The Under the Hood
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Dear Motor Medics, I have a 2004 GMC Yukon that stays parked outside year-round. I don’t drive it a lot, maybe every three weeks or so to get groceries and such.
In the summer it is fine but in the colder months the battery goes dead every time I need it and I’ve had to replace the battery at least every year.
I also need to get it started on the coldest of days and even with the good battery it sometimes does not want to go.
Do you have any suggestions for a more reliable starting?
Thank you, Joyce in Redwood Falls, Minnesota Dear Joyce, We have a number of listeners who are in this situation and we also have a vehicle stored outdoors that we use rarely but when it is needed it must run quickly.
We always keep a battery maintainer on the vehicle when it is not being used. It uses only a few cents per day to keep the vehicle battery ready to go at a moment’s notice and it has never failed to have enough power to turn it over.
As for the very cold weather. We have installed a block heater that we only plug in for a few hours before we needed it and only on the coldest days. Most days the strong fully-charged battery is enough to do the trick.
We also always keep fuel stabilizer in it due to low vehicle usage.
Take care, The Motor Medics
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