Long term parking … suggestions please

[megamac]

Hi all,

Going away for 3 weeks and will be leaving the car behind. It will be parked for three weeks.

I was wondering what is the best charge level to leave the car at. Not a long trip home from the airport, so even with 30% left I will make it back home with charge to spare.

Obviously keen to keep the battery connected so that I know when the car is parked, if it gets started when I am away, etc.

Thanks

 

[Nutnut]

Why not just follow existing advice, or the manual on this one? Happy to be corrected, but I can't see why leaving it above the 50% advised, but no higher than 80% wouldn't be OK. Reference points noted below - worth a read in full.

Page 290: "It is recommended to ensure the vehicle is placed in READY mode for half an hour every week to help extend the service life of the battery. If the vehicle is stored for more than 1 month, remove the negative terminal from the battery. Make sure that the vehicle power system has been turned off before connecting or disconnecting the negative terminal."

Page 292: "If the vehicle is not going to be used, parked, or stored for a long time it is necessary to charge the vehicle at least once every 3 months. During this time, the High Voltage battery state of charge should not be allowed to drop below 50%."

Long term park up

We have some trips away planned and I'm keen to know what state I should leave the battery in. Is fully charged best or a lower percentage? If you leave the car at an airport you've not much choice but I'm looking at leaving it at home for a month or two. Will the 12v battery be ok? Any...

www.mgevs.com

Leaving Car At Airport Car Park

I am shortly to take delivery of my MG5 which we will be my first EV. Really looking forward to it. I am also looking to book some airport parking very shortly for our Honeymoon in June. I can’t seem to find any information about leaving an EV in an airport car park for an extended period of...

www.mgevs.com

 

[Jomarkh]

Charge at home to 100% then leave it at 70% for your time away.
Three weeks is not an issue is probably on the boat over longer than that.

 

[peterseddon]

The problem may be your 12V battery being left for so long. You can get a small solar panel that plugs into the OBD socket and keeps the 12V battery topped up.

 

[awbugritt]

The problem may be your 12V battery being left for so long. You can get a small solar panel that plugs into the OBD socket and keeps the 12V battery topped up.

Make sure your 12v socket is live at all times as is the case with my van. Our car's however is only live with the ignition on, therefore to use the solar charger we would would have to attach the crocodile clips provided to the battery. Presumably the charger would have to sit on the vehicle's bonnet!

 

[peterseddon]

The OBD protocol is for pin 16 to be live at all times, pin 4 is chassis ground. The plug you get with the panel is wired this way.

 

[JCFlippen]

I would have a jump starter pack in the boot just in case of a 12v issue.

 

[N2STY]

The OBD protocol is for pin 16 to be live at all times, pin 4 is chassis ground. The plug you get with the panel is wired this way.

This sort of solar charger

https://amzn.eu/d/0fJEtDF

 

[Headgas1]

I left mine for 3 weeks battery around 70% no issues

 

[megamac]

Hi all,

Going away for 3 weeks and will be leaving the car behind. It will be parked for three weeks.

I was wondering what is the best charge level to leave the car at. Not a long trip home from the airport, so even with 30% left I will make it back home with charge to spare.

Obviously keen to keep the battery connected so that I know when the car is parked, if it gets started when I am away, etc.

Thanks

Thanks for your replies everyone... I was looking for real life experience vs what the manual says, and I think it should be OK for 3 weeks to be parked near the airport, or off street where we live.

My main concerns was getting the notifications if any one tries breaking in, and locating the car on the app, which I would think use the 12V battery, but looks like we'll be OK.

The suggestion of the jump start pack was great, and I will look into one of those... just in case.

Oh, and the solar charger option... WAAAYYYY off my DIY / car meddling capacity. I just about manage to keep on top of the windscreen washer fluid and main battery charging.

 

[N2STY]

Oh, and the solar charger option... WAAAYYYY off my DIY / car meddling capacity. I just about manage to keep on top of the windscreen washer fluid and main battery charging.

To be fair you just stick on the window inside car or lay on dash and plug it in

 

[N2STY]