We have a local Drive In movie here in town and was wondering if the battery would hold up during the show? My Denali is a pain because if you cut the ignition on, the lights automatically turn on. Thanks, Shawn
kinda hard to say. summer before last, i sat for almost an hour waiting on someone (they said they were gonna run in and run out). it was hot so had air going. you could leave it running until you run out of gas as the ICE will cycle on automatically to charge the battery.
Yup, Dave's right. Just make sure you have gas and everything'll be OK. The car will do what it needs to in order to stay healthy. FWIW, there's still a drive movie theatre in Skowhegan, Maine. As well as an absolutely beautiful restored old theatre in town Skowhegan. Skow town is where "Empire Falls" was partly filmed.
There's an drive-in near Jefferson, WI (close to Madison) that still operates. http://www.highway18.com/
Last I heard, there was one just outside Columbus, OH. Two screens, two movies each per night. I miss it!
Take a look at: http://www.driveintheater.com/ They have a list of a lot of drive-ins around the US. Not totally sure how up-to-date it is, but it's a good starting place.
Thanks for the replies. I'll make sure we have plenty of Gas prior to going. Ours just changed to the FM deal. I'm located in Beaufort SC. I think there is one other in the state or it's in Jessup GA... can't remember. ~Shawn
Yes, leave it running ("Ready" in the dash display) and in PARK, not Neutral. In Neutral it will not recharge the main battery and you will be hosed. If it is not "Ready" it will not recharge either battery and you will be doubly hosed.
I saw on a thread (before the crash) where they simply pressed the Power button to ACC and had the MFD off for the duration of the movie. It should just make it, as long as it isn't one of those 2 and a 1/2 hour long ones.
I just learned the hard way that the Prius' standard battery won't do much justice on its own. One movie maximum with the car in accessory mode (pushing the start button with your foot off the gas). After two movies, I needed a boost - and boosting is a pain with that little tiny + terminal. Oh well. Luckily there was a tow truck driver (with tow truck) watching the same drive-in movie. Unluckily for me, he wasn't feeling too generous and grabbed $20 off me. Doh! I agree with other people in that leaving the car on would be just fine. The only thing that would drive me crazy, is seeing all the dash gages. I am almost tempted to install a second battery in the rear spare compartment...
I've left the Prius running all day while camping, with just the fridge plugged in. The amount of gas you have is the limiting factor, because the car will turn on and off as needed to keep the batteries up. It'll turn on more often at a movie with the stereo and the air conditioning on, but you should be fine as long as you don't run out of gas. Or popcorn.
On my Chevrolet truck I was able to turn off the headlights this way. Next to the knob you turn lights on, there is a small button about 1/4" in size. If you push it 3 times the headlights will turn off. If you push it once more the lights will come back on.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fatale @ Jul 24 2006, 12:21 AM) [snapback]291336[/snapback]</div> Just a reminder that you don't need to get the booster clip on the small threaded bolt at the jumper terminal, you can attach quite easily to the metal flange that comes up from the bolt, even with large cables. Dave
