| I had the same issue. 3 yellow top Optimas drained to uselessness. I don't drive my Z every week and it sits in the garage with the hood open 90% of the time. I went to my local Batteries Plus and picked up a Battery Tender Jr. Looks like a wall wart (big boxy plugs for electronics that take up tons of room, ac adapters) but has a special disconnect on the end. It comes with 2 adapter cables. One has clamps for your battery posts, the other has an eyelet to be permanently installed on the bolts that tighten your battery clamps. I used the clamps for a while but opted to install the other cable and IT'S AWESOME!! I just leave the charging lead zip tied right next to my battery. When I park it I grab the Battery Tender AC adapter plug it into my extension cord and plug it into the charging adapter that stays always connected to my battery. Takes less then one minute. Great thing is that it also conditions your battery. Keeping it healthy and fully charged at all times. I think it was $40. They have a regular non-junior version but it's a little more expensive and not nesscessary. Been doing this for 3 months now (was killing batteries in 1-2 months) and my battery still holds a solid 13.5-14v with the car off. Z cars are notorious for high drain when off. Pulling the negative cable is what most people do but I got sick of resetting my in dash Nav/Radio and all my other electronics everytime I wanted to take it for a spin. The tender is a much better solution IMO and will deliver more then enough juice to allow you to leave your hood open. No lights are on with only the hood open.
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