As some of "van forum regulars" may remember, last year I had some throttle and tranny cable issues with my '90 E150. Well, I never did get them completely resolved and when the weather turned cold, I pretty much parked the van for the Winter.

This was back in late December. It's now mid-late March.

Since that time, I haven't driven it at all. Not even started it... very bad to do, I know.. but well.. it's not my primary vehicle and I just kept forgetting...

Yesterday, I happened to be off work and milling around my house and when a friend came over to de-Winterize a motorcycle I'm storing for her and she asked about the van, I said, "Ya know... I haven't even started it since I parked it back in December..." Then I hopped in and hit the key.

Started right up. Instantly. I'm not sure the engine made even a complete rotation before firing... Amazing...

Granted, after sitting for three months, there was quite a bit of smoke from oil leakign out of the valve covers onto the exhaust manifolds... and the tranny kick-down cable is still not quite right... but I drove it 20 miles or so from mine house to hers and back and it wasn't all that bad...

I do want a 4x4 truck something fierce right now, but maybe I'll keep the old girl a little longer...

 

What brand of battery are you using? If mine sits the battery needs to be jumped.

 

Believe it or not - just a Walmart special I put in it 3 or 4 years ago when I needed a battery at 11PM...

 

How long before you loose the battery? I had a stuck relay that drained it in a few days.

 

If i leave it sit for 3 weeks, I will need to jump it. Also if I am doing something to it and I leave a door open for a few hours, I have to jump it. The battery is only about a year old. Supposed to be 1000 amps at zero degrees.

 

Definitely sounds like you have an extra drain somewhere... I've left the side doors open for quite a while when camping as well as running the interior conversion lights (a lot of lights) and haven't had a problem.

 

Definitely sounds like you have an extra drain somewhere. When camping, I've left the side doors open for quite awhile as well as running the interior lights and haven't had a problem.

 

I think you might be right. I'll check it out over the week end.