Sat for a month and it started fine!

[MiamiBlue]

There has been some discussion about the Emira needing to sit on a battery maintainer/charger otherwise going flat quite quickly.

Well after a work trip, and then a holiday I went to use my Emira this week after it has been sat for a month. I was half expecting it to not start and was ready to take another car..

But it started perfectly first time, no errors or issues. Just as if I had parked it up the night before.

So don't be afraid to leave your car parked up for weeks without being on a maintainer. If you are experiencing issues then perhaps you have an underlining problem (water ingress into the electronics etc).

 

[docron]

The AMG i4 has a ton of parasitic drain due to emissions programming with the alternator. I havent heard if the toyota v6 has the same parasitic drain issues...so your experience might be true for the v6.

 

[Andrew25]

The AMG i4 has a ton of parasitic drain due to emissions programming with the alternator. I havent heard if the toyota v6 has the same parasitic drain issues...so your experience might be true for the v6.

Actually my i4 started just fine after sitting for one month as well

 

[lynchy73]

My I4 has always started no problem and is often left for extended periods

 

[netsinah]

There has been some discussion about the Emira needing to sit on a battery maintainer/charger otherwise going flat quite quickly.

Well after a work trip, and then a holiday I went to use my Emira this week after it has been sat for a month. I was half expecting it to not start and was ready to take another car..

But it started perfectly first time, no errors or issues. Just as if I had parked it up the night before.

So don't be afraid to leave your car parked up for weeks without being on a maintainer. If you are experiencing issues then perhaps you have an underlining problem (water ingress into the electronics etc).

There are other factors at play: the main one likely being where you parked your Emira (for example). If in a heated garage or any enclosure which protected it from temperature fluctuations...and/or if the outside temperature was mild/steady during the month it remained parked, you may have had improved your chance of starting it w/o problem, after that month.

Lotus recommends the use of the battery maintainer which most of us in North America received with our new vehicles, when the Emira is parked for some time. This is from page 252 of the Canadian Owner's Handbook, in the "Vehicle Care" section:

Battery Charging

With normal daily use, it should not be necessary to use a battery charger. In low usage conditions, it is important to maintain the battery charge state using a suitable trickle charger, or automatic battery management conditioner.

Starting difficulties may be experienced after an unused period of 18 days approximately. (emphasis added)

The Handbook applies to both the V6 and V4 Emira versions.

I suspect Lotus is being cautious with that 18 day estimate, so perhaps an Emira battery will usually start the car, after more days. But others on this Forum have posted start problems after their vehicles have sat for less than 18 days. Congrats on being able to start your vehicle after that month MiamiBlue, but personally I wouldn't count on it, especially if you really need to use your Emira for something and wouldn't have time to charge the battery, if it's found to be too low on "juice" or dead.

Note that none of this applies to me: I daily drive my Emira, except when the snow sticks on the roads. It's parked on a 4-post lift in a heated garage with a battery tender on it (and added storage fuel stabilizer), during those 3-4 winter months and starts AOK each spring. So I'm just pointing out the Owner's Handbook and what others have experienced, as food for thought. We each decide on our level of comfort.

 

[MiamiBlue]

That's good info, thanks.
It is the Summer here, and it's been a fairly consistent 20-25C temp here over the last month. So good conditions to maintain a battery.
I also understand it's bad for batteries to get too low and can actually damage them. So I probably won't let it go a month again, and certainly not during Winter.
But it's good to know these cars aren't particularly special, and you shouldn't have any issues leaving it for a couple weeks.

 

[geoffbland]

The AMG i4 has a ton of parasitic drain due to emissions programming with the alternator. I havent heard if the toyota v6 has the same parasitic drain issues...so your experience might be true for the v6.

I thought "Emmisions programming" on the alternator should only affect the car when it is running and charging (I think this is just fancy words for not charging from the alternator when the battery is full) - I'm not sure how it could be a parasitic drain on the battery when the car is not running? Do you recall where you read this as I'd like to know how this could happen?

 

[F1 SML8R]

The draw comes from the 400 background operations that run when you cycle the car off. Next time you turn off the i4, listen and time how long the circulation pumps and other stuff run. It's crazy, like 30+ mins. Then, god forbid you open a door or trunk, it triggers a bunch of other electronic system checks, fuel primes, etc. And last but not least, if you actually arm the alarm? For ged aboud eh...

