Disconnect Battery for Storage?

V8Dave

Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2024
Messages
11
Reaction score
1
Hi all,
Long story short, I don't have access to a plug outlet (and it seems vehicle storage units don't allow them either). So I have no choice but to let my Emira sit for over a month with no charger. My thought is to disconnect the battery while in storage. A couple of questions:
  • Is that an immediate bad idea to try to disconnect the power given the electrical system in these cars?
  • If plausible, what precautions can be taken? (keep the trunk open and doors unlocked? Trickle charge the battery by itself before reinstalling? etc.
Really hoping I can do this without having to get it towed to the shop.
Any tips appreciated.
 
The manual says 18 days you could start having issues on starting the car.
I have also read in a few posts that people have been leaving their cars unplugged for up to 4 months.

So you could be in the window of being okay. (are you a gambler) ;)
 
Mine sat for a month and started up just fine.
When coming back make sure you actually drive the car and don't just start it to see if it'll go, also don't charge the battery by idling.
If you want to go the safe way, disconnect and trickle charge where it's safe to do so (please don't do it in your living room)
 
Thanks all. I'm actually thinking leaving the battery connected and just letting it die might be better than trying to unhook the battery from the car. The thing I think I'm most afraid of is not the battery dying, but the car being completely cut from power and that messing up the electrical system somehow so that it has to be towed and reset by the dealer or something. Or maybe the Lotus electronics aren't THAT bad...
 
Just know if you disconnect the battery for more than like an hour you are going to get the reduced telematics alert which could take weeks to clear once you start driving it again.
 
Did you disconnect the battery or just leave everything as is and let it drain?
No, didn’t disconnect. Only thing I did was drove it for a few hours the first time driving it again.
 
Hey V8Dave; welcome to the Forum. As posted elsewhere, how long a battery will last when the vehicle is parked, depends upon several factors, including the ambient air temperature (hot/cold/fluctuating) and if the vehicle is stored inside, out of the elements. Yours is inside a storage unit and hopefully it'll be kept consistently warm, which will help.

You mention the possibility of leaving the trunk open. There's a manual trunk release "loop" located behind the driver seat and behind a removable side cover (check your manual), so you can open the trunk to access the battery area, even w/o power. Also and this likely won't apply to you, but beware of rodents (mice) who might enjoy nesting inside and eating car components. If you're not covering the car, I'd not want the trunk "unlocked" in case it pops or is pried open enough, to allow rodent entry. They could get in other ways and some people will stuff their tailpipes with steel wool to discourage access...or put poison on the floor around the vehicle. Some use mothballs to deter rodents, but I find their smell too offensive.

Before parking your vehicle or when you go to unpark it, always watch for the telltale sign of mouse droppings. Growing up with farm access, I saw several vehicles "ruined" due to the smell of mice who'd long since died inside a vehicle that had sat for a long time and in higher temps. Not pretty.

Personally, I'd consider disconnecting the battery, rather than let it sit "active" (slowly drained by onboard computers), to improve the chance of it starting after a month. But you decide if the risk of a dead battery, outweighs having to reset things once you go to drive it. I've left my battery disconnected for several days when I was installing sound insulation. Everything worked AOK when I reconnected. But if your storage unit is consistently warm/dry, you've got a better chance of it starting after leaving the battery connected. Good luck and hope it works out for you, whatever you decide!
 

Create an account or login to comment

Join now to leave a comment enjoy browsing the site ad-free!

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Back
Top