4oldguy
09-26-2008, 12:28 AM
:) I store my C6 for six months of the year as us old people get to go to Florida!
I disconnected the battery last fall. [As I had a friend who had a fire caused by a rodent (is the best guess) and burned his house quite bad.] I get concerned about leaving the power on. After a battery charge in the spring, the car started right up but, naturally, the radio memory was lost but stranger was some running issues that cleared up. The most visible problem became the side windows not retracting a half inch on opening the door, or not extending back up on closing the door. That lasted for a few weeks when the passenger side started working and the drivers side followed in another week or so. The computer kind of acting like my memory! Poor!
What is the thinking on leaving the battery connected? Would the "fusible link" or, now days, the fuse. Protect the car from a fire?
shattered
09-26-2008, 07:59 PM
I'm an old guy too, however not old enough to go to Fla. for 6 mos. I still work. I recently bought an '08 coupe, and I am also interested in storing it for about 3 mos. I live in NJ, in an apartment with no garage. I keep the car covered at all times, except when I drive it of course. I found one of those storage places near my home, which rents garage space by the month. What should I do to prepare the car for storage? If we have a mild winter, I will want to take it out for a ride. I never did this before, so please bear with me. Thanks
Xlr8YourC6
10-01-2008, 05:58 AM
I leave my C6 in the garage over the winter - I just put some Stabil in the gas and (as always) have a (maintenance) charger on the battery (a Ctek 3300 - I like the pulse charge feature (helps remove sulfur buildup on the plates they say) - previously I used a Battery Tender Plus for years (C5, etc) but had 2 fail in a row (one after 18months of use, a replacement after 3 days). Some people lift the car to avoid flats on the tires but I don't do that (I do pump the tires up a bit higher than normal)
I also change the oil before storage (nice thing on the C6 is you can do that without a lift - I use a $1 tin turkey pan and two extensions on my ratchet after lifting the drivers side a bit (using jacking puck) - then once drain plug removed I lower the jack to let the oil drain. Lift again a bit to replace filter (filling it with oil first) and reinstall plug.
And about the windows on the C6 - you can "reindex" them (noted in the owner's manual I think) - press down button and hold it for 5 sec (IIRC) once bottomed out - the raise them and hold button for 5 sec. after they hit the stops.
4oldguy
10-20-2008, 05:11 PM
Thanks for the replies. Sorry that this response is so late, but we were in Mexico. The tip on the windows was great. When all else fails, look in the manual! Didn't think of that!
I am lucky in that I have a two post hoist and store the Vette about 18" off of the floor. As to the charger, I'm not sure I want something plugged into the wall while I am gone for six months as we lose power a lot and sometimes we have had some bad electrical surges that have destroyed appliances and sprinkler timers that were off, but plugged in. So now I leave nothing pluged into the wall.
I just sent to Eklers for a battery disconnect with a small gage wire that supplies current to the computer and radio memory. I think that that's what I will do this year. Also thanks for the battery charger info. I will pass that on to my car club members.
Take care.:)
inthehunt2
10-21-2008, 07:50 PM
A few thoughts...
Regarding the window not indexing... Yes, it is in the owners manual. From my Vet (MY08), the procedure after connecting the battery is to index the window up. After fully reaching the top, hold the button up for 3 additional seconds then release the switch. Wait a moment, then with the window fully up, hold the button up for another 3 seconds and then release. According to the manual, the window system has been "trained" and will work normal as it did before the battery was removed.
Battery charging... If you don't have concerns about problems with electricity delivery to your house or electrical gremlins in your house that take out computers, garage door openers, freezers, etc... I use a "smart trickle charger" from Napa. Nice product. Approximately $29.00, pulse charging, compact package, etc. etc.
Vehicle storage... I just purchased the CarBag from www.carbag.com. Polyethelyne bag, non breathable, dessicant included. A friend of mine used one on his '78 Vet and swears by it. He told me that when he pulled the car out in the following spring, the car was in an absolutely pristine shape. He sold me, so I bought one for my car, which sadly is now in storage for the fall/winter.
Hope this helps!