Disconnecting my car battery for an extended period

[GTD AYO]

Until the pandemic I left my 2011 GTD in a garage for up to six months a year whilst working overseas. I lowered the tyre pressure and put it on a trickle charger from Bunnings. Nil problems. My first battery lasted 7 years. And leave fuel below quarter so can top up with fresh when ready to go again...

[gregozedobe]

Until the pandemic I left my 2011 GTD in a garage for up to six months a year whilst working overseas. I lowered the tyre pressure and put it on a trickle charger from Bunnings. Nil problems. My first battery lasted 7 years. And leave fuel below quarter so can top up with fresh when ready to go again...

Good advice. Going for a short drive is supposed to fix the multitude of error messages you get after disconnecting the battery.

I don't know how effective these tyre savers are, but they are supposed to reduce flat-spotting:
Tyre Saver (Pair)

[gregozedobe]

.
Mine was connected to the + terminal and the post on the firewall as recommended by VW. Worked perfectly for about a year till I bought a new battery. Just saves having to make things

I bought the "Indicator" CTEK connector, it is fused, and has 3 LEDS which go from green, through yellow to red as the battery voltage drops. The LED threshold voltages aren't what I would design, but it is good enough to tell me when my battery could do with a topup.

[Guest001]

Until the pandemic I left my 2011 GTD in a garage for up to six months a year whilst working overseas. I lowered the tyre pressure and put it on a trickle charger from Bunnings. Nil problems. My first battery lasted 7 years. And leave fuel below quarter so can top up with fresh when ready to go again...

I would RAISE the tyre pressures to try to stop flat spots as nothing worse than a car sitting on soft tyres for long periods without moving

[salrom]

Hi Nudist,
I have the same problem not driving much at the moment so I hook up a small 12v solar panel from supper cheep auto that has the wire permanently connected to the battery terminals.

It just sits on the dash board. I didn't want to fix it to the dash so all I have to do is move it into the doors side pocket when I drive.
Its only a 300 ma 4 W peek current unit, and it only charges when there is sun so its not going to over charge the battery as it will naturally lose some charge and the car uses some power even when its not being driven.

[gregozedobe]

Hi Nudist,
I have the same problem not driving much at the moment so I hook up a small 12v solar panel from supper cheep auto that has the wire permanently connected to the battery terminals.

It just sits on the dash board. I didn't want to fix it to the dash so all I have to do is move it into the doors side pocket when I drive.
Its only a 300 ma 4 W peek current unit, and it only charges when there is sun so its not going to over charge the battery as it will naturally lose some charge and the car uses some power even when its not being driven.

It is probably worth checking the resting battery voltage from time to time to make sure the battery isn't being over or under-charged by your solar charger, as either will reduce the battery life.