Do any of you ever put your GLK away for several months? With the arrival of the nice weather, I'm thinking of putting the GLK away and getting out the other car.

The dealer recommends putting it on a battery tender if it will sit for over 1 month, but claims it can sit for several months without running down the battery.

My GLK is a 2015 with the stop-start system, so it has a 2nd battery. The dealer seemed unsure if a battery tender hooked up to the main battery will keep the 2nd one charged.

 

Ctek makes the battery charger that many companies call their own, and charge at least double for. Rolls Royce of course charges maybe 10x more. They have different models, call them to get the right one. The second battery will charge from the exposed terminals . All batteries last longer if kept at the proper voltage. Sulfation occurs when voltage drops, but AGM handle this better. Yes keep it charged.

 

I have a battery tender, it is on the other car now. There was some uncertainty that it would keep both batteries charged.

I am surprised that with all the electronics in the car that it can sit for so long without discharging the battery.

 

I think the dealer is selling the no maintenance thing. Damage to batteries from low voltage and sulfation happens just below full charge, Way before the battery is to low to start your car. Jay Lenos garage did a review of the ctek, the review sold me on ctek vs other brands.

 

The second battery only charges through the battery relay in the rear of the GLK, next to the rear battery. The battery relay only closes and connects the rear battery after a combination of battery voltages and time. So, hooking a battery tender to the main battery won't charge the rear battery if the car is off. You definitely need to keep the main battery up during long storage periods and monitor the rear battery as well.

If you hang a voltmeter on the battery that isn't being charged and alternate the tender from front to rear, you should be able to swap out the charger every couple of weeks and be good. Note that if your rear battery is in good shape, it should have little to no current draw with the ECO and other items off. You may only have to charge the rear battery once, depending on how long the car sits.

I have a datalogger that I connected to both batteries when I was chasing an electrical gremlin, so I can read both battery voltages at the same time and swap my charger when needed.

The one thing that will run the main battery down fairly quickly when sitting is if it detects a key within about 20 ft of the car. That will keep the car awake and draw 2-3 amps from the main battery. It will also drain the key fob battery sooner than normal. I keeps my keys in RF shielded pouches when not in use and that extends both the main battery life and the key fob battery as well.

 

Don't forget to put stabilizer in the gas tank. If 4 months or more get it off the tires.

 

A battery tender is ideal, I would still recommend a fire up once a week but call me old school.

 

Noob here, resurrecting this thread to ask if it is ok to just disconnect the batteries for long term (say 6 month) storage? I've done this with several other vehicles without any issues (other than losing the usual memory settings).
I will not be able to start the car regularly and a battery tender for each battery seems a bit much (TIL there are two batteries in this thing).

Thanks for any advice.

 

It is perfectly okay although I wouldn't waste time disconnecting the aux. battery, myself. No current draw on it if the engine is off.

 

I don't see any reason not to. Unfortunately, though, in 6 months you'll get a significant amount of self discharge, so if you're planning to come back, hook up the batteries, and start it up, you may be disappointed.

"Starting the car regularly" and "fire up once a week" are, IMHO, very bad ideas, unless you're going to drive it. If it doesn't get up to operating temperature and stay there for 20 minutes or more all you're doing is allowing moisture and other combustion byproducts (acids) to build up in the oil. I'm not a big fan of leaving tenders on for long periods of time, either, but in some circumstances I guess you really have no other choice.

 

I've been a motorcyclist for over 50 years (no, not the cruiser type - Hondas only ) Also been involved in motorcycle forums, so have heard it all.

I'm a native South Central Texan, so there's no real "winter" here. However, I have many friends in Canada and other cold-bound countries.

One of your WORST enemies of long term storage is the FUEL - folks focus on the battery, which is easily fixed if no good. If the fuel goes bad, that's a whole different animal, and NOT an easy fix.

It's easy with many motorcycles. Run it low before storage, disconnect fuel line (5 minutes), drain remaining fuel in tank. Many folks will leave a gallon or two in the tank and add Sta-Bil Storage Fuel Stabilizer (they claim storage up to two years).

That last sentence is what I'd do for long term storage (over two months) of our 2014 GLK base. I'd drive it to just about 1/4 tank (maybe a hair under), then add Sta-Bil, as per directions.

And yes, the battery - if at all possible, keep a tender on it - we use Battery-Minders (have a Wrangler that's sits for a month at a time, and zero turn mower that's only used every 2-3 weeks). Inexpensive and very reliable.

If you can't keep a tender on, add tender two weeks before you fire up.

Tires are the other consideration. Some folks will put the vehicle on jack stands, with tires barely touching the surface. Some folks are of the opinion the tires will be okay.

 

Calder is 100% spot-on. My go-to is Stabil, battery disconnect/battery tender & over inflate the tires by a few PSI.
A few notes from my experience:
Run flats will develop a flat spot if stored on concrete in a heated environment.
Do not allow the brake pads to "freeze" to the rotor. This is prevented by pushing/rolling the car in neutral the last few feet into its resting place.
Critter prevention based on your storage environment.
Detail inside & out before hibernation (your future self will thank you).

YMMV

Thanks for taking the time to help me with this. I'll let you know in a few months if the GLK is a good hibernator.

 

I thought I covered the considerations, but yea, I've heard endless stories about mice gaining access to bikes in long term storage.

"Why won't my bike start? I've verified the fuel and battery - it cranks and cranks ... " - turns out, upon closer inspection, mice have chewed up the master wiring harness ... there's something very attractive about the wire insulation - this ends up being $$$ hundreds to buy a new master harness.

So yea, ensure the storage area is free of any available egress, for small rodents, into the space.

 

Well, I'll give him 75%
(This topic is a lot like an oil thread.)
Stabil works. I've stored things for a year and a half with no problems. But... Make sure the tank is full. The less air space you have the less oxygen to spoil the fuel and a lot less exposed tank surface to rust. Also. less "breathing" to bring water vapor into the tank. Make sure it circulates through the fuel system by running it.

I've also had better luck statistically putting the tender on the battery once a month for a day or two vs. leaving it on for the whole time.

Mice: nothing works 100%. I've had good luck with a product called "Mouse Magic" in the past. Last fall I put a packet under the seat of my bike and another under the seat of my wife's trike. My bike was fine. Hers not so good. The stuff that looks like coarse sand is the contents of the mouse magic packet. They ripped up most of the bag.

Darn near impossible...

 

I seen worse: https://mbworld.org/forums/c450-c43-...ml#post8275486