Dead battery - can't open door with mechanical key!

[ashtray]

Originally Posted by stugray

The real issue is that these cars draw a lot of current even when sitting off.
I calculated that if the car is left for ~10 days without starting it, the battery will run down.
Add the camera and thats probably more like 5 days. (Just a WAG)

I leave my car untouched for weeks and never have trouble starting it. BRZ Limited. 7,000 miles in nearly 3 years, so you can tell how many times it sits for weeks without being started. Original battery. No issues.

Aftermarket stereo or camera or lighting etc can have a phantom draw.

[ntron1]

............................

[kenoshainflames]

Originally Posted by ntron1

You Sir are living in a fantasy world. Move North to the land of 0 Degrees F in the winter and you'll be singing a different tune. Subaru payed me $150.00 to replace mine with a real battery instead of calling roadside assistance every other day to jump start my car.

i live in wisconsin and have never had any problems leaving my car untouched in the 0 degree weather.

[Poodles]

Originally Posted by stugray

The real issue is that these cars draw a lot of current even when sitting off.
I calculated that if the car is left for ~10 days without starting it, the battery will run down.
Add the camera and thats probably more like 5 days. (Just a WAG)

Yep, and people want to run smaller batteries and think the stocker is too big


Also, even though ntron1 is editing his posts, I'll educate him.


1) Cold doesn't hurt batteries, it just makes their output weaker. A higher CCA battery is a) more fragile internally and b) more prone to heat damage. Add in the effects of cold on trying to crank the engine and you'll think the battery is crap. The battery is designed for the best percentage of the world (as it's the same damn battery in every one of them as they're shipped with the battery installed) so if you're in a crazy cold environment, you should be adjusting accordingly (block heaters, etc).


2) Heat kills batteries and people assume that the cold kills them because batteries tend to put out more power when hot (to a limit) and the engine is far easier to turn over, so the damaged battery isn't discovered until the winter when it's output is lower.


I'd love to deal with weather that wasn't so damn hot that it kills batteries in a couple years. People think CCA is the be-all-end-all stat for a car battery when it's not...

[dnieves]

Originally Posted by stugray

The BRZ is worse than the FRS because of the keyless entry.

I have a miracle Panasonic battery too! I left my 10 Series in three snow storms for more than a month without starting it. When it finally thawed the keyless entry & badges worked normally and the car started on the first try.

[TheVoiceOfReason]

My BRZ also sat for about 10 days a month ago, and would not crank when I got back to it. Battery charged back up and has been fine though.

[taiguy]

Originally Posted by Poodles

Yep, and people want to run smaller batteries and think the stocker is too big


Also, even though ntron1 is editing his posts, I'll educate him.


1) Cold doesn't hurt batteries, it just makes their output weaker. A higher CCA battery is a) more fragile internally and b) more prone to heat damage. Add in the effects of cold on trying to crank the engine and you'll think the battery is crap. The battery is designed for the best percentage of the world (as it's the same damn battery in every one of them as they're shipped with the battery installed) so if you're in a crazy cold environment, you should be adjusting accordingly (block heaters, etc).


2) Heat kills batteries and people assume that the cold kills them because batteries tend to put out more power when hot (to a limit) and the engine is far easier to turn over, so the damaged battery isn't discovered until the winter when it's output is lower.


I'd love to deal with weather that wasn't so damn hot that it kills batteries in a couple years. People think CCA is the be-all-end-all stat for a car battery when it's not...

Hey Poodles - I saw you comment on one of my posts in another battery thread.

Have you measured your parasitic current?

What's the longest you let your BRZ sit for without driving it?

I had a fresh battery replaced under warranty (last month) die after sitting for a month in my driveway.

[Gords_zenith]

I just pulled my car out of storage with the battery hooked and it started after sitting 4 MONTHS! No problem.

What I did: it was stored in a 10 degree Celsius underground garage, I disabled the alarm, manually turned off my HVAC, and turned the lights to off from Auto, and I also turned the radio off to minimize any drain on the battery. Hope this sheds some light on this.

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by stugray

The real issue is that these cars draw a lot of current even when sitting off.
I calculated that if the car is left for ~10 days without starting it, the battery will run down.
Add the camera and thats probably more like 5 days. (Just a WAG)

My car has sat undriven for that long before and ran just fine.

[alan.chalkley]

My car with the stock battery is two years old and done only 9000 kms. I was overseas for 5 weeks and when i came back it started okay.
The stock battery is good with the warm weather in Sydney.
It only snowed here once in the last 56 years.

[taiguy]

Put a new battery in my BRZ on March 26th, was out of town for 3 weeks, and came back to find it at 2V. I also had a Noco Genius G3500 charger on it during this time. Not sure what happened.

Measured parasitic drain was 130mA at the dealership.

[Dorb]

My BRZ bought in Nov. 2012, has 4500 miles on it now and is parked in non heated garage once the snow falls and never had it not start and nothing on the battery. I usually start it and let run several times a month during the winter. Not sure it helps or not. Maybe just another lucky one.

[Hyper4mance2k]

Are you turning it the right way? LOL

[Dave5454]

My battery too ... left in my garage for about 10 - 11 days with low temps. - car would not crank on 11th. day. Got a battery tender and no more problems.