Question About Battery Discharge Over Time

[forteatwo]

I am planning a two week backpacking trip in a remote area of Wyoming and due to the rough nature of the trail head access road, am taking my X1 as it has better ground clearance than my other car, navigating the ruts and rocky road better.

The issue is in the past I have had to put a trickle charger on this car whenever the car is not driven for one to two weeks. One week of nondriving is OK, but depending on the age of the battery, it will drain between one and two weeks of nonuse. That has been my experience.

The current battery is four years old. My question is either how can I prevent the battery from discharging over the two weeks or what other options are available if I do not disconnect it.

My first thought was to disconnect the battery once I reach the trailhead but looking at the battery, there is quite a complicated maze of stuff hooked up to it, not just a red cable and a black cable.

Also, I paid to have some modifications done with the ECU so I have a digital readout of MPH, seat belt chimes cut out and so forth. I do not want to pay to have all of this reprogrammed.

I assume this will all require reprogramming if I disconnect the battery over the two weeks. Is there a device that will provide enough emergency electricity to start the car in the event of battery failure, short of buying a back-up battery? I guess that would be my first choice.

I could bring jumper cables with the thought of asking for a jump but the area I am going into is very remote, it could be days before seeing someone. That is not an appealing option. There is no cell receptivity at the trailhead so calling for a jump is not an option.

Your thoughts?

[0w40X1]

You could experiment with a solar charger, but on my 14 S28i, I just disconnect the right black negative cable.

I've done it at least 30 times. You need to leave car unlocked, but push down the lock buttons inside, and lock driver door with valet key.
When reopening with valet key, open up center rear console, and pull the rear plastic door opener.

I don't think it'll change coded things, but I'm also not sure.

Only thing I have to reset is date and time.

[forteatwo]

Thank you OW40X1. That seems like the obvious solution and I see how the black cable can be easily removed from the battery post. For some reason I thought both sides would need to be removed but with an open circuit, the battery cannot discharge at least over the short haul.

[Gamb1t]

Alternatively you can buy a jump start power pack if your car battery is dead.

[0w40X1]

I just learned to never jump start most cars. People here talk about the FRM being ruined.

On social media they talk about nearly $1k bill on many other makes of cars.

At 8 years on my battery, when it acts up, I'll just get another battery at Sam's.

Putting the emergency cables into the 07 RX8 today.

I've jumped it with no troubles a few times.

[Gamb1t]

Never had that problem in my limited experience. Folks are incorrectly attaching the leads can lead to weird consequences.
For modern BMWs, use the terminals in the engine bay per the manual.

[cwickberg]

I use a solar charger to keep my boat charged,,, I just plug it into the 12 volt plug. (you need to make sure the plug is active and doesnt go to sleep.

Perhaps you mount the solar panel on a windhsield sun shade and run the wiring to the under hood positive mount.