Having the car’s battery die on me for the very first time since we’ve owned the car was definitely a good thing.
To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about the battery with regards to car maintenance. It was always there and it always worked. It was definitely a lesson in not taking anything for granted.
After having the car’s emissions tested (it passed), I immediately purchased a battery charger and picked up this Eliminator 12/8/2-amp 12-volt intelligent charger on sale at a $30 discount. (Woo!) My late father’s decades-old 12-volt 4-amp charger still worked but let’s face it… It’s really old! And I’d have to do some battery babysitting whenever I use it.
The Eliminator (#11-1518-8) has a good set of features and it’s a bonus that I got it on sale to boot! Regular price $90, got it on sale for $60. It has float mode monitoring (i.e. trickle charging to maintain batteries), de-sulphication to reverse sulphate build-up and restore battery capacity, battery testing and reverse hookup/short circuit protection.
I like the fact that it displays the volts and amps it’s using as well as the battery capacity rounded to every 10%. There’s no guess-work on the progress of the charging process. It automatically adjusts voltage/amperage on-the-fly depending on the situation and automatically goes into float mode monitoring so I can set it and not have to worry about over-charging the battery. It’s also fan-cooled, with the fan turning on as required.
Overall, a great buy for $60!
ECM
One thing that I hadn’t considered when removing the battery was that the car’s engine control module (ECM) would reset itself. I think that’s a good thing because the ECM has never been reset in all the years we’ve had the car.
Resetting it now will enable the ECM to re-learn the engine’s operating parameters and re-adjust itself. I’ve already noticed a different in the engine performance this morning. The engine was revving higher than normal and the idle sounded and felt smoother.
It’ll still take a long drive (usually over 20-minutes) for the ECM to really get a handle on engine performance but that’ll have to wait since I stupidly let the plates expire. 
I might take the time to inspect and clean the mass air flow sensor (MAF) if required to ensure that the ECM gets good base-line sensor readings.
Rust
While poking around the engine compartment, I saw that there’s quite a few rusted fasteners that’ll need to be removed (probably have to cut them off!) and replaced. Thankfully, none of them are critical— not like the engine’s gonna fall out or anything like that… 
But I’d still like to deal with them before getting the entire car rust-proofed this Spring.
The hood release cable is sticking again. I think last time it cost me something like $80-$100 (or something) to have it replaced. Forget that! I’m going to attempt to lubricate the cable with penetrating lubricant while it’s in place first.
If that doesn’t work, I’ll attempt to remove/replace the cable myself but I won’t do that until the warm weather. In the mean time, I’m going to have to use the ol’ screwdriver trick if it fails to lock again. 
Ah, the joys of having an older car. 
I actually don’t mind doing this work. The knowledge/experience is good to have and it makes me feel manly!
