Should I disconnect the battery?

[newkid]

I will be away for about a month, should I disconnect the battery? Thanks.

if you are reffering to the 300CE , i would.
just disconnect the negative cable

Originally Posted by tkamiya

I wouldn't....

If your bettery is fully charged and is in good condition, AND there is no aftermarket gadgets draining the battery, enough charge will remain after a month of non-use to start the car. I don't think it's necessay to do anything.

By the way, my car sits in my garage for a long time without use. I have a trickle charger with auto shutoff installed. I just plug it in when I don't anticipate use for a while.

By the way, if you disconnect a battery, factory radio will go into reset mode and will require either code or special cartridge for use. I hope you knew this if you disconnected it already.

the 1989 uses a radio code for the factory radio, the cartidge was only used for model year 1987, the code is not that hard to get, he probably doesn't have a trickle charger, or else he would have mentioned it, if he wants to gurantee the car will start when he gets back then disconnecting battery will gurantee that, also we have no idea if the battery is strong enough to withstand the entire month of a normal parasitic draw,

[Duke2.6]

Yes, I would disconnect the battery, AND I would charge it prior to starting the car when you return.

On my '88 there are no ill-effects from disconnecting the battery as there are on some later (and maybe earlier) models. The radio has an internal battery that refreshes the memory, so the station codes are not lost when you remove the main battery.

Duke

[stevebfl]

I think the digital radio codes that are user friendly started in 1990. Before that the radio would be OK as stated above until the radio battery died, which they all have by now. Then it is a trip to the dealer.

[Duke2.6]

Steve -

The original battery is still in my radio, which I've been thinking about lately. Do you know what type of battery to use and have any tips on changing it?

I'm surprised I've never seen any discussion about this on the forum.

Duke

[stevebfl]

Actually some of those old radios hold the memory in ram somehow and don't need batteries. My brother fixes these radios and because of such I don't spend too much time with them. I imagine he stocks the battery. Maybe write me tomorrow and I can find out which ones and what type.

It depends on your battery...My car is essentially a highway car and I rountinely leave it in the garage for 2-3 weeks on end without problem. Case in point: I did leave my E320 at Minneapolis, MN airport for 2 weeks over Xmas holidays. It did start upon my return. It helps to have Mobil 0W40 fill in your engine

At this time of the year, it helps that you propably don't need the max CCA. If in doubt (battery is less than 13.2V), then disconnect the battery and it only takes less than 3 minutes to reconnect and re-enter thr radio code.

BTW, you should always have the radio code handy somewhere in the car. You never know when you will need it You certainly do not want to drive 6 hours in a silent car like I once did in a relative's VW passat car.

[Duke2.6]

Originally Posted by stevebfl

Actually some of those old radios hold the memory in ram somehow and don't need batteries. My brother fixes these radios and because of such I don't spend too much time with them. I imagine he stocks the battery. Maybe write me tomorrow and I can find out which ones and what type.

Steve - your e-mail is turned off, so I can't send you a private e-mail message.

It's always been my assumption that my car has a battery to refresh the memory that stores the radio station codes, because I don't loose them if I remove the battery, which I do for its normal six months of summer storage. (I use the Merc as my "winter car".)

I guess the other possibilities are that it has non-volatile memory, which was pretty expensive back then and not commonly used, or it has a rechargeable battery that charges off system voltage.

Whatever the case, I'm concerned that the battery - if any - is now over 17 years old and is probably living on borrowed time.

I'm surprised that I have never seen a thread on radio batteries for my vintage, so maybe it doesn't even have one.

Can you find out from your brother?

Duke

[stevebfl]

Write me at [email protected]

I'll get it at work and ask my brother.