Wondering if anyone has any experience with using a battery maintainer on their face lifted X250 while in storage for long periods of time. I don't drive my XF through the winter, so the vehicle will be out of commission for quite a few months. Because I don't (easily) have AC power where the vehicle is being stored, I had been planning on disconnecting the battery and putting it on a tender elsewhere. But, after reading about the absolute nightmare that can arise from this car being disconnected from its battery, I've instead found a solution to get AC power and will be hooking it up to a maintainer.

Are there any special precautions that should be taken in hooking the car up to a battery maintainer? Or is it just as simple as hooking it up and everything should be fine?

I have a SCHUMACHER Model SC1355

Positive to positive on the car battery.
Negative to a solid piece of exposed metal for ground.

Should I worry about hydrogen coming off of the battery while it's being maintained? Should I leave the trunk open or anything like that?

My XF is a 2012 Portfolio N/A 5.0L, and only has a single battery as it doesn't have start/stop.

I've already done everything else normal for a car going into storage, washed (+ undercarriage wash), extra air put in the tires, fuel stabilizer, oil change.

Would appreciate any help or advice you guys can give. I'm just a little nervous because of how complex the electrical/computer system in this car seems to be.

 

Following.

I need this also.

FYI - I've eaten up 2 batteries this year, driving sporadically and parking for week at a time.

 

I had a C-Tek unit connected to my 2012 XF 5.0l for 5 winters. It was connected as you describe--+ve on battery terminal and -ve to to a separate ground. The battery should already have a vent connected to it with arubber hose venting underneath the trunk. I kept the trunk closed and had a car cover over the car. I had no issues. I had to install a new battery this year --the old one was just over 8 years old. I traded my XF for 2014 XJL 5.0 recently and transferred the new battery to the XJL which is currently laid up for the winter with the battery connected to the C-Tek

 

Don't do the winter storage thing here in Fort Worth, but I put barely 1,700 miles on the XF between the last two annual oil changes. It remains stored for maybe three or four weeks at a time as Six Rotors described. The original Varta lasted about nine years like that and the Interstate (which the case at least appears to be identical to the Varta) is now about four years old. No issues (knock on wood). On the other hand, I've got seven vehicles plugged in and had some seriously scary close calls with lesser battery maintainers in the past. If you are going to leave a vehicle battery plugged in unattended, you definitely want to make sure its a good quality unit with smart circuitry that will detect charging problems and shut itself off rather than boiling a battery, blowing its caps off or burning the whole garage down. But batteries are so expensive now that you gotta do something to preserve them. That's why the forum has recommended CTEK in the past.

 

I have been using the CTEK on both of my 2014 XF and 2009 XJ for the past 5 years. It has kept my batteries in good condtion, and issues.

 

Another vote to get the CTEK. Many people are using them and no complaints.
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Same here C TEC great charger and conditioner they might seem alot of money for what they are but theirs alot of tec gone into this brand and a rock solid warranty