To plug in or not to plug in during vacation

[Rjchang]

Any advice whether I should leave my 2016 eGolf plugged in (@110) while on 2 week vacation? Or is it better for battery to just sit?

 

[JoulesThief]

I'd charge the battery to the point where it's at 5/8 to 1/2 full on the needle that looks like a gas gauge, and call it good. Leave it in the garage and leave the alarm system unarmed.

 

[miimura]

If you have a 12V battery tender (a charger that will not overcharge the battery), putting that on couldn't hurt. It may not be necessary, but it will prolong the life of the 12V battery. Some manufacturers have worse "dark current" than others (which drains the 12V while sitting) and some EV's will periodically charge the 12V when not driven while some do not. I don't know the actual situation with the e-Golf. That's why I said it couldn't hurt.

 

[Verkehr]

For 2 weeks, no need to plug in unless you want to start a charge right before you return. The e-golf appears to charge the 12v battery only during high voltage battery charging and driving.

Just make sure the doors are locked as unlocked doors keep KESSY from going to sleep which can drain the 12v battery.

 

[JoulesThief]

For 2 weeks, no need to plug in unless you want to start a charge right before you return. The e-golf appears to charge the 12v battery only during high voltage battery charging and driving.

Just make sure the doors are locked as unlocked doors keep KESSY from going to sleep which can drain the 12v battery.

Versus keeping an alarm armed? Put your Kessy in a Faraday cage.

 

[Verkehr]

For 2 weeks, no need to plug in unless you want to start a charge right before you return. The e-golf appears to charge the 12v battery only during high voltage battery charging and driving.

Just make sure the doors are locked as unlocked doors keep KESSY from going to sleep which can drain the 12v battery.

Versus keeping an alarm armed? Put your Kessy in a Faraday cage.

Hey now JoulesThief, it's in the owner's manual. Did you miss this bit (p. 303 of the 2016 manual)?

 

[JoulesThief]

For 2 weeks, no need to plug in unless you want to start a charge right before you return. The e-golf appears to charge the 12v battery only during high voltage battery charging and driving.

Just make sure the doors are locked as unlocked doors keep KESSY from going to sleep which can drain the 12v battery.

Versus keeping an alarm armed? Put your Kessy in a Faraday cage.

Hey now JoulesThief, it's in the owner's manual. Did you miss this bit (p. 303 of the 2016 manual)?

Yep, probably because I have a 2015.

 

[eGolf2015]

The 2015 manual says you should ideally charge the battery to 40%-60% before leaving the car parked and unused for a longer period of time. It also specifically says to never park the car for 21 days or more with a charge level below 3%.

I've also read that it is harmful to battery life to leave it fully charged for extended periods, so we typically leave it partially charged if we are going on vacation and/or not planning to drive the car for a few days or more. Our car is parked outdoors, so leaving it unlocked wouldn't be an option even if we wanted to.

 

[bizzle]

My wife and I left ours half charged before we left for San Diego for two weeks. (and we also answered our question about getting back to San Diego from the valley...we made it to the top of the mountain at Golden Acorn with about 11 miles of range left but decided to turn back and go as far as back as we could instead of pushing forward the next 20 miles to Alpine...we made it about 50 miles, which was 5 from home left it at a rest area with the keys in it, called VW customer care to pick it up, then remotely unlocked it for the driver!).

Friend picked us up so we could go home and grab our TDI and continue on our way. Stayed in SD at a friend's house until last night. All that was to announce that we had a beautiful baby girl last night at 11:18!

 

[JoulesThief]

The 2015 manual says you should ideally charge the battery to 40%-60% before leaving the car parked and unused for a longer period of time. It also specifically says to never park the car for 21 days or more with a charge level below 3%.

I've also read that it is harmful to battery life to leave it fully charged for extended periods, so we typically leave it partially charged if we are going on vacation and/or not planning to drive the car for a few days or more. Our car is parked outdoors, so leaving it unlocked wouldn't be an option even if we wanted to.

I prefer to only give the battery a full charge if I am going to be leaving immediately, as soon as it is completed being fully charged.

 

[Rjchang]

Thanks for sharing your experiences and advice. My last car was Honda Insight which required special attention when I was on vacation. Nice to know the eGolf should be ok to sit parked and locked (no garage).

 

[bizzle]

The 2015 manual says you should ideally charge the battery to 40%-60% before leaving the car parked and unused for a longer period of time. It also specifically says to never park the car for 21 days or more with a charge level below 3%.

I've also read that it is harmful to battery life to leave it fully charged for extended periods, so we typically leave it partially charged if we are going on vacation and/or not planning to drive the car for a few days or more. Our car is parked outdoors, so leaving it unlocked wouldn't be an option even if we wanted to.

I prefer to only give the battery a full charge if I am going to be leaving immediately, as soon as it is completed being fully charged.

During a normal week, we charge ours to 80% on the awkward and 100 on the weekends