I hope someone can help with this problem. I took my MX off the road at the beginning of December, ‘Sorned’ it and parked it at the top of my drive, with a view to putting it back on the road in the spring. I have been starting it up every couple of weeks and letting it tick over for 20 or 30 minutes. During this time it has become apparent that the battery is probably ready for replacing, I have had to use my booster pack to get it started.
Unfortunately, due to surgery I have been unable to start her up for five weeks. When I was finally fit enough to give her some attention this week, I was gutted to find that the door linings and seat belts had a substantial amount of mold growing on them, furthermore, when I connected my fully charged booster pack, the car was completely dead, no lights on the dashboard, no clicks, absolutely nothing…
Just wondered if anyone could advise me on the best way to store a car outside, through the winter, and any pointers on why it suddenly won’t start with the booster pack.
I had intended buying a cover for the car but I have read a lot about covers creating lots of condensation, thus damaging the car. However, even without a cover, there is a lot of condensation developing on the inside of the car.
Your battery is officially trashed.
It will never sustain sufficient charge again.
If that sounds harsh, call Andrew at Autolink in Dumfries who is one of the OC’s preferred suppliers and he will tell you why you don’t see a battery on his spares listings.
You could get some life into it fhat will serve to merely deceive you with some pretty dashboard lights …but it will die again overnight.
As for mould, should be easy to eradicate and there is a raft of products online to assist you.
It’s not uncommon as indeed neither are lack-of-use killed batteries which is why ( hint!) you should take a look at what we call tricklers or condition chargers like Ctek.
You are far from unique, believe me. It’s the age old Mx5 Curse of weekend Mxg5 odd-use fun toys.
Sorry for your predicament but it’s use it or store it in short.
Nothing worse than having an MX-5 laid up outside open to the elements. Despite others says well I do and it’s ok. It’s got to be perfectly dry inside or you get problems as you are experiencing. Check all the drain points aren’t blocked etc and the roof is watertight and seals are good.
Re the battery, well there’s another post I’ve just made comments on re flat battery, its relevant here too, your battery sounds like it’s now dead and needs replacing. Do keep any good batteries maintained, as you found out the winter soon kills them.
Sorry as I say circumstances have lead to this.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record and becoming Mr Dew Point, October and November were mild and wet, the cold snap came after the car was laid up at the beginning of December. The cabin air would have had a high dew point, probably in the teens Centigrade - and that’s before any rain ingress due to leaks. If the outside temperature fell to below freezing the cabin would be running with condensation. The soft furnishings would be ripe for mold growth.
It’s counter intuitive but the best time to open up the windows and doors is on a freezing cold day with 20-mile visibility. Then shut it up with trickle ventilation.
That’s the theory anyway.
Hence why I said its got to be perfectly dry inside or you get problems.
Regular use usually keeps on top of any temporary damp conditions, we don’t know if the car has a leak now or pre laying up?
I bought a Mk2 it was absolutely minging inside with damp/mould after being laid up, found out the hood leaked. After some TLC from me, all dried out the roof fixed the car never leaked again. Left outside further (snow and ice) until i got my garage sorted it survived any further mould build up or water ingress.
On the battery, turning the engine on is quite an inefficient way to keep it charged. I would invest in a CTEK charger from Amazon that can actually recondition the battery as well as recharge it. I would apply it once a month and leave it trickling for a day or so. Do the reconditioning cycle once a year. It can revive even nearly dead batteries. If that doesn’t work get a new battery. The CTEK won’t have been a waste of money, every car owner should have a trickle charger anyway.
On the mould, this is an occupational hazard, it just gets damp in there, plus it’s dark so this is inevitable. Take a pyrex bowl of warm water, add washing up liquid and gently rub off the mould with a cloth wherever you see it.
Condensation will happen if there’s any humidity in the air that hits a cold surface. Likely when you have been running the car the warm engine air is getting into the cabin and then as it contacts the cold surfaces (inside roof especially) over the next few hours it condenses. This can be such that it drips onto the seats. Again, no big deal. As part of a fortnightly check just dab off the wet with a dry microfibre cloth.
A cover is really about keeping nasties off the visible outside surface of the car, and the forums are split on whether they are worth it or not. As some already said above, laying up outside is not ideal. I get condensation even with my cover on. The issue, again, is that there is moisture in the air everywhere. You could get some dessicant (available from DIY shops) and leave it on the footwell to try to take out that moisture.
Hope that all helps. I toyed with the idea of SORNing the car, but there is the odd day over the Oct-Mar period where it’s sunny and dry and I just fancy a runaround in the MX-5. Maybe next winter I’ll lay it up for the whole period.
storage outside is not that bad, and I speak as someone who had a MK1 on the drive which never went anywhere and was SORNED from about December 2019 right through to summer 2022. It was plugged into a Ctek battery charger that whole time, it had a dehumidifier bag sitting on the dash, and a bit of extra pressure in the tyres and the handbrake off. It got started maybe once a month to keep things moving. Mould grown was minimal, just wiped off with a dry microfibre cloth. I’m not a fan of covers, I worry they trap in moisture, even in the winter we get dry spells, and a bit of wind is the best thing to keep a car dry.
Key though I reckon is the Ctek charger, they’re wonderful things, and advantage of an MX-5 is with the battery in the boot you can hide it in there if car is outside on a private drive.
Battery is fubar. You might poke it in to life for a bit with an old school needle on a dial analogue charger, but it will let you down again.
