How long before battery goes flat when parked .

[Dealkent]

I spend the winters in Spain and up until now I have taken my car with me to Costa Del Sol . This year we are leaving it behind , sadly .  My previous Lexus IS300 h was left in Spain due to pandemic And the starter Battery went flat after 2 months I think . If I leave the NX300h in Uk , how long will Battery last ? . Would it help if I get a neighbour to start it up and maybe let it run for a while ? . Any info and advice would be appreciated. 

Edited August 11, 2022 by Dealkent
Misspelled

[LenT]

6 hours ago, Dealkent said:

Would it help if I get a neighbour to start it up and maybe let it run for a while ? 

The problem there, Howard, is that it takes quite a few minutes at a fast tick over - or several miles driving - to compensate for the initial current consumed by starting!  You could end up with a nett loss in terms of Battery voltage.

You don’t say where your car is stored.  If it’s in a garage, say, I’d go for a good quality trickle charger, such as a CTEK, which cannot overcharge the Battery.

If left outside, then investigate the various solar panel chargers that can be placed inside the car.  There have been threads discussing them quite recently.

Incidentally, if possible, leave the parking brake off.  Chock the wheels if necessary.  In fact, you might care to check the AA website which has advice on preparing cars for extended periods of non-use. 

https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice/laying-up

[Dealkent]

15 hours ago, LenT said:

The problem there, Howard, is that it takes quite a few minutes at a fast tick over - or several miles driving - to compensate for the initial current consumed by starting!  You could end up with a nett loss in terms of battery voltage.

You don’t say where your car is stored.  If it’s in a garage, say, I’d go for a good quality trickle charger, such as a CTEK, which cannot overcharge the battery.

If left outside, then investigate the various solar panel chargers that can be placed inside the car.  There have been threads discussing them quite recently.

Incidentally, if possible, leave the parking brake off.  Chock the wheels if necessary.  In fact, you might care to check the AA website which has advice on preparing cars for extended periods of non-use. 

https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice/laying-up

Thank you so much , interesting information. It will be parked outside but in front of a garage which has power sockets. I will have to investigate a trickle charge . Never heard of doing this with solar panels , inside the car ? . Will have to look online and see what is available and then come back here for more help ! . Cheers . 

[Marlinleg]

CTEK Intelligent charger every time I had a Honda Gold-wing on charge for 6 months just clip on to Battery you can leave it and forget if

[Harrier Man]

I would normally agree with the suggestion to leave the parking brake off if leaving the car for an extended period (LenT) but p225 of the manual reads, "If the vehicle is parked with the shift position in P but the parking brake is not set, the vehicle may start to move, possibly leading to an accident". I would still suggest leaving the parking brake off but I would amend LenT's advice to, "Always chock the vehicle".

I also note p225 reads that the parking brake cannot be applied if the 12v Battery is discharged. I assume and hope for safety reasons the parking brake wouldn't gradually release as the 12v slowly discharged but it is conceivable that you could return from holiday to find that the parking brake won't release until it has sufficient charge. A good reason to adopt a system that keeps that 12v Battery charged.

Can anyone else add words of wisdom or reassurances to my thinking?

[NemesisUK]

Surely with the transmission in P the parking pawl will be engaged and so the car cannot move. There may be a very small amount of movement as the pawl engages the toothed cog but it would be inches at the most.

I think the handbook means if one moves from P to D or R and the parking brake isn't applied the car could move?

[LenT]

3 hours ago, Marlinleg said:

CTEK Intelligent charger every time I had a Honda Gold-wing on charge for 6 months just clip on to battery you can leave it and forget if

To make life even easier, CTEK can supply Indicator leads which connect permanently to the Battery posts and the charger plugs into a socket at the end of the lead.

It also features an LED traffic light array.  This provides an indication of the Battery charge level at a glance.  I fitted them to both our cars and they make Battery connection safer and more reliable.  They come in two sizes.

https://www.ctek.com/storage/3484B6096CF0BB92405820A196B021D18AA23B18CF21235F7B3B60C1ED9DFDFA/00000000000000000000000000017578/pdf/media/70233015d6e542be9857395095ee26d5/CONNECT_EYELET_M8-productsheet-low-UK-EN.pdf

[Harrier Man]

43 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

Surely with the transmission in P the parking pawl will be engaged and so the car cannot move. There may be a very small amount of movement as the pawl engages the toothed cog but it would be inches at the most.

