This is a bit of a vague question I'm afraid!!

 

In a while my car will have to sit on the drive unused for about 7 weeks, due to medical work. (On me, not the car!)

In that kind of time is it likely to run down its battery too much to start after the time out of use?

Is it advisable for me to fire it up every so often even though not going anywhere? (I can do that but not drive anywhere.)

 

Finally,  does the battery get re-charged at only tick-over speed or would the engine need to be rev'd up a bit?

 

Have you considered a 'smart' trickle charger? I haven't used one but they keep the battery charged without overcharging don't they?

 

Not convinced letting it idle for a while would put enough charge back into the battery, but I am happy to be proven wrong.

 

Good luck with the medical work too!

We have an old mk1 octy that's used as a spare car at my parents when people come to visit etc the old boy fires it up once a week for about 20 mins and it never fails to start, and it only gets properly driven every few months so shouldn't be an issue, good luck

Should be fine - I've left mine longer than that without starting it.

Many thanks for that.

With modern power-saving & battery management functions I'm sure you will be fine to just leave it on the drive until needed.

 

As an alternative, rather than starting it each week & wasting fuel for no reason, why not just disconnect the battery while its not used?

I have an old N reg Transit van that I use as a service barge for rallying, can sit outside for many months without being started etc.

 

However I have an 18" x 12" solar panel that trickle charges it (designed for marine use) and it's never failed to start, just two crocodile clips connect to the battery or Aux power plug and leave the panel where it gets some light (dash, seat, rear shelf). 

Buy a CTEK MXS 5.0 battery charger and dedicated cigarette lighter lead and you can then leave the battery permanently on charge.

In a while my car will have to sit on the drive unused for about 7 weeks, due to medical work. (On me, not the car!)

In that kind of time is it likely to run down its battery too much to start after the time out of use?

A similar period without use a few years ago killed the battery in my wife's seven year old Punto and the battery had to be replaced. My eleven year old Focus also wouldn't survive that long without use (both on their original batteries). However I would hope that a one or two year old car would be fine for that period.

why not just disconnect the battery while its not used?

I was thinking of that, but with modern electronics would that screw up something else? 

 

Can you literally just disconnect one lead (or both if necessary) and put it back later with no issues (except maybe the clock stopping !!???)

I was thinking of that, but with modern electronics would that screw up something else? 

 

Can you literally just disconnect one lead (or both if necessary) and put it back later with no issues (except maybe the clock stopping !!???)

 

It should be fine. All modern electronics use flash memory or special "non-volitile-memory" to store important data.

You may find that even the clock time is not lost as it can easily be restored from radio or GPS signals.

Gone are the days of your immboliser being reset by disconnecting the battery for 5 minutes.

 

You only need to disconnect 1 terminal.

New batteries come with a small plastic terminal cap (like a bottle cap size) to prevent accidental connection.

I'm sure a garage would give you one of these for free.

Alternatively just wrap a rag around the terminal to prevent any chance of contact with the cable & you are all good.

It should be fine. All modern electronics use flash memory or special "non-volitile-memory" to store important data.

You may find that even the clock time is not lost as it can easily be restored from radio or GPS signals.

Gone are the days of your immboliser being reset by disconnecting the battery for 5 minutes.

 

You only need to disconnect 1 terminal.

New batteries come with a small plastic terminal cap (like a bottle cap size) to prevent accidental connection.

I'm sure a garage would give you one of these for free.

Alternatively just wrap a rag around the terminal to prevent any chance of contact with the cable & you are all good.

Sounds great - many thanks!