Need Quick Advice!

[dswc]

Very dumb question, but I'm a new owner and my 1989 3.2 hasn't been driven in about 3 weeks. I went to start it last night but I think the battery is drained/dead. Is this common? Should I have someone just give me a boost? Are there any portable car battery rechargers anyone can recommend?

On a separate topic, if I do not drive my car during a prolonged period of time (i.e. during the winter when it snows), are there any recommended steps I should be taking? Thanks.

[GH85Carrera]

If you know you will not drive it for more than 30 days, put is the correct amount of Stabil. The bottle has the reccomended amount. Disconnect your negative battery cable.

I have a little battery maintainer that is a smart charger. It only charges when the battery needs to charge.

[GH85Carrera]

Long term winter storage has been discussed many many times. Do a quick search for storage and you will find more about winter storage than you can read in a day. The board has a ton of information about it.

[darrin]

Originally Posted by dswc

Very dumb question, but I'm a new owner and my 1989 3.2 hasn't been driven in about 3 weeks. I went to start it last night but I think the battery is drained/dead. Is this common? Should I have someone just give me a boost?

I've had no problem using jumper cables to start my 1986 3.2 when its battery died. Just be sure to identify which terminal's positive and be careful when attaching jumpers to the positive terminal as it's very close to the body.

In my case, my battery was draining due to the failure of one of my door light switches, which caused my power window circuit to remain activated and keep a drain on the battery. So, once your car's running again, you might want to confirm that your interior lights come on when your doors (especially driver's door) are opened.

[1985RedTarga]

I left my lights on twice, then bought a jumper box at Auto Zone. It was about 70 bucks, but it's nice to have around the garage and I have used it many times since.

[warner53]

You can have your battery load tested at a local auto parts store. They do weaken over time.

+1 on the charger

[hcoles]

if all was good it should have started after sitting only 3 weeks, consider a new Optima Red Top and then get one of the special "trickle" chargers for it, plug it in and forget about battery issues

[Joe Bob]

Your new friend....made by Deltran.

[hcoles]

I use one of these..... supposed to have the correct Optima voltage and stop or reverse sulphation buildup.