Long time parked up.

[Redtaz]

Hi all

I  recently bought an Evora. A 2010 N/A .After being away from Lotus for many years. Had several Elise's 

  I'm just interested to find other people's experiences of having their cars parked up for an extended time.

I parked it and it has been over 4 1/2 weeks. ( due to work) I was expecting a totally flat battery. And having to use the emergency boot release. I was dreading using this from what I've seen on line. About the problem this brings

But to my surprise. It started without any problem. Let alone being flat. From what I've read, This in not normal. Or is it just some people have been unlucky.

Also. How Do I reset the tyre pressure monitoring. It still shows an alarm. Even though I topped up the pressures.

 

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks 

 

 

[Hedgehogfromhell]

Mine lasted well over 5wks when i last went away in July.  It is common considering modern battery tech.  I find most who's batteries go flat have either aftermarket sources draining the power or a weak/old battery in the first place.  I've not seen any concerns regarding the manual boot release either?

With regards to the TPMS, it'll eventually reset itself as long as the pressures are correct.  Nothing below 28psi.  It works on the valve sending a signal to a pad every rotation of the wheel, as such it takes up to ten minutes (from experience after track days) for the correct pressure to be displayed and the alarm to cancel. 

[Redtaz]

Thanks

 I did have it at 2.1 bar. Then went of for a short run. But two tyres still were flashing. With the TPMS alarm on. I'll just have to check the pressures again. And keep driving...

 And that's good to know the battery can last so long. Due to work I will be leaving it parked for the same amount of time often.

 

 

[Whitey]

Lots of owners have already had a flat battery and replaced it - is your's still on the original one.  Mine is also 2010 NA and the battery has always been fine. I do put it on a Ctek if its going to be 3 weeks+ without a drive in the winter, so this has probably helped extend the life.  If they go flat for a period of time, then they seem to be difficult to recover, from what i have read. 

[Redtaz]

The previous owner said he had replaced the battery. So I guess that had helped.

 I was wondering how to connect a battery monitor / trickle charger. With the engine cover closed, is there enough gap for a cable to get through. At present, when it is parked up it will be outside, under a cover. But as long as I can keep getting 4 weeks plus being parked up. I'll be very happy.  But I want to put some form of trickle charger on it. I don't want to ruin the battery.

 All my previous cars. Apart from my Elise 111R. We're all left with out problems. Even had an M6 parked for 6 weeks in snow. And that started without hesitation.

 

[Colin P]

I drilled a 15mm hole in the battery cover, rubber grommett (same as you'd use on a metal back box for a ringmain plug socket) and ran the cteck connector down to the bottom of the carpet and it pokes out the bottom - I'll look for photo

There you go:

Edited September 19, 2016 by Colin P
Add photo

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

There's no need to make any new holes. Just plug a C-Tek into the hidden 12v connector under the boot lock.

[Whitey]

Exactly what I do - there is enough give in the boot seal for the wire to go over it and still close the boot without damaging it.  Don't, though, drive off without disconnecting it, like I did once   Now I always wrap the C-tek case around the steering wheel, so I don't do it again................

[Redtaz]

Thanks.

 I like the idea of the 12v connector in to boot.

 I think that's the way forward...??

[CocoPops]

There is no 12v socket in the boot of the 400 They did away with it.

[Whitey]

That's rubbish penny pinching to the extreme.............cancels 400 order 

[Neal H]

That's not the worst of it, they've deleted the cargo net from the boot which is majorly annoying.

[TomE]

With the boot 12V outlet and cargo net gone on the 400, it sounds like they've taken the "add lightness" mantra too far now!

My S1 Evora sits on a CTEK via the boot 12V outlet when not in use.  It generally lasted 2-3 weeks before that, though whether that was due to a fading battery or some parasitic load I'm not sure.

[Colin P]

8 hours ago, Neal H said:

That's not the worst of it, they've deleted the cargo net from the boot which is majorly annoying.

And the engine temp guage.

11 hours ago, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

There's no need to make any new holes. Just plug a C-Tek into the hidden 12v connector under the boot lock.

I prefer to hard wire to the battery. I don't like the idea of reversing the charge through the cars electrical system. It's probably just me, but this never seemed like a good idea to me.

[JayEmm]

I wouldn't trust the wires that go to a 12v socket to be capable of taking the load a battery charger could put on a depleted battery.

The 400's battery I believe may be smaller than the S1's. Most of the dealers I spoke to frequently had troubles with them going flat, more so than usual.

[Bibs]

The S1 had a 72Ah Varta, the 400 has an 82Ah battery.

[CocoPops]

Geek!

 

[JayEmm]

1 hour ago, Bibs said:

The S1 had a 72Ah Varta, the 400 has an 82Ah battery.

Interesting. Any idea if it's physically smaller/lighter?

[mawheele]

@Bibs - The 400 has featured different batteries. My 400 (May build) originally came with a Varta and the Factory switched it to a higher capacity version in early August. Mine is also missing the net and features a large plastic cover with 4 thumb screws. 

I do wonder how much Lotus was looking to save in terms ££££ per car to drive up the profit per vehicle. I assume current shipping cars are also lower weight, but I think I'd far rather I had the car in brochure. I do believe they've gone too far without properly updating the website and brochures.  The two features I would really have liked are the HomeLink and the diamond cut wheels. 

[Colin P]

Yes, I miss the home link as well.

[Inkyfingers]

I miss the hours i've spent trying to get homelink to work!

And yes, I have done all the things suggested on previous threads.

[Colin P]

Took me about 30 seconds 

[Inkyfingers]

No need to rub it in 

[DanChantler]

 I've hard wired the battery to my trickle charger connectors so an easy plug in when I need to. 

Miss that Homelink (sorted in 30secs ?) and cargo net (especially due to the loose pouch holding locking nut and tow bar!)

[Bibs]

11 minutes ago, DanChantler said:

especially due to the loose pouch holding locking nut and tow bar!

Use to velcro to stick it to the boot carpet. Job done