problem leaving the key in the ignition?
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: Alton Illinois
problem leaving the key in the ignition?
i always leave my key in the ignition while in my garage. will this cause my battery to drain down faster? if i dont have a battery tender on it i usually don't have much of a battery left after a few weeks of not driving it. and don't ask where i live!
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 552
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From: Alton Illinois
a friend gave me the idea as his thought was that in an emergency (fire, etc.) he could get the car out quickly. didn't sound that bad to me. i stopped doing it to see if it affected the battery. thanks for the response.
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Joined: Dec 1999
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From: Lacey WA RVN 68-69
NCM Sinkhole Donor
It seems to be pretty common to have a battery get so discharged that it won't start the engine if the car isn't used for 3-4 weeks. There are enough systems in the C5 that always need power that a battery will go down with the car just sitting.
Sometimes certain circuits don't seem to shut down once the ignition is turned off. And it's always possible that interior lights (glovebox, console, sunvisor lights can stay on.
If there is any way that you can connect a good battery tender to the car, that should solve any problems with a dead battery.
As far as the keys in the ignition, why not just leave the keys on the console or on the dash?
Sometimes certain circuits don't seem to shut down once the ignition is turned off. And it's always possible that interior lights (glovebox, console, sunvisor lights can stay on.
If there is any way that you can connect a good battery tender to the car, that should solve any problems with a dead battery.
As far as the keys in the ignition, why not just leave the keys on the console or on the dash?
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 552
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From: Alton Illinois
Thanks. i usually connect a tender but last time i didn't check the connection and one of the leads was not making contact. i noticed that the battery charge lite on the tender was always red but never green so i finally checked but it was too late. got me thinking about the key in the ignition. you are correct, battery seems to be a weak link and don't anyone rant about red top because i had one and got rid of it because it would not recover from a complete drain and it drained frequently. problem seemed to be much better with duralast gold but still an occasional issue of dead battery. the last gold lasted me a couple of years but the one i just got only lasted a year so i will be investigating batteries next time. i always use a tender if it has sat or is going to sit more than a week.
Last edited by bluvette79; Feb 4, 2015 at 08:17 PM.
