Any tips for parking up for 3 months?

JohnS29

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MG4 Trophy ER
I'd appreciate any advice about leaving my MG4 Trophy 77kWh parked up for 3 months this coming winter (south of England). I note the manual says don't let the charge drop below 50%, but should I expect the car to drain 30+ kWh from the battery when it's parked? Thoughts welcomed, thanks.
 
No idea about 3 months but left my ZSEV 72 plate for 3 weeks only lost 2% on the battery. You might have to disconnect the 12V battery or not alarm it to save the 12V battery. Only a guess though.
 
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If it's in a secure location (like a garage) leave the bonnet unlatched so if the 12V battery does get drained you have instant access to charge or jump it.

Leave the battery with somewhere around 70% charge if you can.
 
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I guess you have no problem. As said, charge to 70% and walk away.
I have left mine for 7 weeks and noticed no drop in SoC (though I did not record the levels) and I had no 12V issues. I walked up to the car, pushed the door button, sat in the seat and drove away.
 
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The manual says to disconnect the 12V battery if you are leaving the car more than 1 month, obviously that presumes that it is somewhere secure where you can leave it unlocked / bonnet unlatched.

Leaving it at a SOC of between 50-80% would be best, the lower in that range the better, so nearer 50% if you can (but not lower than this).

The SOC shouldn't decay much at all when you are away, especially if 12V is disconnected.

Make sure there's decent ventilation to avoid damp inside through condensation, especially if over the winter.
 
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I'd leave it at 70% charge and lock it as usual. The worst thing that could happen is the 12v battery will go flat although if the car is relativity new or up-to-date with the software that shouldn't be a problem. But just in case make sure the manual key can open the driver's door and you have a battery booster.
 
I'd appreciate any advice about leaving my MG4 Trophy 77kWh parked up for 3 months this coming winter (south of England). I note the manual says don't let the charge drop below 50%, but should I expect the car to drain 30+ kWh from the battery when it's parked? Thoughts welcomed, thanks.
I left my MG5 long range at 50% parked on the drive at the side of the house. I returned after six weeks, jumped in and drove off, no drama, no problems, everything was fine.
 
If everything is "normal" and the HV battery isn't really low, then the 12v battery should also be OK as well, as the vehicle should automatically keep it charged when powered off... from manual:

1724770660256.png
 
The thing is, we aren't sure how far down the HV battery this applies to. It makes sense that there is a point at which the HV battery will protect itself at the expense of the 12v. I note that the Coda that Out Of Spec Reviews are restoring had that set at 30%. The car was found after 12 years still at 30% battery, and was able to be driven off simply by using a 12v booster. Subsequent experience showed that whenever the car was left unused it maintained the 12v until it hit 30%, then stopped. It seems to have kept that 30% SoC for more than a decade in the first instance, which is impressive. (They also discovered that the 12v wasn't actually dead and was capable of holding a charge to some extent, even after all that time. Which was also impressive.)

We do not know what the percentage set for the MG4 is, but some people have suggested 50%. That seems ridiculously high to me, but it might be prudent to charge to say 60% before leaving the car for an extended period of time, just in case.

Although I don't really know how much it takes to keep a healthy 12v topped up. My car didn't lose any charge in the HV battery in more than a fortnight. (Actually that's twice now, I'd forgotten the two weeks parked outside my friend's house when we went on holiday in June of this year.) I suspect if the 12v is in good condition it will hold its charge pretty well for quite a while. I left my Golf for 10 weeks at Avonmouth while I went on a cruise, January to March. I had left a battery booster pack in the car just in case, but I didn't need it. The battery, which was relatively new, managed to turn over the 2-litre engine after a bit of huffing and puffing, even after that time. (My friend's Polo was dead when we got to it though, so we needed the booster pack after all.)
 
What would that do?
TBH not exactly sure, every new car has some version of it installed under different names " shipping , transport etc." Mine had it installed upon delivery at the dealers and deactivated when they prepared it for its PDI. It was most likely activated for the voyage across the briney , hence the name. I believe it deactivates some electrical systems which could drain the 12v and reduces the chances that if there is some manufacturing defect then there is less chance of arcing and what could become on a ship a catastrophic fire. On an EV it may do more with the HV battery but its very difficult to find any evidence of that. A side effect is that its been reported that it disables the electronic door locks ( manual key only ) which could be an extra anti-theft advantage. As always others will/may know more than me , but as always all manufacturers remain cagey about divulging its functions and enablement and disablement procedures .
 
Transit (Transport) mode is there in the Engineer menu on the SE, under the Show room button:

1724837623670.png
 
Well, well, O Wise One I knew you would take the bait, :D excellent work! Now what's your take on what it does? Whist you are at it, "enable ME mode " what is that? I may have inadvertently pressed it ????? or not , so exciting finding a new screen , fingers everywhere.?
 
No idea mate - I simply entered the menu and took photos of all the options. You can find the full suite of photos in my 1100R33 thread. :)
 
I'd appreciate any advice about leaving my MG4 Trophy 77kWh parked up for 3 months this coming winter (south of England). I note the manual says don't let the charge drop below 50%, but should I expect the car to drain 30+ kWh from the battery when it's parked? Thoughts welcomed, thanks.
We take 6-7 wks in Seville Feb-Mar and my ZS LR loses zero %.
 

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