I think the handbook means if one moves from P to D or R and the parking brake isn't applied the car could move?

I agree Peter and the Weber University video that describes the RAV4 Hybrid transaxle clearly shows the parking pawl that engages with the ring gear when the vehicle is put in park (approx 14mins into the video). Why Lexus therefore makes the statement I quoted, I don't know but it remains their documented advice. As it is easy to chock wheels, it seems sensible to follow the advice.

[Dealkent]

On 8/14/2022 at 7:56 PM, LenT said:

To make life even easier, CTEK can supply Indicator leads which connect permanently to the battery posts and the charger plugs into a socket at the end of the lead.

It also features an LED traffic light array.  This provides an indication of the battery charge level at a glance.  I fitted them to both our cars and they make battery connection safer and more reliable.  They come in two sizes.

https://www.ctek.com/storage/3484B6096CF0BB92405820A196B021D18AA23B18CF21235F7B3B60C1ED9DFDFA/00000000000000000000000000017578/pdf/media/70233015d6e542be9857395095ee26d5/CONNECT_EYELET_M8-productsheet-low-UK-EN.pdf

Hi Len , which one of these CTEK accessories should I buy as a trickle charger ? 

[LenT]

 

3 hours ago, Dealkent said:

Hi Len , which one of these CTEK accessories should I buy as a trickle charger ? 

Well it’s always easy to spend someone else’s money, so I thought I’d show you what I bought.  It’s called the MKS 5.0 TEST&CHARGE and it comes with a set of bulldog connectors and a set of terminal connectors.  Just be aware that the terminal connectors can come in two sizes - it’s possible the kit comes with both!

The rubber protector was an extra because I’m moving it from car to car with plenty of opportunities to drop it.  You won’t be.  In any case, it’s a pretty rugged bit of kit.

I also got the ‘traffic light’ connectors so that I could simply pop the bonnets of our two cars and get a fair indication of the Battery state at a glance.  Again, you’re not using it that way - or at least, not yet.

So I would suggest getting the model that best suits your budget and see how you get on with that.  Frankly, you’ll not do much better - and you could do a lot worse.

Visit the CTEK website for the details. I hope the attached pictures make it all clearer.

[Herbie]

On 8/12/2022 at 5:50 AM, LenT said:

The problem there, Howard, is that it takes quite a few minutes at a fast tick over - or several miles driving - to compensate for the initial current consumed by starting!  You could end up with a nett loss in terms of battery voltage.

That doesn't really apply to the hybrids because the 12V Battery does very important work but not a lot of it.

A conventional starter motor will draw upwards of 300A for as long as it takes to fire the engine, whereas a hybrid only draws 20A or so for a second or two and that's it, hybrid system is in READY mode..

[Barry14UK]

For such an extended period I think the the CTEK, (I have the one pictured above), is the best option.  Set the correct mode for your Battery and it's all done automatically for you charge adjusting as appropriately as smart charger left connected.  A neighbour may forget and a solar panel on the dash connected to the OBD depending on light conditions may not sufficiently top up the 12v Battery.

I also favour chocking rear wheels so strain is not permanently on parking pawl with car on slope parking brake off.  I read recently of an RX that had been left in a garage for some time and the  parking brake had seized on.  Plastic sheet was put down behind rear wheels and it was dragged out backwards.  

[LenT]

2 hours ago, Herbie said:

That doesn't really apply to the hybrids because the 12V battery does very important work but not a lot of it.

A conventional starter motor will draw upwards of 300A for as long as it takes to fire the engine, whereas a hybrid only draws 20A or so for a second or two and that's it, hybrid system is in READY mode..

You are, of course, quite right about that Herbie.  I had overlooked the fact that it was a hybrid.  This is due to:

a) I don’t have a hybrid.

b) I have no plans ever to get a hybrid.  😊