How often to start my Delorean?

[DMC81]

The other day I put my car into storage for the remainder of the year. How often should I go and start it? I was thinking maybe every two weeks?

[Kerichbe]

I've found on mine, I need to start it at least once a week, or the battery is drained. I suspect it is the aftermarket stereo, which is always in standby mode. I'm probably going to remove the fuse when I store it.

[OverlandMan]

The other day I put my car into storage for the remainder of the year. How often should I go and start it? I was thinking maybe every two weeks?

I'm curious what others respond with as well. I would think at least once or twice a month would be beneficial.

[Rad Dad]

While I don't plan to store my car now that I live in NC, I certainly did when I lived in CO. Before my input, I'd say this is a bit like asking "what kind of oil should I use"? You'll get almost as many different answers as respondents.

I would start my DeLorean once a month. BUT, and I believe this is very important, once started, I would let it run at least until the fans had come on. It is important to let the heat dissipate any condensation that might otherwise occur. Six months in storage, started in the spring and never looked back.

By the way, save your battery from deep cycles by getting a small battery tender. Battery is always ready to fire. No need to worry about either the stereo or the doors running down the battery.

Dick Ryan, the Rad Dad
Vin 16867

[DMC81]

While I don't plan to store my car now that I live in NC, I certainly did when I lived in CO. Before my input, I'd say this is a bit like asking "what kind of oil should I use"? You'll get almost as many different answers as respondents.

I would start my DeLorean once a month. BUT, and I believe this is very important, once started, I would let it run at least until the fans had come on. It is important to let the heat dissipate any condensation that might otherwise occur. Six months in storage, started in the spring and never looked back.

By the way, save your battery from deep cycles by getting a small battery tender. Battery is always ready to fire. No need to worry about either the stereo or the doors running down the battery.

Dick Ryan, the Rad Dad
Vin 16867

Dick,

Good tip on letting the engine get to temperature, I was thinking the same thing. Unfortunately for me I have to store my car in a storage unit so I cant put a battery tender on it so for now I just take the battery out or disconnect it till the next time I start it. It still shocks me how tricky these cars can be, up until I owned one I thought I knew alot about them...lol Thanks.

[David T]

The length of storage time determines what steps you should take to store the car. If you want to keep it ready to go and it is short-term (weeks to a few months) all you really need to do is to charge the battery once a month for a day with a battery tender. It is not necessary to actually run the motor. For longer terms you should first flush the brakes and clutch, drain the fuel, change the anti-freeze, and remove the battery. Take steps to prevent small critters getting in and damaging the car. That will get you a couple of years.
David Teitelbaum

[WelmoedJ]

It's not in the car's best interest to start it regularly without taking it out for a good spin.
Letting it idle until hot is not benefitting the car.

Follow David's battery advice for short and long term storage using a modern charger/tender.

[DavidProehl]

There are a lot of different opinions on this. I think it also depends on your climate. When I lived in Minnesota I knew a lot of people that didn't start their car at all for 4-5 months over winter. The extreme cold, below zero for weeks at a time, is hard to start the engine in to begin with, and then there is the issue of condensation even on a warmed up engine. I've also heard theories around how after sitting long enough and losing oil pressure that first crank after a couple weeks isn't as lubricated as it should be, thus harder on the engine the first second it fires up. I'm not sure how much of that is truth or fiction though.

When I prepped for winter storage, I put in fresh oil, gas stabilizer (in a low tank), pulled the battery, and let it sit until spring without starting. Come spring I started and warmed up the car, drained the oil again, and replaced with fresh oil.

[jawn101]

There are a lot of different opinions on this. I think it also depends on your climate. When I lived in Minnesota I knew a lot of people that didn't start their car at all for 4-5 months over winter. The extreme cold, below zero for weeks at a time, is hard to start the engine in to begin with, and then there is the issue of condensation even on a warmed up engine. I've also heard theories around how after sitting long enough and losing oil pressure that first crank after a couple weeks isn't as lubricated as it should be, thus harder on the engine the first second it fires up. I'm not sure how much of that is truth or fiction though.

When I prepped for winter storage, I put in fresh oil, gas stabilizer (in a low tank), pulled the battery, and let it sit until spring without starting. Come spring I started and warmed up the car, drained the oil again, and replaced with fresh oil.

Now you're lucky enough to live somewhere that driving season never really ends

[Jonathan]

Here is some more commentary:

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?20...winter+storage