Been a long time, feels good to see some new members, details about the MCC and MCSC

My job at my current employer is on the rocks, I think it may be time for a career change. I'm considering trade law, and relocating to a bigger city. Will be a financial stretch, but I can pay of my Mini at least So it must be kept pristine, therefore- winter storage:

As the snow looms near and the salt will cake the roads, it is about time for the Mini to go into the garage for the winter. I will be driving a sporty Chevy Impala until mid-March. But hey, at least it has heated seats and XM :smile:

Any storage tips? I was going to put a smart tricke charger on it, wax it and detail the interior before. Every month or so I will pick a nice day and drive it around a few miles, letting it get up to full operating temperature. The garage isn't heated, but is insulated and attached to a house- so it doesn't drop below 20deg F typically. When March comes around, I'll change the oil & oil filter...

 

An automatic trickle charger is a good idea. Some other things that will help:

1) Get some fuel stabilizer and add it to the tank. Otherwise, the car may wake up grumpy after its long nap. An alternative to this would be to run the car nearly empty, then fill up with Sunoco 100 unleaded race fuel. The 100 octane fuel is supposed to be much more stable of time than normal pump gas.

2) Park the car with the handbrake off. This helps prevent the rear pads from sticking the rotors in the event that the garage gets damp and the rotors form some surface rust. It also avoids keeping a constant tensile load on the handbrake cable, which over time might otherwise stretch a bit due to that load. To keep the car from rolling, use wheel blocks and place the car in "Park" (CVT and auto) or reverse/1st gear for manual transaxles.

Some people also raise the car on jackstands to keep the suspension unloaded and to keep the tires from developing flat spots.

3) Occasionally start the car and run it. Let it warm up fully, or better still, drive it a bit before shutting it down again. A short drive as the weather allows is best, but even if you don't leave the driveway, this procedure helps keep gaskets and seals from drying out, and keeps internal parts better lubricated. The full warm-up is important, otherwise water vapor can accumulate and condense inside the engine. In some cars, this will produce a "chocolate milk" looking residue on the underside of the oil filler cap and on the oil dipstick. (This is a relief to know, as said residue can look like symptoms of a head gasket failure. The give-away to distinguish condensation from coolant contamination of the oil is that condensation residue is found only on the portion of the dipstick above the level of the oil in the sump, and there is clean oil on the normal range of the stick. If the oil all through the normal reading range looks like Ovaltine, then start to worry.)

Actually driving the car also has other benefits, as this operates all of the other moving parts of the drivetrain, suspension, and brakes. This helps prevent sticking brakes, etc. Just as it is unhealthy for people to be sedentary, so it for our 4-wheeled children!

 

I use this to keep the battery topped up without overcharging:

[img]http://www.griotsgarage.com/images/products/lg/77655_LG.jpg
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Impala, huh? That's still smells Too bad it wasn't a H2 like mine.

 

Using an H2 as a winter beater? That's extreme! Most H2 owners near me garage their monster, and wouldn't dream of letting road salt besmirch 3 tons of pure bling!

 

It's a company vehicle so I'm pleased to put it to good use

 

Wow that battery tender is 59 bucks! I use this one from Harbor Freight: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=42292 small and easy, and only 8.00 bucks!! I have used mine for a few years and it works well. It has never given me any problems. You should take the battery out and store it inside also. Like a warm basement or closet that has a plug. Other things you need to do is make sure the car is clean and dry when you put it away, inside and out. I use a car bag for my classic car: http://www.carbag.com/ with a few bags of desiccant to remove moisture. In spring I pull it out and it’s ready to show. Clean, dry, and no smells or dust.Even if you do not use a car bag i would still use a few bags of desiccant in the int. of the car. Inflate your tires about 10 psi over normal. You should change your oil before you store it also. Your old oil has gas and nasty stuff in it from driving and you do not want it all sitting in there all winter eating away at bearings and cylinders. Change it and the filter before you store it. Car covers are always good too to. You have to use one if you use a car bag also. Also a bottle of Sta-bil http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1292966&cp=1254883.1255098.130 3979&parentPage=family it keeps the gas fresh! It’s a lot of work before hand, but well worth it in the end. Come summer time the car will be ready to drive! Good luck.

 

Don't forget the mousetraps! No b.s. There are others who have had experience with this phenomenon. Search "mouse" and find a few threads.
They can and will eat up wiring harness and hosing.

Best of luck with the job search/change/move, etc.:smile:

Cheers,

 

Fortunately, my garage came with an automatic mousetrap when I moved in. Too bad he's off duty during the winter months.

 

When you trickle charge/float the battery, do you plug directly to the
battery or use the battery terminal under the hood? I tried topping off
my battery the other day on my MCS and got an error message on my charger...

I was using 2amps charge. Red terminal to the (+) next to the intake,
Black terminal (-) to the motor mount bolt on the driver side.

Am I doing something wrong?

 

i would hook it right to the battery. when jumping a car it might work as you are putting more power to it, but the charger runs much lower and would have a hard time getting to the neg buy just hooking up to the ground on the car in the front (the pos. woudl be fine though). hook it right to the battery in the back. it is easy to get to once you lift the cover. good luck

 

You're probably right. I'll hook it up directly to the battery next time.

Wish there was a way to turn off the boot light.... does it go off
automatically after a few minutes?

 

you can turn the boot light off if you press the center button on the dome light. next time you open a door it will work normally.

 

Thanks!

 

agokart- I was doing my routing recharge this week on my factory MCS battery and the direct hook up worked (at 2A). Months ago, I
thought I had a sulfated battery since my charger was giving me
error messages after a few minutes charge. I had it hooked up to
the (+) terminal under the hood and ground (motor mount bolt).

I was working on my short shifter install this week and checked under
the battery tray while I was under the car to see if any water had
drained from the battery. There was no sign.

so, my battery is alive and well.

 

FWIW, my 1.5 A Battery Tender is hooked up using the under-hood positive terminal and a chassis ground in the engine compartment and is working fine.

Mark