OhioS55

I put my 2003 S55 away for the winter a few weeks ago (got it earlier this year), since I know what the salt and worse that they spread on the roads here will do to cars. The S came from Florida so I assume it's never been driven in salt. I have read a few references to bad things that can happen if an ABC car sits for a long time, but nothing specific.

So what are the potential ABC problems, and what could I do to avoid them? Insurance is off for now, except for comprehensive, and it's in a building without a paved driveway, so it would not be practical to get it out until good weather in the spring. I thought it was best not to peridically start a car and let it idle, but maybe this is offset by the ABC system.

I will monitor the battery voltage and connect a float maintainer some of the time to keep it up.

DRTYLNDY

On the contrary I think you actually do want to run the car every couple of weeks to get things moving. Things go bad from sitting to long.
Johan

Vabene7

I agree with DRTY. My 600 is in for the winter but I start her once a week, let it get to operating temperature and if no rain or snow, take it around the block.
Then back inside the garage.

mrbenzes

Start er up and let it run for 15 minutes once a week and dont let it go for more than two weeks. Rev it op to 2500 or so RPM for a minute or two prior to shutting her off. I let mine sit with thick carpetting under the tires and cycle the suspension up and down a few times. Roll all of the windows up and down once a month. I also typically move the car a foot or so forward or backward to prevent flat spots on the tires. Also keep it full of Premium fuel. Open all doors and trunk as well. Kep everything moving as if you were driving the car.
You should have no issues if you make this a regimen...think of it as healthy for your baby.
Mike

OhioS55

Thanks all for the information. I will do all of that. Although I haven't put in a paved driveway to the garage door of this building, the upstairs is my shop/office and the building is heated - the garage section is never lower than about 40 deg F. Maybe that is better than completely unheated since the humidity is always under control.

OhioS55

I should have put in a pic before - all original but I like it that way.

Triman2008

Do any of you guys have a problem with the battery durning storage? My car seems to start a little slower than normal. I start it about 2 a week and if no snow/rain, take it around the block. What's the census?

Sher Judge

Spot on. Best advice here.

mrbenzes

I would say change your regimen to starting every week...these cars have alot of power usage, so keep that battery charged and run it whenever you can. I can tell when mine hasnt been stared for a while, tit cranks over much slower.
Mike

OhioS55

I have been doing a weekly startup and excercise windows etc as advised on this forum. I also bought a battery maintainer: http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SEM.../dp/B0009IBJAS cheap and seems to work well. After the startup and run for a while, I connect the maintainer until it indicates full charge, which seems to be after 6-8 hours.

I am sure I could leave the maintainer connected all the time since it stops charging when done, but i don't want a power cord hanging out of the trunk. In a week the battery drops to about 12 volts, and after charging it is about 13.6.

Running the car for a little while is not enough to keep the battery up. If you can tell the battery is low by the sound of the starter, it is probably really low, and you could get strange error messages on the speedo readout that aren't really happening, just because of the low voltage. I am no battery expert but according to an article I read, car batteries will last a lot longer if fully charged all the time. If they stay low too long they will be no good much sooner than normal.