Honda Car Forum

Is it better to start a car that is sitting for a while in cold weather
(it's 12 degrees now) or wait until it's in the upper 20s? Should I
idle it once a week - and when?

Sorry for the offtopic, but you guys are around cars all the time and
would know this . I have 3 cars, one daily driver, the others under car
covers. How do I keep them ok in this subfreezing weather?

heated garage,(natrually) mines under my brick house between the ground w/,the
oil fired furnace & hw heater in the back ,never below 50f on the coldet day
avg.65f.also open the hoods on warm vechicles after entering,more natural
heat. i dont know ,always had garages from the apt/condo days to the homeowner
days

seriously .try trickle charging/battery tender type chargers,and or oil /block
heater........is this the first time in this situatiuon?..id sell all but the
best one or pay for indoor winter storage somewhere

good thoughts. One is an 89 Mercedes and the other is an 87 Jag, and
I'm awaiting a garage construction (that is held up due to the weather).


RLGIRSCH <rlgirsch@aol.com> wrote:

> seriously .try trickle charging/battery tender type chargers,and or oil /block
> heater........is this the first time in this situatiuon?..id sell all but the
> best one or pay for indoor winter storage somewhere

Robert Blank wrote:
> Is it better to start a car that is sitting for a while in cold weather
> (it's 12 degrees now) or wait until it's in the upper 20s? Should I
> idle it once a week - and when?
>
> Sorry for the offtopic, but you guys are around cars all the time and
> would know this . I have 3 cars, one daily driver, the others under car
> covers. How do I keep them ok in this subfreezing weather?


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Robert,

If you don't need to run them, just let them sit. It's worse to run them
a short while during cold weather because they generate LOTS of residues
/ acids / moisture that just end up in the oil, but don't get burned off
because you're not warming it up or driving anywhere.

If you have access to a trickle charger put that on overnight before you
do get them going again. Make sure the batteries are not frozen (which
happens if it discharges due to something left on, or even car alarms
over _long_ periods. Don't charge a frozen battery. You can even take
the batteies into the house if we're talking about months of no usage,
but you'll still have to put a bit of charge in from time to time.

'curly'

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