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Originally Posted by Danny@Boardwalk
Hello Jimk....we try to start the cars on the showroom every other day to keep the batteries from dying on us...
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This is a very bad thing to do to an engine. Stop it. Seriously, a cold start on an engine creates the most "junk" that gets into the crankcase and contaminates the oil. Ruining the car while sitting (even for a long time) doesn't get things "hot" enough to burn off the contaminants. Running the car on the road under normal operating conditions for 20 minutes of so does. If you are going to start a car - drive it, don't just start it to charge the battery.
This goes for winter storage too.
Do everyone a favor, and get a Battery Tender or a Battery MINDer. For showroom duty at a dealership, they even have larger units that you can plug multiple cars into at the same time. Plugging in the showroom cars over night every 2 or 3 days will do just fine.
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Not sure what causes it but there must be something that has a continuous draw while at rest.
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Three things in the car use "dark current" (the power used when the car is "turned off"). The ECU draws a small amount of current to "keep it alive". The radio draws a small amount to get it's memory active (so you don't loose station presets, etc.). and the alarm/immobilizer draws a small amount. The Elise/Exige alarm/immobilizer in particular draws about 10 milliamps when the alarm is no turned off (just the automatic immobilizer), and 15 milliamps when the alarm is active (it shouldn't need to be active in the showroom) or a person's locked garage.