Your car should be able to sit for weeks and still start right up. A
healthy car battery will hold a charge for weeks and even a couple months.
I have several cars a boat and an airplane that all sit for weeks at a time
between uses. All still start right up. I'd check the following:
Verify your battery and charging system are healthy. How old is the
battery? Is it being fully charged when the car is running? Are the
connections clean? Are the cables in good shape?
If your battery is healthy, your problem is most likely your air compressor
running with the engine off. The compressor can kill the battery in only a
few minutes due to its high current draw. If it cycles only a couple times
with the engine off you can end up with a battery that won't start your car.
I have an on off switch on mine under the front bumper. I turn it off when
the car is sitting. There is plenty of air in the tank to operate the doors
several times without the compressor. But if your compressor is running
while the car sits, you have an air leak that needs to be fixed.
As for starting a car that's been sitting, there should still be plenty of
fuel in the carb to start the car without excessive cranking. Verify your
choke is working. Make sure you depress the accelerator to the floor four
or five times before cranking. Each time you depress the pedal you're
squirting raw fuel into the carb and it's this 'prime' that will help the
engine start quickly. Pressing the pedal is also necessary to set the
choke.
Stephen I. Early
Portfolio Conversions
Technology Sector-MBNA America
302.457.4788
800.441.7048 x74788
stephen.early@mbna.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Isensee@aol.com [mailto:Isensee@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, April 12, 2004 22:58
To: bricklin@autox.team.net
Subject: Battery dies
The battery often dies on my Bricklin if I go for a few weeks without
driving
it. The battery discharges a little over time, the engine has to be cranked
a
while to get gas back up to the carburetor after sitting, and the electric
air compressor kicks in to replace the air pressure that has leaked out. The
combination of these things means that sometimes my battery will die before
the
car starts.
This week I bought one of those battery jumper boxes. I hooked that up and
it
gave the battery the boost it needed to start the car. I just wanted to pass
this tip along in case anyone else has the same problem.
Scott Isensee
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