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Hi Folks - like many of you, I'm stuck in a frozen landscape including horrible looking roads with no relief in site, thus no Vette driving in site. She's connected to a battery tender but should I start her up and let her idle once every 2 weeks or so, or just leave her on the tender and not worry about it?
Don’t start it until you’re ready to take it out of storage. It needs to be able to get up to true operating temps and idling it for a few minutes does more harm than good. At least yours is tucked away in a garage. Mines sitting in Bowling Green under a foot of snow waiting to be shipped.
Don’t start it until you’re ready to take it out of storage. It needs to be able to get up to true operating temps and idling it for a few minutes does more harm than good. At least yours is tucked away in a garage. Mines sitting in Bowling Green under a foot of snow waiting to be shipped.
I start mine every 3 or so weeks and let it hun for 30-45 minutes. Actually about 10 days ago, I was able to get it out for a 40 mile drive on dry but cold roads.
I leave the car under cover with battery tender attached but probably not necessary. We do that because we don't wanna give Chevy a reason to void our warranty.
I too am stuck in the garage with frigid temperatures and snow coated roads with no end in sight. It's very tempting to want to start it and let it run for a bit but like others have said it''s best to leave it be and keep it connected to the battery tender until you can get her out and drive her.
I use to start mine every 2 weeks. No longer.
I have learned from many sources it is best to leave it be, UNLESS you can drive it for at less 20-25 minutes.
It's important to get everything fully warm/hot: exhaust, DCT/trans-axle fluid ,motor oil, tires....
But you do what you have to if it makes sense to you.
Frigging cold here in Massachusetts, -6deg tonight.
Best wishes to all;
You will just drain the battery with a start up & short run time
The btry will recharge on the charger! But you will accumulate water in your engine oil which is a big problem. If you can't drive it long enough to get the oil HOT, don't start it until you can. ❤️🏎😊
See Ya in April!!! At least I have a nice place to sleep if I get in the dog house LOL
Howdy Neighbor. Love the pic. Got to love living in the great white north.
As others have said, leave her hooked up until you're ready to drive it . Mine has been on the tender since November . I would love to start it but after owning Motorcycles and dealing with winter storage on them she can wait a few more months. Not starting it isn't going to hurt it.
A “tender” is not designed to charge a depleted battery, a “charger” will, depends on what the op is using
Actually it will recharge a btry, it just takes longer. When i was programming my new 26 SR in my garage, I used the diagnostic mode a number of t8mes in succession ignoring multiple warnings and ran btry down far enough to get a "severe" warning. I left the "tender" connected and the btry was fully re-charged after 3 days. I've also noticed that when I reconnect the tender after a 1-3 hour drive, it flashes the red 80% charge light for the next 6-10 hours. I suspect it may be charging to a higher "charge state" than the alternator internal regulator. After that just the green "float charge" light remains lit. It behaved the same on my previous C7 GS, and I never had any battery issues, so I believe that's normal. 🤔❤️🏎😊
I live in New York and Have Parked My Corvettes from November to March and started using a Deltran Battery Tender back 1987 with My First 1987 C4 Corvette and then 1989 C4, 2015 C7and Now My 2023 C8. I Do Not Start During The Winter and I have had Batteries Last 10 Years.
A “tender” is not designed to charge a depleted battery, a “charger” will, depends on what the op is using
Might depend on which tender you are using. I've never run into anything, besides a battery that tested bad at the parts store, that an old fashioned trickle charger wouldn't charge but maybe I have just been lucky. https://batteryskills.com/can-a-batt...-dead-battery/
2025 C8 Stingray of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
I drive when I can in the winter since I have all season tires. However there are times when I can’t get it out for days or a week at a time, so I just put it on the Corvette battery tender when it’s in the garage. It’s a no brainer.
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Winter Pause
pretty much exactly what I do
