OK, I've read some of the stuff, and I'm hearing some conflict, so I gotta ask the dumb question. (We really need something in the Knowledge Base on this). We are going away for 41 days (WorldCon in Glasgow Scotland TolkeinCon in Birmingham England and various other places before). The car will be parked in the driveway while we are gone. The things I know - Turn off SKS How much hassle is disconnecting the 12v battery? Is it necessary for a trip of this length? Or would it be better to have someone turn the car on for 30 minutes once a week? I don't know any one close by that I would actually trust to drive it anywhere. But turning it on and letting it sit and recharge, I think I can trust them with that. My old car could sit around like that and usually restart, but I do understand that some times the Prius can be weird. Any clarification and other people's experiences would be helpful. Thanks Lisa
the small 12 volt battery doesn't like to sit for an exteded lenght of time. Shut off the SKS and if you have someone you trust have them start and run it for 20-30 minutes every 2 weeks that your gone. This will prevent any problems developing. The small 12volt battery if fully dischanged to the point of a no-start will sustain permanent damage. If you bought a small Solar Panel and hooked it directly to the battery and layed it on the Privacy Shield in the back if facing south will probably save you all the above trouble. If you disconnect the 12volt you will loose all presets on radio, nav, etc. and will require resetting the auto up/down drivers window. Hope this helps.
If you decide to disconnect the battery, it's pretty easy to do: After removing the cargo hold, you can pull out the cargo floor above the battery that's in the passenger's side cubby. Then, with a small, flat bladed screwdriver, pop off the latches holding the red cover in place. Then, undo the terminals on the battery. I think you need a 10mm socket to release the terminals... The terminals are circled in the photo.
Along time ago somebody said something about just pulling a fuse, but i forgot which fuse???? Maybe somebody here remembers
Lisa - Just leave the car with me. I'll keep it charged up for you. I'm sure my 19-year-old son would be willing to drive it around for you, too. :lol:
Thanks Kathy I knew I could count on you :lol: I got this car so the 16 year old son could have an ancient 1993 Ford Escort to drive and leave his mom's real car alone. I have several closer by friends who will hopefully be able to keep the 12v battery going while I'm gone. I will have e-mail, so I can remind them to take care of my baby. If they can't or won't do it, then I get to unplug the 12v battery. Luckily, I don't have Nav, so all I have to do is reset the radio. How does one reset the Windows? Lisa
I wonder why you couln't use say a motorcylce charger, or trickle charger that puts out only 1-2 amps. maybe have it on a timer to charge say once a day for a hour, something like that. Ron
There are many automatic battery maintainers that will keep a "float" charge on the battery. I use a Schumacher "Companion" at my hobby farm to keep the tractor and truck batteries from getting too low. Don't just use a regular battery charger set at low rate (1-2 amps). They'll keep charging and you'll boil the electrolyte right out of the battery. Use a battery maintainer that will automatically keep a "float" charge on the battery, switching to a low rate whenever necessary. Some folks swear by those new DeSulfator or pulse-conditioner chargers. I don't think you can leave the battery hooked up to the vehicle while using a pulse-conditioner, but it is supposed to maintain battery capacity and dramatically extend battery life.
