Negative battery terminal disconnect effective?

[ZionsWrath]

I drove my BRZ 20,000 miles in the first year. Subsequently I haven't been using it as a daily driver or road trip car. Most of the miles are trips to tracks in the northeast. I'm a little over 50k today

Anyway my car sits a lot these days. My battery is flat a lot. Someone told me (used car dealer) in passing if you disconnect the negative on the battery it won't discharge so fast.

Is this true?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by ZionsWrath

I drove my BRZ 20,000 miles in the first year. Subsequently I haven't been using it as a daily driver or road trip car. Most of the miles are trips to tracks in the northeast. I'm a little over 50k today

Anyway my car sits a lot these days. My battery is flat a lot. Someone told me (used car dealer) in passing if you disconnect the negative on the battery it won't discharge so fast.

Is this true?

Yes it helps.
But...
An inexpensive battery tender is a better way to go. I use a solar one on my boat which can sit without being started for weeks at a time. It works very, very well.


Like this but an older style:
https://www.amazon.ca/Battery-Tender.../dp/B004Q83TGO

[ZionsWrath]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Yes it helps.
But...
An inexpensive battery tender is a better way to go. I use a solar one on my boat which can sit without being started for weeks at a time. It works very, very well.


Like this but an older style:
https://www.amazon.ca/Battery-Tender.../dp/B004Q83TGO

Cool, can i run this wire from the battery to the panel in the car easily?

I can remove the battery and tend it in house during winter but in summer i have to park it on street but like to drive it occasionally, removing the battert would be a pain innthe 6-8 warm months

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by ZionsWrath

Cool, can i run this wire from the battery to the panel in the car easily?

I can remove the battery and tend it in house during winter but in summer i have to park it on street but like to drive it occasionally, removing the battert would be a pain innthe 6-8 warm months

Just make sure you get one with wires long enough. Could just put the panel on the dash and run the wires out the front of the passenger door.

[extrashaky]

If I needed a battery tender all the time, I think I would install a permanent hidden shore power plug on the outside of the car somewhere so I could just plug it in when I parked it without having wires sticking out under an open hood or through an open door or cracked window.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

If I needed a battery tender all the time, I think I would install a permanent hidden shore power plug on the outside of the car somewhere so I could just plug it in when I parked it without having wires sticking out under an open hood or through an open door or cracked window.

He is parked on the street though. People tend to not want extension cords all over.
If run from the top front of the passenger door to the very rear of the hood we are talking a very very short section of exposed wire. It could just stay there and nobody would probably even notice.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

He is parked on the street though. People tend to not want extension cords all over.
If run from the top front of the passenger door to the very rear of the hood we are talking a very very short section of exposed wire. It could just stay there and nobody would probably even notice.

If that solar panel you linked earlier will work okay through the windshield, I'd run the line completely inside from the battery through the built-in cable pass-through grommet in the firewall and install a jack somewhere either in or under the dash. Then just plug in the panel and lay it on the dash. Or build a custom sunshade with solar panels embedded in it.

[ls1ac]

For simple and easy, run a test by running the wire out the back of the hood through the door jam behind the mirror to the dash. The solar charger wires are small and can get in side no problem.

[chaoskaze]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

If I needed a battery tender all the time, I think I would install a permanent hidden shore power plug on the outside of the car somewhere so I could just plug it in when I parked it without having wires sticking out under an open hood or through an open door or cracked window.

Wait how do I do that?


Just so you guys know...........I'm on my 4th battery............I replaced one every year & half...................with my warranty.....................

[JD001]

My car does about 2.5k miles a year. The original battery died about two years in and I had a replacement under warranty which has been doing okay (2 and a bit years).








I have the following backup:
1. XL 1200 Cobra battery jump starter, and
2. In house battery charger conditioner - I have used this once when the replacement battery charged had dropped to the point of no start...


Taking the battery out is not a problem therefore come winter I will just remove the battery and stick it on the charger to get it back to full health.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by chaoskaze

Wait how do I do that?

That's hard to answer because there are so many ways to achieve the same result. Most of them would involve putting eyelets on some wires and running them from the battery terminal bolts to a connector hidden somewhere on the exterior of the vehicle, then cutting the leads off your trickle charger and replacing them with the same type of connector you put on the car. Then just plug 'em together. There are all sorts of ways to get creative.

The first thing that came to mind was to hide a weatherproof marine connector under the passenger side fender so that you'd have a short wire run. You would want a flush-mounted jack with a cap on it to keep water out.

You could run it forward and hide a waterproof connector right in the edge of the grille.

You could hide it in the cowl under the trailing edge of the hood.

If you really wanted to get slick and had some plastic welding skills, you could hide it in the passenger side fender garnish. With an FR-S or 86, I'd be tempted to hinge the 86 emblem in that garnish with the plug hidden behind it. Even with the BRZ you could likely come up with a hidden or semi-hidden connector mounted in the fake vent garnish.

You could run the wires into your passenger side door and into the mirror housing, then put a hidden jack in the underside of the mirror box so that the cable drops straight down and doesn't ever have to touch the paint.

You could run it back to your trunk lid and install a jack above your license plate.

You could probably put a jack under your fuel door, but I wouldn't do that just because of the small potential for a spark when connecting or disconnecting right next to where there might be some fuel vapor if your cap isn't good.

I'm sure there's some other place on the car I'm not thinking of.

[nikitopo]

I have a Yuasa 44B19L 12V 40Ah 340A battery which is very close to the specifications of the JDM RA car. It is an AGM type battery which is known to be less prone to sulfation and can sit in storage for longer before a charge becomes necessary. The battery stands up well to low temperatures and has a low self-discharge. Overall, a good option if the car sits A LOT and is not driven daily or even weekly. I have it more than 3 years and I didn't have any issues at all. Only thing is that I'm re-charging it twice a year for keeping it in good health.