I live in Michigan (just a few miles from where our cars were assembled) and I have two v6 Fieros that I put away at the end of September, for the winter. They go in my unattached, un-heated garage. Everyone around here has different opinions about how to store cars for the winter, and I have a checklist, but one thing I never have figured out is the best thing to do with the batteries. Take them out of the cars? Leave them in and put them on trickle chargers? I'm sure there are lots of ideas out there... Thanks!

If its going to sit un-started for that long I would take the battery out of the car and store in a warm place. Then charge before re-install, give it a few miles for the iac to set and the ecm needs a little re-learning time also.

I used to store my fiero for the winter (well.. still do). I would just put the tires on plywood, spread some moth balls around (inside and out), unhook the battery, cover it and forget it.

You can put a trickle charger on it, but I can't say I have ever had a problem with letting the battery sit all winter (unhooked).

J.

I use a small battery tender on all my cars I store. Battrey stays charged and the car starts right
up in the spring.

I'm going to put battery tenders on both cars, thanks for the suggestion. Here's s possibly dumb question - should I disconnect the batteries from the cars?

What is a battery tender ?

I'm guessing they will be setting for about 6 mo. You could also put a little fuel stab. in both just as an added precaution if you have E10 in them.

a battery tender is a device that you plug in an elecrical outlet and that take care of your battery still connected in your car . If the charge goes too low its 'recharging so on so on. so your battery is alway charged

Battery tenders are the best, but there's a low tech way that works pretty good.

Simply use a 1-amp motorcycle battery charger on an appliance timer. ( Sold for turning lamps and other appliances on and off periodically.) Set it for 20-45 minutes a day. I've seen the chargers for around 12 bucks, and the timers for 6-7 bucks at Ace Hardware or Wal-Mart.

the latest thing they are saying for boat storage is drain the fuel as low as you can. used to be leave it full, but the tested shelf life of gas is now down to 30-60 days. put fresh in in the spring. use some stabil on what is left.

for the battery, disconnect it, it should be fine in spring, or do an overnite charge before you start it.

Not that this is really helpful or anything but just kind of interesting:
when i left for Iraq last August, i ran short on time and didnt have the time to properly store my Fiero (everyday driver) so the day i left i just drove it in turned it off threw the keys on the seat locked up and left.

When i came back in the middle march this year, i opened the door and the interior light came on so i said huh, why not and the drn thing started up first try i couldnt beleive it!!!
like i said not really helpful but interesting!

Iv`e never heard of this being called a battery tender, A charger with trickle down maybe, but never a tender, hhmmm I need to get out more... Vunda I like your story--I had a Sears die hard in one of mine that sits in-&-out of the shop (mostly winters)--depending on what and how many projects I have going on, starts everytime, it finally dies, checked the purchase date==that sucker lasted 8 years..

Fierotoyboy - As you see, the verdict is out on the battery issue. But, two hints for storage.
First, spray the ENTIRE undsrside of the car with pledge furnitue wax. It will stop any further rust from forming under the chasis, and prevent any new from starting. In the spring, do nothing, any wax on the exhaust system will just burn off. Second, Get about a dozen of those clothes dryer sheets, you know, the things you throw in the dryer with clothes. Put some on the floor of the car, on the seats, under the seats and in both engine and trunk compartments. Apparently rodents can't stand the smell of those dryer things and avoid nesting in the car. Ed

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What is winter??

quote Originally posted by LT188GT: What is winter??

That's the time of year with beautiful weather suitable for driving with the t-tops off.

Rather than the battery tender I would suggest just disconnecting it. With no drain on it, the battery should not self-discharge over a few months.

Firefighter - yep I learned a few years back about the dryer sheets - I highly recommend them. About four years ago, a huge family of mice or rats completely packed my heater box with nesting- mostly shredded newspaper, and lots of other "stuff" you expect animals might leave behind. Bad news! I use a whole box of sheets between the two cars every year. Oh, and whoever asked about battery tenders, that's actually a brand name for a cool little charger that senses several variables including loaded charge, temperature, etc, and does light loading/charging. A little fancier than a plain trickle charger. They run about 45 bucks though (which puts you well on your way to the price of a new battery...), but I think I will get one for the car that has a new Delco Pro battery in it.

quote Originally posted by Fierotoyboy: ... battery tenders, that's actually a brand name for a cool little charger that senses several variables including loaded charge, temperature, etc, and does light loading/charging. A little fancier than a plain trickle charger. They run about 45 bucks though (which puts you well on your way to the price of a new battery...).

A cheap trickle charger will do more harm that none at all. Overcharging a battery is the worst thing in the world for it...can also lead to serious complications like explosions and fire. And the more expensive ones cost more than a cheap replacement battery, which is why I say for most people just disconnecting the battery is the better solution.

