D2000 Posted 14December, 2017 Report Share Posted 14December, 2017 Will be letting my car sit undriven for six weeks. Have done a bit of googling to check what I need to do to prepare, and have charged battery, will wash, increase tyre pressure, fill fuel tank. The sites I have seen recommend not leaving the handbrake on for long periods of time, but it is not clear to me how long that is. My question is, for six weeks am I safe to keep the handbrake on or should I buy some wheel chocks. Car will be parked in a private but shared garage, so I'd rather not have obvious indications that the car is not being used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TINGY Posted 14December, 2017 Report Share Posted 14December, 2017 And the wheel chocks wouldn't give it away that the car is not being used?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D2000 Posted 14December, 2017 Author Report Share Posted 14December, 2017 23 minutes ago, TINGY944 said: And the wheel chocks wouldn't give it away that the car is not being used?! That’s my point. I’d rather not use them if I don’t have to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troubleshooter Posted 14December, 2017 Report Share Posted 14December, 2017 Handbrake off in 1st if manual and pump tyres to 40. if auto, well ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D2000 Posted 15December, 2017 Author Report Share Posted 15December, 2017 3 hours ago, Troubleshooter said: Handbrake off in 1st if manual and pump tyres to 40. if auto, well ..... Cheers. Will do (and yes, manual) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troubleshooter Posted 15December, 2017 Report Share Posted 15December, 2017 Oh and provided the garage floor is flat (or relatively) --not many garages slope much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D2000 Posted 15December, 2017 Author Report Share Posted 15December, 2017 48 minutes ago, Troubleshooter said: Oh and provided the garage floor is flat (or relatively) --not many garages slope much Yep flat. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teknostar Posted 17December, 2017 Report Share Posted 17December, 2017 6 weeks - just park it as normal and don't worry about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D2000 Posted 17December, 2017 Author Report Share Posted 17December, 2017 4 hours ago, teknostar said: 6 weeks - just park it as normal and don't worry about it Thanks. Already parked it with handbrake off. Hopefully I have not done the wrong thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_189 Posted 19December, 2017 Report Share Posted 19December, 2017 It will be fine, i've left mine that long with no issues. I used to leave the hand brake off but now when its in the garage I just engage it a few clicks rather than full. At most you might need to top up the battery. When I park for long periods I leave the front compartment popped up so if my battery dies I can connect my battery charger or jump starter to then open the rear hatch and jump from the rear. If you've got a mk1 you don't have the problem of electronic releases! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D2000 Posted 19December, 2017 Author Report Share Posted 19December, 2017 1 hour ago, dan_189 said: It will be fine, i've left mine that long with no issues. I used to leave the hand brake off but now when its in the garage I just engage it a few clicks rather than full. At most you might need to top up the battery. When I park for long periods I leave the front compartment popped up so if my battery dies I can connect my battery charger or jump starter to then open the rear hatch and jump from the rear. If you've got a mk1 you don't have the problem of electronic releases! Thanks. My 996.1 is a 2001 so has electronic release. But pretty sure my car has a battery isolator so should be able to open the front trunk even if battery flat (or at least that is what I have been told. Could be wrong) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_189 Posted 19December, 2017 Report Share Posted 19December, 2017 33 minutes ago, D2000 said: Thanks. My 996.1 is a 2001 so has electronic release. But pretty sure my car has a battery isolator so should be able to open the front trunk even if battery flat (or at least that is what I have been told. Could be wrong) My understanding is the battery isolator is a switch that basically puts a manual break in the circuit so the car can't use the battery (almost like unhooking it from the car) and thus saving it from going dead during long periods of no use. If you were to switch on the isolator and then close the lid you'd then have to connect a battery to the driver foot well terminal to then open the hood but I'm not entirely sure if that would work because there is still a manual break in the circuit. Which upon further though if the break was on the negative and the hood release circuit was grounded to the body (which it would be) when you connected the positive to the foot well terminal and the negative to the latch (as per the manual) it would complete the circuit and open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troubleshooter Posted 19December, 2017 Report Share Posted 19December, 2017 Provided your battery is decent, all good. I've holidayed and left my cars for 7, 8 and 10 weeks a few times and no probs starting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D2000 Posted 19December, 2017 Author Report Share Posted 19December, 2017 10 hours ago, dan_189 said: My understanding is the battery isolator is a switch that basically puts a manual break in the circuit so the car can't use the battery (almost like unhooking it from the car) and thus saving it from going dead during long periods of no use. If you were to switch on the isolator and then close the lid you'd then have to connect a battery to the driver foot well terminal to then open the hood but I'm not entirely sure if that would work because there is still a manual break in the circuit. Which upon further though if the break was on the negative and the hood release circuit was grounded to the body (which it would be) when you connected the positive to the foot well terminal and the negative to the latch (as per the manual) it would complete the circuit and open. Thanks. Although whichever way if the isolator required me to switch something on I didn’t do so as I have no idea where it is or what it looks like! @Troubleshooter the battery is only six months old and I fully charged it. My old battery went dead after two weeks of no activity but there was still enough power to open the hood and boot, just not enough to start Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troubleshooter Posted 19December, 2017 Report Share Posted 19December, 2017 Should be good for 6 weeks no problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_189 Posted 22December, 2017 Report Share Posted 