How long can a VF be stored for without battery starting problems?

[diysv6]

Hi all, Looking at a long break, 9 weeks, where my VF (July 2015 build) will be probably locked away and not driven at all. My best option is a family member will drop in, but I cannot guarantee the visiting cycles as far as keeping the battery topped up. eg 3/4/5 week spacing between visits.

I don't know if the VF Mylink security etc. along with the various internal computers loves to discharge the battery whilst locked/parked. The car will be two years old whilst I am away, so the battery could be at the point of degraded performance as its coming up to its 2 year working life.

I have an Aldi smart charger that senses battery voltage and charges/floats/switches off at < 15Volts etc, but I've never used it on the VF, only on my old VT for up to about 2-3 days at a time. It seemed to do a good job, as I didn't have to disconnect the car's electrical load during these times and the battery stayed charged. I did monitor the battery voltage and it never exceeded about 14.8 volts on my DMM.

I am looking at 9 weeks in the worst case, and wondering if the smart charger would be a safe proposition, no surveillance, no checking etc during the period. I don't want to fry the VF's battery (evaporate water etc.) or electronics by using the smart charger. Holden say that the battery voltage can go to 16 volts on a day to day basis with no harm to the cars electronics or battery life as its computer managed by the regulator in the ECU.

So members, what is the general feeling about 9 weeks on a smart charger, wrt the VFs electronics being damaged etc.?

Is disconnecting the battery, placing it on the smart charger, and leaving the cars electronics dead for 9 weeks a good move?

And an opinion, would the battery still be in good enough condition, electrolyte loss, sulphation, gunk-up between the plates etc. (using either storage method above) to start the car after the lay-up?

Any ideas much appreciated.

 

[woooo]

Just disconnect the battery terminals... done.

 

[Anthony121]

9 weeks is not that long. The battery will be fine.

 

[panhead]

I drove my Ute a few weeks back for the first time in about 6 months and it kicked over like if it had been driven that morning with no problems.

If you do store them for a long time it is a good idea to use a trickle charger (I don't have one on my Ute) but the real secret is to lock the car so as to put most of the systems to sleep and a healthy battery will last for much longer than most people think.


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[Smitty]

I know of those who went yep....leave it and the battery was dead after 3 or 4 weeks
and those who went away for 6 months and it started first go when the key was turned

get a trickle charger if under cover... or a large panel solar charger ( i use one on the race car
which may sit up to 6 or 8 weeks a time between race events)

 

[diysv6]

Thank you all for your replies.
First option is to have a rellie start the car for a run every 3 weeks.
If the battery goes flat, then so be it.
I will recharge when I get home.

Thanks for your help

 

[RTSV6UTE]

Hi

For those considering storing a new VF V8 sedan, what would happen if the car was in storage and was locked and then the battery in the vehicle became dead flat? How would one get into the car if the key does not unlock it as the car's battery is dead flat?

Would it be wiser to leave the car unlocked if kept in a secure storage facility so as to always gain entry into the vehicle even if the battery is dead?

Regards,

RTSV6UTE

 

[panhead]

Hi

For those considering storing a new VF V8 sedan, what would happen if the car was in storage and was locked and then the battery in the vehicle became dead flat? How would one get into the car if the key does not unlock it as the car's battery is dead flat?

Would it be wiser to leave the car unlocked if kept in a secure storage facility so as to always gain entry into the vehicle even if the battery is dead?

Regards,

RTSV6UTE

You put your key in the door handle lock and turn.


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[RTSV6UTE]

You put your key in the door handle lock and turn.

Hi

Considering I have had a VF1 SV6 ute followed by a VF2 SV6 ute I didn't even know that was an option!

Regards,

RTSV6UTE

 

[SuckSqueezeBangBlow]

Pull the cover off the door handle to reveal the lock