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2018 Limited S in storage for 6 months

1.5K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  Jeremy M.  
#1 ·
Hi all,
This is my second question here on the Pacifica forums.

We leave Wisconsin for about 5-6 months in winter and head to warmer climates. We have a motorhome and tow our 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. We leave my 2018 Pacifica Limited S in the garage at home.

All our other cars we have ever left, all we did is remove the negative from the battery when we left, reconnect it when we got home and we’re good to go. This past fall was the first time leaving the Pacifica so we did the usual - disconnected the negative and then it occurred to us…..what about the aux battery?

We checked it out and it seemed kind of complicated to disconnect. We tried a couple things and it just wasn’t working so we left it connected.

Now it’s getting time to head home again and I’m wondering if we’re going to have problems because the aux battery went dead over winter. Like I said, on the other cars, all we did is reconnect the negative and the car started right up. Any ideas what we can expect on the Pacifica with aux battery?

Thanks in advance for any help!
 
#2 ·
I don't know for sure. If I were you I'd get a 'battery maintainer' - keeps battery charged without overcharging.
Here's but one example:
 
#4 ·
The two batteries are electrically connected in parallel while the car is parked. So when you disconnected the main battery the entire resting electrical load was transferred to the small battery. It will be deader than dead upon your return.

The car will likely start when you reconnect the main battery. But there is a risk the now dead small battery will drain the main the next time it is parked overnight., and you’ll wake to a dead battery. It would be best to disconnect the small battery until you can replace it. There will be a warning light on the dash and the engine stop won’t function at traffic lights, but no other affect.

The small battery is just a ring terminal under a 10mm nut. If accessing it was the problem, try removing the air intake duct that runs across the top of the batteries. Just pull up at the front of the duct and slide forward - it’s a 2 second, no tools operation.