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Must park car for 3 weeks: ECM current drain?
Topic Started: Aug 24 2015, 09:10 PM (838 Views)
Cardinal Grammeter
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I haven't measured it, but I'm thinking I should disconnect the battery when I park it. (airport parking lot for 3 weeks)
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MR1 Kingsbury
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Exp. builder/rebuilder

that's a good idea
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Cardinal Grammeter
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Yeah, and clean the battery and terminals too.

What sucks is that while this battery works just fine, it's getting pretty old. I could take the battery out of another car and carry it along too.

I will be in NO MOOD to deal with bad battery when I get back after a full day of air flight torture...
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idmetro
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I'd clean the terminals now then just put the spare battery, a set of jumper cables, a couple of wrenches and a wire brush in the back just in case. Good Luck!
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Woodie
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Just took a two week training class out of town. When I got back, my work van and my home computer never came back on. I had been milking that Caravan battery for the last six months, knowing it needed replacement. Now I just had to go out and get a new battery, even though my new work van is sitting in the company parking lot waiting to be wrapped.

Good idea to disconnect the battery. There's not much key off drain in a Metro, but there is some.
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Memphis metro


Just throw some jumper cables in the car and park it where it can easily be accessed by a jumper car and forget about it. It will probably crank anyway. You could probably push it off if it didnt rather easily. There is usually someone around airports that boost cars off when needed. I would take the trip and not worry about it if it were mine. Just throw some jumper cables in the back. You could set the spare battery in there with them and jump it off with it if needed. I do not like power slamming my pcm no more than I have too by disconnecting my battery cables.
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Hanuman
"The Almighty Grounds Cleaner"

Pull the radio fuse the radios clock and presets uses more juice.
A cars battery size is selected by the factory to have enough reserve to sit for a month and still start.
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myredvert
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myredvert

First, if your battery and charging system are in good condition, sitting for three weeks or so shouldn't be a problem without having to pull fuses. But taking a "jumper" battery and cables seems to me a very prudent move to try to circumvent Murphy's Law. :thumb

While the battery size selection process is based in part on the reserve capacity which is calculated with respect to how long the battery can maintain at or above 10.5 volts with a 25 amp hour load @ 80 degrees (so the car should continue to run after a charging system failure), this does effectively work out to having the ability to possibly sit for quite a while and still start.
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Cardinal Grammeter
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The best laid plans....

The day before I fully smart charged the battery.

I go to the airport at some crazy time like 5:30 am and the long term lot is full and there is no sign-age showing where else to park. There were other lots but they were not marked at all (this is regional Latrobe, PA), so I park and forget to disconnect the battery.

Long story short, I come back 5AM on a Red Eye during which I got no sound sleep at all, totally fried, couldn't remember where I parked and a bit worried about the signs saying they would tow cars parked on the grass (I was.)

But I found my car (!) and IT STARTED (!)

LESSON: It doesn't matter how you prep, but a Win is a Win.

Very happy me. Drove home on deserted roads, checked my email and slept in to 11am (was in NV so had the Jet Lag.)

Also, whatever the draw is on a 91 Metro, it isn't that much.

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Car Nut
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Glad it worked out for you.
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nerys
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Grr

ive let my mouse sit for MONTHS. starts right up every time (well except when I leave the mpguino plugged in. then 2 weeks or less might kill it)
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geopanda
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Do it Yourselfer

When i got my project metro it had a blown head gasket, bad rings, and had been outside for over a year. It took two tries and a little on the gas pedal to get it to fire. After running for a few minutes i could shut it off and restart it with no issues. If your metro is in runming order when parked it will fire more then likely.
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