Title: Conflicting info. out there: Idlin 4th Gen. for 15min. 1x per wk 2conserve battery?

despite my use of the abbreviation "2" which stands for ... to conserve battery, im an older person as in old guys rule lol (hey we're livin in an abbrevation world nowadays arent we?)

Anyway, despite my recent joke above, I'm not well. I have a common cold and my motor skills are F'd so I can't drive safely. I'm feeling very depressed psychologically, I have developed agoraphobia (it happens mostly when you get older and take less risks and think like an insurance person, calculating the best times not to be outside to avoid croaking)

There's conflicting info. out there:

a) idling an older car for 15 minutes EVERY WEEK does indeed conserve the LIFE of a car battery
b) idling a car for 15 minutes EVERY WEEK isn't good enough, it needs to be driven for 30 min AT LEAST EVERY WEEK (EVERY 7 DAYS)

Well, I can't do option b) at the moment anyway....

Can I start my 4th gen. ('93) Camaro for 15 minutes every week (every 7 days) in order to preserve its life?

My trusted mobile mechanic suggested I start the car and let it idle for 15 minutes 1 x per week helps keep a car battery healthy. Because a 5 min or even 10 min. idle isn't enough: starting the car takes 5 minutes of juice / electricity alone so u need to add another 10 min for a total of 15 min.
But I just want to confirm from a Camaro forum, if this is indeed true?

A battery trickler charger won't work for me. I live in a high crime area (so keeping the car hood open enough for the battery trickler subjects my car's engine bay to theft), and the apartment manager is very uptight about running a bypass wire to a source of juice, or even having someone work on your cars parked in the apt garage.

Option a) was confirmed by my trusted mechanic, he's the one who told me start your car and leave it idle for 15 minutes 1 x per week

This is an interesting part:

It seems that older cars like my 4th gen. 1993 Camaro do not have much computers and gizmos, and running a car for 15 min idle might in fact preserve the car's battery just like driving it for 30 minutes every week

Question #1
Is this true, is the above recently mentioned true?
In other words: Is it true that older cars like my 4th gen. 1993 Camaro do not have much computers and gizmos, and running a car for 15 min idle might in fact preserve the car's battery just like driving it for 30 minutes every week

Question #2:
Should I disengage the car alarm until I get better and actually drive the car once per week for at least 30 minutes? Would that conserve the car battery even more? As it seems by my rearview mirror there's a blinking light that is part of my VIPER anti theft system

Thanks in advance.

 

If battery is your worry 15 minutes should be Fine. A engine takes about 20 minutes to reach full temp. Full temperature will help remove moisture from the engine oil and the exhaust system. If everything is working right with your electrical system it should still start your car at 6-8 weeks. You are right that it would be harder on the battery. If you make some assumptions that would mean you lose about 12-15% of a batteries charge per week. Most battery manufactures say its best to store a battery with 70-80% charger. So if everything is working right starting a car once every 2 weeks would be fine. A good automatic trickle charger is still best for a long life. The main thing I would worry about is head gaskets. If you do not start the car your risk them drying out. The older they are the more likely they are to dry out while sitting. Every two weeks is fine for keeping the seals and head gaskets hydrated.

If you have cold weather or aged battery cables or an starter that requires more then stock amps to start the car then you are back to once a week.


What is you storage area like. Is it in a garage? What kind of temperature are you seeing? Is it sitting in the sun. You in California? Do you have to park it underwater at this point?

Just a FYI for a unrestored 30 year old car sitting can be a bad thing for it. If the car is going to be sitting for a month you should drive it long enough to warm the tires and the transmission. Tires can get flat sides to them. this is much more common on older tire. You do not have to take it out on the highway. Getting it into second gear under light throttle is fine. I know one collector that keeps the car sitting on a frame stand (no weight on the tires). he started them and runs them through the gears once a month and keep trickle chargers on all of them.

 

Thanks, Gorn!!
I'm going to let it idle at 25 minutes (10 more minutes than the original 15 minutes), just to err on the side of overcaution and to have engine reach full temp & remove moisture from engine oil
I'm going to drive it round the block for 15 minutes every 3 weeks
the tires are relatively new
car won't be sitting for a month, it will be sitting for 3 weeks before i drive it around the block several times to warm the tires and transmission

*As far as a battery trickler maintainer, I'd LOVE one that was battery operated but all of them have to be plugged in (not an option)....they even h ave a solar one, but I park her in an underground gated garage
meaning among other potenital problmes, in the God forbid case, when a freaking mobile mechanic or a tow truck needs to come down (i have to coordinate with the management office open from 9 am to 4 pm mon. to fri.

my indoor underground, very dark, no sunlight garage although, is gated and the gate computer reads my front tags to open the gates,
outside is like Skid Row Los Angeles, CA with crystal meth addicts and heroin & crack addicts galore, many of whom sneak in and steal amazon mail cos it's not a federal crime vs. usps mail

Thanks again, Gorn

This lays the question to rest as I totally trust your judgment
Have a good weekend, too, Gorn

Enthusiasm is the secret to success - Walt Chrysler

 

by the way, You're right, I live in California, not too far from a skid row, homeless environment

they might be good people deep down inside if u look, but they often need to fuel their drug addiction with people's properties

there's a wave of cat. converter thefts here u may have heard....the price of the metals used in these cat converters is why so many thefts have occured since like June of 2022
plus ain't no one have as much disposable income to give to these panhandlers.

 

It's the same up and down the whole left coast,I work in Portland but thankfully live on a fenced in acreage way out in the sticks 40 miles away from the city.
Seattle is also a sh!thole,pretty much the same in any fair sized city on the left coast. You can thank the liberal regressives running these states for that.