Winter Storage
Discussion
Come winter time, I'll be taking the Cerbera off the road and tucking it away in storage. Thing is, whilst the storage is secure, there isn't access to power, so I'm wondering what the implications would be to simply disconnecting the battery for 6mths?
Is this sort of thing going to play havoc with any of the ECUs? If so, are there any simple(ish) solutions (other than supplying power from another battery)?
M
Is this sort of thing going to play havoc with any of the ECUs? If so, are there any simple(ish) solutions (other than supplying power from another battery)?
M
RUSSELLM said:
My battery’s gone flat loads of times.
It won’t do it any harm.
Take it off, would be my advice. Periodically test it, and try not to let it drop below 12.4 volts. Charge when required.
Cheers, that's sorta confirming my thoughts. I'll probably pop the battery out and leave it on an Optimate at home.It won’t do it any harm.
Take it off, would be my advice. Periodically test it, and try not to let it drop below 12.4 volts. Charge when required.
BIG DUNC said:
Does it have a window or access to daylight.
You can get a solar panel for not a lot of money which will keep the battery topped up.
Solar would be perfect but unfortunately it's not an option.You can get a solar panel for not a lot of money which will keep the battery topped up.
M
Purely from an electronic perspective; you can disconnect the battery and store the car over the winter and the ecu will be fine.
The fuel map is stored on an EEPROM which is power agnostic.
However, there is a chip on the ecu pcb that remembers the adaptive maps. It has an embedded battery to power it and is used to remember the data stored on it when the ignition is off.
The chip battery isn't rechargeable and over time it will fail, so irrespective of whether the car battery is connected or not the data on the chip is preserved via its embedded battery.
The thing I'm not sure of is if the adaptive data is preserved, once the enbedded chip battery has failed, if the cars battery remains connected.
But, it doesn't really matter because if the adaptive data isn't preserved, in between power cycles, it's relearned and retained quite quickly once the car is started and driven.
So, purely from an electronic perspective; you can disconnect the battery and store the car over the winter and the ecu will be fine.
The fuel map is stored on an EEPROM which is power agnostic.
However, there is a chip on the ecu pcb that remembers the adaptive maps. It has an embedded battery to power it and is used to remember the data stored on it when the ignition is off.
The chip battery isn't rechargeable and over time it will fail, so irrespective of whether the car battery is connected or not the data on the chip is preserved via its embedded battery.
The thing I'm not sure of is if the adaptive data is preserved, once the enbedded chip battery has failed, if the cars battery remains connected.
But, it doesn't really matter because if the adaptive data isn't preserved, in between power cycles, it's relearned and retained quite quickly once the car is started and driven.
So, purely from an electronic perspective; you can disconnect the battery and store the car over the winter and the ecu will be fine.
Cars being restored or major projects are left sometimes for years without power and they all start up and run again so no issue with the ECU being powered down for extended periods of time.
What about insurance? What would your insurers say if the car gets pinched when left unlocked and not alarmed, would they try and get out of paying out?
What about insurance? What would your insurers say if the car gets pinched when left unlocked and not alarmed, would they try and get out of paying out?
gruffalo said:
Cars being restored or major projects are left sometimes for years without power and they all start up and run again so no issue with the ECU being powered down for extended periods of time.
What about insurance? What would your insurers say if the car gets pinched when left unlocked and not alarmed, would they try and get out of paying out?
Some would say it would be better for the tyres to put it up on axle stands and remove the wheels. And take them home. Thieves are naturally lazy.What about insurance? What would your insurers say if the car gets pinched when left unlocked and not alarmed, would they try and get out of paying out?
Thanks for the replies.
M
gruffalo said:
Cars being restored or major projects are left sometimes for years without power and they all start up and run again so no issue with the ECU being powered down for extended periods of time.
Well, this one has only just come back together after being in bits for 7yrs... gruffalo said:
What about insurance? What would your insurers say if the car gets pinched when left unlocked and not alarmed, would they try and get out of paying out?
The insurance co is aware. QBee said:
Some would say it would be better for the tyres to put it up on axle stands and remove the wheels. And take them home. Thieves are naturally lazy.
Yeah, I've considered doing something to prevent flat-spots. However, if it does get stolen... It would not have been an opportunist crime. They would have gone 'prepared'.Byker28i said:
Take the battery off, take it home and put it on a trickle charger there.
Yeah, that's sorta the conclusion I'm coming to. M
Gassing Station | Cerbera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff