Should you disconnect car battery for long cruises?

[jinja0707]

Hi fellow Aussies,  when you go on a very long or World cruise, should you disconnect the battery in your car?  I have a Mazda Genki model and worried I will come home a dead battery as the electronics would no doubt, still be doing what ever they do 😂😂, whilst I am away .  What do you do for long cruises or suggest?  Thanks in advance, Robyn

[joybook]

We have been on a few cruises over 30 days and have not worried about it but if I was on anything say 60 days and over I think I would.

[JohnGc]

49 minutes ago, jinja0707 said:

Hi fellow Aussies,  when you go on a very long or World cruise, should you disconnect the battery in your car?  I have a Mazda Genki model and worried I will come home a dead battery as the electronics would no doubt, still be doing what ever they do 😂😂, whilst I am away .  What do you do for long cruises or suggest?  Thanks in advance, Robyn

I bought a cheap solar charger from super cheap and ran the cable under the garage door and the daylight and sun kept a trickle charge into the battery, worked well and the car started first time when I came back.You can still remove the battery if it makes you feel better and still use the charger on your battery. Make sure you have the code for your radio if removing the battery. I also went to the trouble of putting my car up on stands to take the weight of my suspension & tyres.

 

John.

Edited April 28, 2019 by JohnGc

[GUT2407]

One of my cars can go a few months without being driven always starts, but then that’s one reason IM an NRMA member, just in case. Ask your mechanic, some new cars it can cause problems to disconnect the battery for an6 length of time 

[jinja0707]

Thanks for all the very helpful replies.  👏👏 I will definately check with my mechanic, and get them to show me how to disconnect/reconnect the battery if thats what is needed 😂😂. Will reverse the car in also before I go, just in case I need the RACV to visit when I get back. 

[getting older slowly]

I have a have a couple of cars over the last 30 years which do not get driven regularly....

 

A couple of time a few months between outing... I use a trickle battery charger.. and leave the battery in the car connect.  Have had no problems doing this over the last 15 years...  I do parked the car on rubber matting under the tyres and leave the bonnet with a dust cover over it.... 

 

once with my older car I left it for about 10 months .. but no electronics  and had carburettors.... so could leave the fuel pump off and crank it over to get oil pressure up before starting

 

Cheers Don

[MicCanberra]

I have my house sitter run the car to the shops and back once every other week when away from home longer than 1 month.

[pacificlover]

Oh how I love this site.........thanks for the question Jinja0707.  Reminded me that I would have to make arrangements for my car as well.  I think we are both on the same cruise "Circle Indian Ocean".  I've previously been on a 35 day cruise where I did not bother about my car, but the 7 weeks I'll be away for this time is so much longer.  Will look you up at the Meet and Mingle........Jan

 

Edited April 28, 2019 by pacificlover

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Some of the newer more "sophisticated" cars do not like their batteries being disconnected so it would pay to check with your auto service shop.

I came back from a long cruise once and the battery was flat , but with my new car the battery just  seems to go on and on  , even though it has little use these days.

[jinja0707]

1 hour ago, pacificlover said:

Oh how I love this site.........thanks for the question Jinja0707.  Reminded me that I would have to make arrangements for my car as well.  I think we are both on the same cruise "Circle Indian Ocean".  I've previously been on a 35 day cruise where I did not bother about my car, but the 7 weeks I'll be away for this time is so much longer.  Will look you up at the Meet and Mingle........Jan

 

 

 

Yes Jan, we are on the same cruise. Glad my question has helped you and no doubt others down the track.  Look forward to meeting you.

 

 Thanks so much everyone  for all the very helpful replies 👏👏.  Glad I  still have time to check it out properly with my Mazda mechanic when it goes in for its next service, so I dont do the wrong thing 😂😂.  Cheers Robyn

[Bubbeh]

We haven't bothered to disconnect the car or bike batteries for cruises we've done over 30 days.  Next year we're on a 46 day cruise and won't do it then either.  We had a holiday (sea / land) in 2015 lasting more than 70 days and didn't do it for that, mind you the car was only 6 weeks old at the time.  However, we've plans for a 106 day world cruise and will probably run a trickle feed to both car and bike during that period.

[Brisbane41]

I would not ever risk disconnecting the battery. It is too risky and probably not a good idea at all. I have been away for over 3 months many times and have never had a problem starting the car on return. I think 6 months is the longest it has been without starting it.

[Aus Traveller]

If you are overseas for more than two months and have private health insurance, you can save money by suspending that health cover.

[MicCanberra]

And many other things.

[The_Big_M]

Though there are also typically maximums and limits on suspensions.

[Ru2on]

Our battery was flat after 3 weeks away.  Our fault because we didn’t disconnect the dash cam.  (So the Racq man informed us)

[MicCanberra]

The cold kills the batteries, so leaving the car garaged in summer will last for months as opposed to leaving the car uncovered in winter which may not even last weeks.

[Aus Traveller]

2 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

The cold kills the batteries, so leaving the car garaged in summer will last for months as opposed to leaving the car uncovered in winter which may not even last weeks.

Depends where you live😊.

[MicCanberra]

3 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Depends where you live😊.

Yes, there has to be an actual summer and winter.