 

[JohnS]

I have an i4 (AMG M139 2lt turbo) and I've also noticed there is a battery drain for about 1/2 hour after a journey, depending on the ambient air temperature. This can reduce the charge in a battery from 100%, after a long run, down to 70% or even 60%.

If I don't plan to use the car for several weeks it's enough to recharge the battery back to 100% and just leave the car in the garage. I prefer to not leave the battery float charging as this could effect the battery health and the worst case scenario should the float charger go faulty you won't be faced with a potential hazard of explosive gases from the battery and damaged electronic modules in the car.

The solution for any battery starting concerns is to connect a small battery monitor directly to the battery. The type where, from a short distance away, you can view the battery charge status using an iPhone or similar device. Depending on which battery monitor you select it's possible to see the battery; voltage, charge %, temperature, cranking voltage and alternator charge voltage, all this on a graph by the minute or hour up to 5 days. All very useful info.

 

[docron]

@Kaz did a post about this here in the forum. yes the alternator only applies when the car is running but the alternator doesnt recharge the battery until it reaches 70%.
Realistically if you then let the car sit for a prolonged period of time when your battery is say at 72% when garaged, the parasitic drain could get close to the 50% level when the car wont start.
We've used the Antigravity Battery Tracker app and BT module to get these numbers shown in @Kaz 's post.
Because I will be garaging the car in the next 2-3 months when late Fall/Winter hits here in the Midwest, I plan on monitoring battery status and taking screenshots of the Battery Tracker app to see actual drain and losses with and without being on the battery trickle charger. My car will be in the garage which is not heated but also will not be out in the cold either so will also take into consideration ambient temps during the colder months in my monitoring.

I joke with people that this car is my hybrid.....LOL.

 

[admu]

I'm not an expert but I believe battery longevity is affected by allowing it to drain constantly. This is just a statement about car batteries in general, not specifically regarding Emiras.
Google says: "Constantly allowing a car battery to drain completely or to a significantly low charge can cause permanent damage, reducing its capacity and lifespan due to sulfation and other chemical changes that can lead to failure. A deep discharge, often caused by excessive parasitic drain or leaving accessories on, can lead to components breaking off the plates, causing short circuits and ultimately total battery failure. " If I'm spreading wrong info, I apologize. I got google to blame.
I keep my weekend car on battery maintainer all the time. Current battery is still going strong for nine years now. Just my two cents.

 

[docron]

So here is an example. I unplugged the trickle charger this morning with SoC at 100%. Drive to hospital in Touring my usual 21 min, 15 miles. Half day today so left my office 5 hrs later, stopped at Kroger for a couple things and Chipotle for lunch. Drive home in Sport. It's a beautiful sunny day 71 degrees outside. This was my SoC pulling into the garage.

And I think the AMG i4 alternator kicks in at 60% (not 70% like I posted before). This trend has been replicated in @Kaz and my car a few times.

 

[Six Speed Stephen]

Chiming in. My V6 sat for about a month and had no issues

 

[F1 SML8R]

So here is an example. I unplugged the trickle charger this morning with SoC at 100%. Drive to hospital in Touring my usual 21 min, 15 miles. Half day today so left my office 5 hrs later, stopped at Kroger for a couple things and Chipotle for lunch. Drive home in Sport. It's a beautiful sunny day 71 degrees outside. This was my SoC pulling into the garage.

View attachment 69491


And I think the AMG i4 alternator kicks in at 60% (not 70% like I posted before). This trend has been replicated in @Kaz and my car a few times.

The whole i4 alternator thing really bugged me when Kaz alerted me to it. I've used Anti-Gravity for years in all cars. I'm bummed I can't leverage that easy weight savings in the I4.
BTW, I think it has to do with the fact that it works with a mild hybrid version of the M139. Think F1 KERS type technology.

 

[Kaz]

The whole i4 alternator thing really bugged me when Kaz alerted me to it. I've used Anti-Gravity for years in all cars. I'm bummed I can't leverage that easy weight savings in the I4.
BTW, I think it has to do with the fact that it works with a mild hybrid version of the M139. Think F1 KERS type technology.

really bummed too...such easy weight savings in located in a prime location where you want to drop weight, like almost 40lbs right? in the alternate multiverse someone has cracked the ecu and turned off the weird alternator behavior

 

[F1 SML8R]

really bummed too...such easy weight savings in located in a prime location where you want to drop weight, like almost 40lbs right? in the alternate multiverse someone has cracked the ecu and turned off the weird alternator behavior

and by "alternate multiverse" we mean @docron get on that.