I keep a small solar panel charger hooked up to the Westco battery in my NA.
That now lives in a car port, but the car port roof is clear(ish) plastic, so even with the panel inside the back window of the car it keeps it conditioned enough to start. It stood for weeks recently because the drive was blocked by a builder’s skip, but started OK.
Just have to pop the panel in the boot and unhook the clip before going for a drive. Then I keep the cover partially off the battery, which makes this a very quick job (and the reverse on parking up again at home)…
Antibacterial wipes are ideal for removing mould and other nasties from car interiors. You may need to repeat the process on a regular basis if the weather continues to be damp. The only solution is a dry, well ventilated garage.
I may be wrong, but I don’t think alternators provide much charge to the battery at idle, certainly compared to taking it for a good honk for an hour or two. A trickle charger is probably your best bet - off an RCD protected socket! - as mentioned. I have a Noco 5, and in fact, I took advantage of the good weather here today to strap it to the MX5 for the day and top up the battery. I do this to both cars about every 6 months, just because I have it and it can’t hurt.
I had a ‘breathable’ cover over my MX5 for one winter and although the car got regular outings there was still some mould creeping in on the inside of the hood. I’ve left it off since, and the mould hasn’t reoccurred. Half-covers may be better?
Hi
I agree with the general consensus that the battery is defunct, however I am surprised that you got no lights with a fully charged booster pack.
Have you tried disconnecting a battery terminal and connecting the booster just to get 12v into the dash and see if the lights appear?
There is a possibility you could have a bad earth that prevents proper charging.
Which model 5 do you have?
Have you tried to charge the battery with an actual charger?
Many modern electronic chargers will not touch a battery below 8 volts, but there is a way to “trick them” into pushing current into the cells.
Feel free to come back with more info, but please if you go the new battery route get a check for any parasitic draw and also check the alternator is putting out the correct voltage when running.
Good luck.
I’ve just experienced the same with my nc1 …laid up at my mums on her drive, sorned and started on a regular basis howeverdue to the weather i wasn’t able to do the weekly start up for about 6 weeks. Went last week and found the battery completely flat and nothing displaying even with my booster pack. Apparently booster packs are intelligent and will only work when they sense a small charge in the battery, mould on the seats, steering wheel and seat belts removed with a micro fibre cloth and hot soapy water, condensation on underside of soft top and front and rear windows wiped off with micro fibre cloths. Battery removed and charged indoors using my optimate charger, refitted and all lit up and car started. Still getting condensation but found that front passenger caroet wet so have resealed the grommets under the scuttle panel to solve the problem. I agree that the damp atmosphere is to blame for the condensation but the leaky grommet doesn’t help either. I’ve tried to obtain dehumidifier packs but none available locally so going to try the cat litter suggestion.
Firstly, thank you to all who replied to my post, I’m blown away by the amount of help, advice and suggestions that have been forthcoming, what a fantastic community. I don’t feel anywhere near as fed up about my MX as I did yesterday…
So, the Ctek charger crops up more than once and appears to be a must have item, any recommendations on which model, I looked on Amazon and there are loads of different ones. My booster pack is a NOCO Booster Plus GB40 (I don’t think it does trickle charging) and after digging out the manual, it turns out, as some of you have said, that it doesn’t work unless it detects a certain level of power in the battery - the good news is, there is a way to override it.
On the condensation/moisture front, I am pretty confident that there are no leaks as I have never had a problem in wet weather. However, every time I look out of my kitchen window, I can see that both the front and rear screens are dripping with condensation inside, I have been using my Karcher window vac every two weeks to remove most of it, but obviously five weeks between vacs is too long. I have got hold of a couple of small dehumidifers, they are effectively like big versions of those silica gel bags that you find in packaging, but these can be plugged in and gently heated to dry the crystals out, and re-use. If they are any good, I’ll post a link on here.
Once again, thanks to everyone for replying, your help is very much appreciated.
I’ve just replaced my battery tester to this below. You can keep an eye on the condition of each battery. I have three and as suspected one is taking a charge and showing it’s fully charged but really the battery is past it’s best. The other two show in good health.
Just wanted to say how useful this advice has been for me also! I’m going to be parking my MX-5 up for a while now until the weather improves (or someone buys it - whichever comes sooner!) and as I’ve also not driven it since the cold snap in December, I’m now quite nervous about opening and starting her again. These hints and tips have however also made me feel quite relieved!
I agree that a “good honk”, as you put it, is a good idea; but I took my RF out yesterday, largely around town with lots of traffic light stops, having turned off i-Stop, and monitored the voltage at the 12v socket under the passenger side dashboard. It measured 12.9 – 13.2 volts when the engine was idling, and not significantly higher when driving, which is certainly charging the battery. Not that I would advocate letting any car sit at idle for any time…
My NB lived outside for the six years I owned it (sold it last summer). It had been fitted with a high quality mohair hood not long before I bought it. To help preserve the soft top and the entire car, after I’d fetched it home from 250 miles south I drove it another 100 miles north just the following day, to buy a hard top for it. Reason being, of course, that the hard top drains externally whereas the soft top drains via those troublesome internal drain tubes. It remained in very good, rust free condition.
I recently helped out with two cars that were suffering from excessive condensation. Both cars had blocked drains from the “scuttle” panel below their windscreen. One was a Fiat Panda, the other an Alfa Romeo. I don’t think this is as likely to occur on MX-5s, but it’s well worth checking on any car.
