. Recent charging will result in voltage readings higher than actual due to what's called surface charge. This charge dissipates after several hours. A good, rested battery will read about 12.6 volts ( or more) when fully charged. A reading of 12.1 volts is estimated to be about 50% charged. If you don't read at least 12.5 V, charge the battery and check again. You battery may have a problem if you can't get it to read 12.6 rested after a full charge. |
|
|
Post Reply
|
Thread Tools | |
|
|