Can I let it tick over?

[jonh]

The GTR has been in my garage undriven for a couple of weeks now - I don't want to take it out in the snow, ice and salt.

I'm worried that the battery might go flat..... can I start it and leave it ticking over in the garage (with the garage door open obviously) or will this damage the engine?

Jonathan

[charles charlie]

Just get a battery conditioner instead, or a battery charger. They are far more efficient at charging your battery than running the engine (which takes power to start and run) for a few minutes.

And what damage exactly do you think will happen to your engine??

[JapFreak786]

when you leave the battery on charge,how long can you leave it on charge for without over charging the battery and making it useless?

i was thinking of always leaving it connected,but only putting it onto charge every other day,when it's connected I can view the battery voltage without sending power to it,this is on an R33 but a battery is a battery.....

[charles charlie]

Battery conditioners wont overcharge a battery, they regulate their output to maintain a set voltage.

The Optimate conditioner is rated very highly and is not overly expensive..

Optimate...

[paul__k]

I would move the car a little to check the brake pads don't rust to the discs. this seems to be much worse in winter and happens even after 1 day. IMO its good practice to use the gears, brakes and steering if possible rather than just leave it in one place.

More Info here:

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/laying_up.html

[NINEIR0N]

Shabba!

[jaycabs]

Originally Posted by NINEIR0N

Best line I have ever read on a Motor Car Forum!
"I'm worried that the battery might go flat..... can I start it and leave it ticking over in the garage (with the garage door open obviously) or will this damage the engine?"

That is a classic....

not being sarcastic but for some one to be able to afford and own a special car , that line is rather worrying to be honest

[jonh]

don't understand why you think so?? Many car manuals tell you not to let a car warm up on tick over but to drive the car as soon as you start it.

Don't know why ....oil pressure, uneven engine warming etc.

But thought I would ask the experts here who offer help - obviously you're not one of them!

Jonathan

Originally Posted by NINEIR0N

Best line I have ever read on a Motor Car Forum!
"I'm worried that the battery might go flat..... can I start it and leave it ticking over in the garage (with the garage door open obviously) or will this damage the engine?"

That is a classic....

[jonh]

Originally Posted by charles charlie

Battery conditioners wont overcharge a battery, they regulate their output to maintain a set voltage.

The Optimate conditioner is rated very highly and is not overly expensive..

Optimate...

Thanks CC - do you use this one?

I was holding back from these as the HPC told me the battery was 420 or 450 AH and therefore wasnt sure if the conditioner would have enough power output??

Jonathan

[misters3]

Originally Posted by NINEIR0N

Best line I have ever read on a Motor Car Forum!
"I'm worried that the battery might go flat..... can I start it and leave it ticking over in the garage (with the garage door open obviously) or will this damage the engine?"

That is a classic....

This is not just aimed at you Nineiron, but what is with a lot of the guys who've had their R35's a while posting sarcastic and/or unhelpful answers. Or assuming someone asking a 'dumb' question to be a troll.

It might be a trivial question to you, but to the OP he's just asking a very simple question looking for a clear answer. I know where he's coming from because in my BMW and Audi manual they explicitly say, "Do not warm up the car, drive off immediately".

If you don't want to answer a question, ignore it.

If you think the guy is a troll, ignore him. DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS.

Remember the guy in Lebanon (i think it was) with his gearbox failure, reading back that thread makes me cringe. The poor guy is still having issue with his car (see nagtroc for his most recent trouble) gearbox.

Again maybe i'm just used to different forums such as audi-sport.net and e90post.com (not mentioning ones i run), and i'm on my own here, but i think saying nothing if you have nothing say makes a little sense? Would create a much nicer smell in gtr.co.uk world. Or so i think.

Part of where this comes from is that i have a few points to discuss about the car and hopefully get a consensus of opinion before raising it with my HPC, but i can foresee what could be an interesting discussion with relation to the bose sound system for one and black paint for other, would just decend into a pissing contest. And no doubt locked threads lol

Considering this is actually an Owners Club c/w with freebie sites like ASN and E90 it's unbelievable that we tolerate/proliferate/portray ourselves as unhelpful sarcastic know-it-alls. Not very inclusive to newbies who are going to come along, not use the search feature because they may have never used a car forum before, and ask the same question that was asked a year ago. Eg about gracenote database etc.

Maybe some of you could make it a NYR

[Lindsay Mac]

Originally Posted by jonh

don't understand why you think so?? Many car manuals tell you not to let a car warm up on tick over but to drive the car as soon as you start it.

Don't now why ....oil pressure, uneven engine warming etc.

But thought I would ask the experts here who offer help - obviously you're not one of them!

Jonathan

In a previous life I was a mechanic Jonathan.

The rational behind not warming an engine up it to prevent cylinder glazing. The best plan is to start the vehicle and drive off loading the engine without excessive revs. Idling in a garage for a period of time is not the best for an engine although like most issues a one off is no problem.

[Lindsay Mac]

Originally Posted by misters3

If you think the guy is a troll, ignore him. DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS.

Make this a sticky.........

[misters3]

Originally Posted by Lindsay Mac

In a previous life I was a mechanic Jonathan.

The rational behind not warming an engine up it to prevent cylinder glazing. The best plan is to start the vehicle and drive off loading the engine without excessive revs. Idling in a garage for a period of time is not the best for an engine although like most issues a one off is no problem.

Cheers Lindsay

Always wondered why it said to drive off immediately in my car manuals, as i thought not letting the oil warm up and circulate before driving off would cause damage.

Ta

[charles charlie]

Originally Posted by jonh

Thanks CC - do you use this one?

I was holding back from these as the HPC told me the battery was 420 or 450 AH and therefore wasnt sure if the conditioner would have enough power output??

Jonathan

I've never used one as all the cars I've ever owned get well used!

But I know quite a few old guffers who own some lovely old cars. They swear by the Optimate range.

As for having sufficient output, think about it..

You're not charging a battery from flat here. You're just topping up the charge as it slowly dwindles over time. The alarm system plus any Tracker only draw a few amps, so all the conditioner has to do is monitor the voltage, and add as needed.

The Optimate 4 is a rather clever piece of kit all told.

[CJay]

Ive used an optimate on my Bike through the Winter months Great bit of kit especially when your Bike or Car has an alarm drawing current which on my Fireblade ran the battery flat over a few weeks, with the Optimate all was cured, Money well spent