Yes, disconnect the battery. if it's fully charged it should be fine for a few months. Don;t believe that float charge crap, the 300+$ computerized float chargers for boats still boil out the batteries, especially when they are a few years old.
the added benefit of disconnecting the battery is safety, no power so no potential short/fire issues. A few hours on a charger
after 3 months should be all you need to start the car, tho if the battery is good, and not connected, it shouldn;t even need that.

OK guys, you talked me out of using battery tenders. Here's another question. It gets REALLY cold here. Would anyone advise bringing the batteries inside for the winter? Really, I totally put my cars in storage - I don't have any need to move them - from Sept. 30 - Apr. 1. (In case you are wondering why I'm so specific about the dates, that's how I have my insurance set up - for driving that is. The cars are insured year-round for theft or fire damage).

straight gas would be better, with some stabilizer. for that length of time, you are doing the right thing leaving it almost empty and putting fresh in in the spring. it is the latest new advice for boat storage now, a complete turnaround from store it full, due to the poor shelf life of modern gas.
if you have the room I would take the batteries and store them someplace cool and none freezing.

I think given the short life of modern gas that nearly empty is better.

When I went to revive my Indy it had a tank of rancid gas and I thought I could run it through the engine...bad idea. I lost the fuel pump before that tank was emptied.

By the way, if you are ever in the Houston Texas area between Sept 30th and April 1st, drop in and you can drive one of my Fieros. It totally sucks to me that you have to put them away for 6 months out of the year. Our summers are miserably hot, but at least Fieros are driveable year-round.

[This message has been edited by jscott1 (edited 09-04-2006).]

One of the guys in my car club is a bigwig at Exxon. He says gas is really only good a month or two anymore. Mix some Stabil in a few gallons and leave it mostly empty if you cant move it for months. Better to just add 5 gallons of new gas when you get it back out. Leave it full for 3 months with full tank and it runs like crap till its all used up.

As for the tender the Porsche have them as a base equipment friend of mine has a Boxster and have it in it

quote Originally posted by LT188GT: What is winter??

That's when you can turn the A/C from max to normal, maybe even roll down the windows.

[This message has been edited by spark1 (edited 10-28-2006).]

It was a little too hot during the middle of the day today to take the t-tops off, so I rolled with the A/C on "normal" instead of "MAX"

My basic things:

-Oil plus filter change
-Pressure wash, including bottom
-Cleaning interior (won't smell)
-Lubre for balljoints
-cooling fluid check (should be ok to -38 deg F)
-battery to warm place, charge about every 3 months
-WD-40 for places with rust (like battery tray)

Otherwise there is nothing to worry about. When there is some warmer days, like 15 deg F, I used to run engine and drive around for some time. I've started it at -14 deg F without charging it for months with no broblems.

If you start it in the winter, remember to run the a/c also, keeps things oiled up.

quote Originally posted by tjm4fun: the latest thing they are saying for boat storage is drain the fuel as low as you can. used to be leave it full, but the tested shelf life of gas is now down to 30-60 days. put fresh in in the spring. use some stabil on what is left. for the battery, disconnect it, it should be fine in spring, or do an overnite charge before you start it.

EXACTLY

Local wally-world (walmart) had a nice trickle charger /battery maintainer that plugged in the cig lighter plug. it works great, is really easy to remove and has some nice indicators on it for battery status... green = full charge yellow = maintainers charge red = charging, it has a MAX 2 amp charge current so it will bring up a battery over a couple of days and cover the newer stereo, auto dim rearview, Sirius reciever, etc standby current draw, but will not handle a damaged battery.

It cost me $14.00 and I use it year round as my Fiero may go weeks without leaving the garage during the good weather. (hey It deserves to be babied!)

Now to find a easy way to get the car on and off the wheel dollies I have it on during winter to make garage life easier.

[This message has been edited by timgray (edited 10-29-2006).]

It doen't get as cold here just south of the Oregon border as is does in Michigan but, it does get into the teens. I've stored my Fiero's for at least four months a year for the last 15 years. I've had people tell me it's impossible because of the ecm's drain, blah, blah, blah but, they've never failed to start come spring. I've tried trickle chargers on boat and rv batteries without much luck. I usually find the battery dry and dead if left for very long even when set at 2 amps. A fully charged battery has a pretty low freezing temp (maybe someone knows what it is) so I'd leave it in the car and just put a charger on it a couple of times during the winter. The very low amp tender might be the answer also.

[This message has been edited by triker (edited 10-29-2006).]

I put a knife switch on my '88 that seems to work well. I got it a Advance Auto Parts. When I park it I just open the knife switch. No battery drain between starts.