22December, 2017 On 12/20/2017 at 2:21 AM, D2000 said: Thanks. Although whichever way if the isolator required me to switch something on I didn’t do so as I have no idea where it is or what it looks like! Would usually look something like this and would be near/around the battery: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D2000 Posted 28January, 2018 Author Report Share Posted 28January, 2018 Well, car started first go today six weeks and one day from when I parked it. Very happy about that. Will put it on the CTEK tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoHeadsTas Posted 28January, 2018 Report Share Posted 28January, 2018 On 12/22/2017 at 2:24 PM, dan_189 said: Would usually look something like this and would be near/around the battery: Used to look after a 308GTB that had some circuit leakage that would drain the battery over 3 - 4 weeks, and then the f....king alarm used to go off at about 3.00 in the morning!!!! Put one of this in to cure the problem (easier than tracing the leak). Couldn't always manage to drive it, which could have also been a part cure.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZ930 Posted 28January, 2018 Report Share Posted 28January, 2018 Found one of those red keys lying on the road if anyone wants a spare. Was in good condition until my pup decided to have little chew, but still not too bad. Free to a good home.....the key not the dog ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
911 Snake Posted 31January, 2018 Report Share Posted 31January, 2018 My little horror story the last time I went on holidays for 3 weeks: I left the car simply locked up and the battery went completely flat. Put the key in the ignition which then locked the ignition so I couldn't get the key out! Then, had to jump start via the fuse panel to get the bonnet release open... yada yada.. new battery needed in the end.... Probably a basic knowledge question - For next time, can I simply disconnect both +/- battery terminals, and pop the electric bonnet latch and leave it? I do have a CTEK and jumper leads however, my apartment building garage has no power outlets... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D2000 Posted 31January, 2018 Author Report Share Posted 31January, 2018 Not sure which cables you disconnect, but I think you would want to leave the engine compartment open as you are meant to jump start from the terminals in there rather than the battery (at least on 996) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoHeadsTas Posted 31January, 2018 Report Share Posted 31January, 2018 33 minutes ago, D2000 said: Not sure which cables you disconnect, but I think you would want to leave the engine compartment open as you are meant to jump start from the terminals in there rather than the battery (at least on 996) Which terminals do you mean - the one in the footwell, in which case there's the pull out positive one, but don't think there's a negative, you're just supposed to attach that to the door hinge or something I think - same on the 987. Had to do this recently when we left the ignition on too long in that car so I had to do this to open the bonnet to get in to the battery. I jump started it from the battery, rather than anything else. Is this the wrong thing to do? My 996.2 has same electric switch opening front & rear lids so I would have thought 987 and 996 operating principles would be the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavn Posted 31January, 2018 Report Share Posted 31January, 2018 On 29/01/2018 at 9:29 AM, OZ930 said: Found one of those red keys lying on the road if anyone wants a spare. Was in good condition until my pup decided to have little chew, but still not too bad. Free to a good home.....the key not the dog ! I'd be happy to have it as a spare....got a few cars with those fitted & I'm always worried if I misplace one, drop it down a drain etc. I'll pm you now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D2000 Posted 31January, 2018 Author Report Share Posted 31January, 2018 5 hours ago, TwoHeadsTas said: Which terminals do you mean - the one in the footwell, in which case there's the pull out positive one, but don't think there's a negative, you're just supposed to attach that to the door hinge or something I think - same on the 987. Had to do this recently when we left the ignition on too long in that car so I had to do this to open the bonnet to get in to the battery. I jump started it from the battery, rather than anything else. Is this the wrong thing to do? My 996.2 has same electric switch opening front & rear lids so I would have thought 987 and 996 operating principles would be the same I mean the ones where the engine is, ie the rear lid. There are positive and negative terminals in there for jump starting and the manual says to do it from there. So if you were leaving the battery connected and wanted to be able to jump start easily if it went dead (and without going through the fuse box initially to get the rear lid open) you could just leave the rear engine lid unlatched. But having looked at the original question again, if you disconnected the battery you would need to leave the frunk open so you can reconnect the battery. And assuming the battery didn’t go flat when disconnected you shouldn’t need to jump start it, just reconnect the battery. But if you did that and somehow the frunk got closed while the battery was disconnected I guess you’d have to try and access the manual frunk release, which I think involves removing a wheel... Sorry if I am being confusing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoHeadsTas Posted 31January, 2018 Report Share Posted 31January, 2018 40 minutes ago, D2000 said: I mean the ones where the engine is, ie the rear lid. There are positive and negative terminals in there for jump starting and the manual says to do it from there. So if you were leaving the battery connected and wanted to be able to jump start easily if it went dead (and without going through the fuse box initially to get the rear lid open) you could just leave the rear engine lid unlatched. But having looked at the original question again, if you disconnected the battery you would need to leave the frunk open so you can reconnect the battery. And assuming the battery didn’t go flat when disconnected you shouldn’t need to jump start it, just reconnect the battery. But if you did that and somehow the frunk got closed while the battery was disconnected I guess you’d have to try and access the manual frunk release, which I think involves removing a wheel... Sorry if I am being confusing... Aah, OK. No engine access on the 987, perhaps I'd better re-read the manual to see if you're supposed to jump start it elsewhere. I'd also better look for those terminals in the engine area in the 996 too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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