battery charging/maintenance question

[crunchy_frog]

I live in a condo complex, which makes it impossible for me to have a battery tender attached to my car as there are no electrical outlets near my underground parking spot. My car is a 2008 with the original battery.

i was thinking of physically removing the battery from the trunk and charging the battery in my suite instead. Does anyone see an issue with this method?

i probably only need to reset the clock, all my other settings should be saved in the cars' ROM when i reattach the battery back to the car right?

[UCBPhD]

Originally Posted by crunchy_frog

i was thinking of physically removing the battery from the trunk and charging the battery in my suite instead. Does anyone see an issue with this method?

i probably only need to reset the clock, all my other settings should be saved in the cars' ROM when i reattach the battery back to the car right?

I don't know if there would be any problem with this, but given the complex nature of the car's electrical systems, I wouldn't bet too much money on "it will be fine" . . .

Now, I have asked this question before, and didn't get much of a response, except "drive your car more often". However, with a little help from the google, I think I found a strategy that would work fine (if you live in a reasonably secure area): (1) buy one of these: http://amzn.com/B000EJS9IM (or similar), (2) use the A/C outlets on the item from (1) to power the Battery Tender.

[THE TECH]

The thing that I would be worried about is keeping the car secure while the battery is out and how you get the trunk back open once you close it without the battery. You'd probably need to get a jump box and see if you can power the car without the battery from the poles in the engine compartment.

[MA///M3]

this may sound silly, but what about a friend's house? I charge up my battery once a week. overnight usually does the trick. maybe go to a friend's house, use the tender, charge it up once a week.

[crunchy_frog]

Originally Posted by UCBPhD

I don't know if there would be any problem with this, but given the complex nature of the car's electrical systems, I wouldn't bet too much money on "it will be fine" . . .

Now, I have asked this question before, and didn't get much of a response, except "drive your car more often". However, with a little help from the google, I think I found a strategy that would work fine (if you live in a reasonably secure area): (1) buy one of these: http://amzn.com/B000EJS9IM (or similar), (2) use the A/C outlets on the item from (1) to power the Battery Tender.

i was thinking the same thing. we have this in canada
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows....jsp?locale=en

which should be able to power the battery tender for a while

[Grail05]

I dont recommend taking the battery out its a PITA to take out the battery lock on the bottom is a biatch as well...

if you take the battery lock you cant lock the car and if you do you cant open it... well you can but it will be a bitch just so much hassle.

oh if you wait too long if you take the battery out and tries to put it back more than 4 hours it will reset your settings not just the clock...

[j2m]

Removing the battery, in this car, is a major PIA. They definitely did not make it easy to pop in and out.
That being said I have had my battery out for several weeks at a time and when I re-attached it all I had to do was reset the clock.

[crunchy_frog]

ok thx all
i think the safest route is to buy a portable power pack to power the battery charger/tender. My underground garage is secure with security patrols, so i'm not too worried about the items getting stolen

[VMcV3y]

Consider it not safe to have a potentially explosive and, at the least a corrosive, object inside your house/condo.

- V

.

[mdosu]

i am not looking forward to replacing that battery....I swear they intentionally designed the compartment as compact and ergonomically inefficient as possible, knowing how freaking heavy our batteries are....lol.

[Ggeezer]

Originally Posted by crunchy_frog

i was thinking the same thing. we have this in canada
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows....jsp?locale=en

which should be able to power the battery tender for a while

I'm in the same boat as you. No electrical outlets in my condo garage so I bought that power pack from Canadian Tire and hooked up the Deltran battery tender plus to it using the AC outlets.

First time I hooked it up, I hadn't driven the car in about 3 weeks and the power pack died overnight. Since then, I've been charging it once a week, and the power pack lasts for about 24 hours when the battery tender is in "maintenance mode".

Since charging the battery once a week, the battery tender usually goes into maintenance mode (full charge) in about 5-6 hours max. My clock hasn't lost any time whatsoever since I stored it for the winter so it's been working great for me!

[m3an]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

The thing that I would be worried about is keeping the car secure while the battery is out and how you get the trunk back open once you close it without the battery. You'd probably need to get a jump box and see if you can power the car without the battery from the poles in the engine compartment.

there's a key hole in the trunk for a regular key.

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by mdosu

i am not looking forward to replacing that battery....I swear they intentionally designed the compartment as compact and ergonomically inefficient as possible, knowing how freaking heavy our batteries are....lol.

put a mini battery in it.

[W///]

Originally Posted by crunchy_frog

ok thx all
i think the safest route is to buy a portable power pack to power the battery charger/tender. My underground garage is secure with security patrols, so i'm not too worried about the items getting stolen

That's what I'd recommend. I've changed the battery by myself and it sucked. Would hate to do that often, plus you run the chance of crushing your battery leads and other wires with the battery.

Originally Posted by mdosu

i am not looking forward to replacing that battery....I swear they intentionally designed the compartment as compact and ergonomically inefficient as possible, knowing how freaking heavy our batteries are....lol.

It sucks, and I def recommend getting someone to help at least hold the wires out of the way.

The compartment is the same as a regular E9x, so it's not that they made it more difficult. THe problem is that the M3 gets a much bigger battery, that's barely fits in there.... and weighs a ton too.

Originally Posted by m3an

there's a key hole in the trunk for a regular key.

+1. It's on the right of the tag lights. Thought that'd be common knowledge. Obviously there has to be some kind of manual overide.

[dejavu000]

Originally Posted by crunchy_frog

I live in a condo complex, which makes it impossible for me to have a battery tender attached to my car as there are no electrical outlets near my underground parking spot. My car is a 2008 with the original battery.

i was thinking of physically removing the battery from the trunk and charging the battery in my suite instead. Does anyone see an issue with this method?

i probably only need to reset the clock, all my other settings should be saved in the cars' ROM when i reattach the battery back to the car right?

if you take your battery out and charger it, keep in mind the trunk needs power to open, so you will need the leave the trunk unlocked with is a security issue