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RickN
White 88GT 5spd
White 85GT Auto
White 99 F250SD 7.3PSD 6spd

If it is a good battery, leave it in the car. If the battery is 4-5 years old... pull it out and keep it in a warm location. I have left batteries in the car during winter (disconnected) without a problem. Frankly, I found it a pain to remove the battery. Now... a discharged/old battery could crack in extreme winters... so.. pull a bad battery and keep it from freezing until you can replace it.


A for gas.... I never put anything in my 87. Today, I use Stabil. I would recommend it as cheap insurance. I would also fill the tank to keep the moisture and rust build up to a min.

J.

mines gonna be sitting all winter but i am going to run it atleast every few weeks mabey around the block or something
(happy bday to me lol)
then when the winter goes away i can work on it

wow a few people from michigan ^_^

quote Originally posted by tjm4fun: the latest thing they are saying for boat storage is drain the fuel as low as you can. used to be leave it full, but the tested shelf life of gas is now down to 30-60 days. put fresh in in the spring. use some stabil on what is left.

When they first came out and said this a couple of years ago, That is what I did.
In the spring I had fuel gauge reading problems. It would stick at certain levels and was inaccurate.
I had to drop the tank and clean everything. The fuel gauge sensor was all gummed up.
Since then I store it with a full tank treated with Sta-Bil. Haven't had a problem since.
I do the same thing with the lawn mower and the snow-blower and have never had any problems.
If you store it with just staright gas I can see you having problems, but Sat-Bil works great.


As for the rest of storage,
I give it a good wash/wax.
Fill up tank with premium gas and the right application od Sta-Bil.
Disconnect the battery and hook it to a cheap trickle charger. Our garage is attached and well insulated so it doesn't get too cold.
Change out the oil and oil filter.
Bounce dryer sheets on the interior and both front and back trunks.
My tires have nitrogen in them, But if you use air, just make sure they are properly inflated.
Toss on a car cover and leave it for spring.

These are what all the local car clubs recommend.
I have my car stored from October Thru March/April. Been doing it since 1997 and aside from the low fuel storage noted above, I have never had any problems.

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Happiness isn't around the corner...
Happiness IS the corner.
ZZ4 Powered !!

quote Originally posted by Oreif: When they first came out and said this a couple of years ago, That is what I did. In the spring I had fuel gauge reading problems. It would stick at certain levels and was inaccurate. I had to drop the tank and clean everything. The fuel gauge sensor was all gummed up. Since then I store it with a full tank treated with Sta-Bil. Haven't had a problem since. I do the same thing with the lawn mower and the snow-blower and have never had any problems. If you store it with just staright gas I can see you having problems, but Sat-Bil works great.

Sta-Bil is great stuff. I use it also. in my case tho, my boat is only out of use for 3 months, I fish till 12/15, then haul 12/16, back in by end of march. (yes, I have shoveled off the deck before leaving to fish)
Last article on this said either empty it completely or leave it full, full to limit the amout of air sucked in and out due to expansion, so there is less moisture exposed to the e10. but they have so nmany caveats on that about how long it is stored vs safety concerns.
for a car with a 6month storage, i would store it empty with some stabilizer in the gas and run thru the motor. get down to near empty, add sta-bil to treat the estimated remaining, and run the motor to get it in the system.with a 10 gal tank it is much easier to dilute stale gas than it is with a 200 gallon tank!

quote Originally posted by LT188GT: What is winter??

its that time of the year when all your oranges freeze and you have to go out walking around at 3 am to keep the fires in the smudge pots burning...............

quote Originally posted by LT188GT: What is winter??

Like we say over here in one month nobobody here will be on hearth . we all gonna be on snow

Related question;

I live in Canada and though I do not plan on driving my Fiero until about April and it will be stored in a modestly heated attached garage I was wondering;

Do you guys reccomend or discourage full underbody oil sprays for the Fiero. Mine has some problematic rust issues as is. I wanted to just get the thing sprayed so it would slow the rust down as mch as possible as well as preventing new rust from forming.

What do you guys think?

Thanks,

Me and my SE have been together goin' on 9 years now and have managed to endure our winters just fine, but our winters arn't too bad, as much as 12 to 14 inches of snow on the ground and a couple of weeks of 12 to 20 below, so I use a battery quick dissconnect during the winter - put in twice the recommended amount of Sta-Bil then either drive or let it run for 15 min followed by starting it and letting it run 15 min once a month, have used it in my dirt bikes and snowmobiles for years - (DANG, darn near runied my scanner, spilled Sta-Bil all over it, knocked the scanner off a shelf, scared the dog so bad she ran to the wife . . . . .)and then of course one of those big buck custom fit covers - So far my SE has been a pretty happy camper. Oh, and, those dryer sheets are a great idea.

[This message has been edited by Bruno Mid Engine (edited 11-26-2006).]