1991 Camaro: Trickle of Power

Q--In December of 2002, I purchased a battery for my 1991 Camaro that is parked in my garage. I started it up every two months. I discovered that I had to charge the battery every time I went to start it up. The battery goes dead.

Now the dealership tells me that I need to keep a trickle charger on the battery or it will go dead. The last time this happened, I charged the battery and a week later it needed a charge again. The dealer said that the new batteries are like that. Is this true?

A--Unless you drive your car regularly, you need to keep the battery charged by using a trickle charger. Starting and letting the car idle won't recharge the battery. In fact, you are using more of the charge starting the engine than can be put back by the alternator at idle. It has nothing to do with new batteries.