For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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By Sooty25
#1570426
morticiaskeeper wrote:Both of our cars (VAG) have unswitched sockets with a 14w solar panel in the back window. Just make sure there is a diode in the lead.



that'll be what @Paul_Sengupta problem was, either no blocking diode or it went short circuit.
By chevvron
#1570647
Paul_Sengupta wrote:I used one in my 7 series BMW and it drained the battery...

Something unique about beemers. I've seen several in the long term at Gatwick with an AA or RAC van next to them; they have only been parked for 2 weeks and the battery is dead.
I know on my Polo with its daylight driving lights (headlights which come on with the ignition) it's a bit of a pain because if I plug in a vacuum cleaner or tyre pump to the 12v socket, it drains the battery quite quickly. Unfortunately you have to have the ignition on to activate the 12v socket and there is no way of switching the headlights off so I have to start the engine to avoid this. Why can't they re-wire it so the headlights only come on when the alternator is producing current instead?
By cockney steve
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1570655
Have a 528 BMW Touring,Trebled it's cost with new brakes and tyres all round. Battery- drain is apparently due to rear-suspension airbag compressor not switching off....will insert an ignition-fed relay in it's feed.....meanwhile, leave the tailgate closed, but not latched and disconnect one battery terminal....OK for 3 months!....It's a crawl-over seats job if the tailgate latches, only door with a manual lock, is the driver's. alternatively, open the bonnet and there's 2 terminals for jump-leads, Proof-positive they know it's a rank design. ;-)
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1570716
I had the BMW drain the battery in under a week previously. It was diagnosed as a faulty computer, so I had a new CPU module. That fixed it, but with most modern cars, it will only seemingly go about 3 weeks before the battery is too low to start it. My Jaguar is similar, a fortnight is pushing it. The MR2 is ok if I leave it unlocked which means the alarm isn't on, but with it locked/alarm on, again, it's only good for 3 weeks or so. I haven't tried the other two unlocked (I haven't had them in the garage for any length of time), but I assume it might be similar.

I can't get into the cabin of my BMW at all without power. I can get in the boot, and I have to apply power to the boot light to power up the locking system before I can get in. Or lock it, if I disconnect the battery (under the back seat). I have one of those starter pack things to do that.
By cockney steve
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1570812
^^^^ Have they discontinued the jump-start terminals under the bonnet, to save a few bob?.....the 528 Estate has only a single manual lock on the driver's door, battery in boot on O/s. Major hassle to jump it, or reconnect the battery, if the boot's locked!.....check the handbook!...Bentley Arnage has 2x 80 Ah batteries, when all goes dead, you can still manually enter and the "spare" battery starts it. (BMW 7-series in disguise)....the earlier spirit/TurboR and derivatives had a big, prominent isolator in the boot and the handbook explicitly stated that the battery should be isolated and charged once a month, whilst not in use.
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1570823
cockney steve wrote:^^^^ Have they discontinued the jump-start terminals under the bonnet, to save a few bob?


Mine's 1993 and has the terminals. Except you're not going to get to the terminals without first getting into a cabin, which requires said tricks with the boot light...mine doesn't have a manual lock on the driver's door. Well, it's supposed to have a thing where you pull the handle up, but I can't seem to get that to work - common problem apparently, and a lot of people just connect the power through the boot light. I don't know if it's possible to lock it again using the same manual technique, so I use the boot light thing for disconnecting the battery or taking the battery out.
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By stevelup
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1570832
I have had five spanning the last 15 years - they all had the terminals under the bonnet. I really can't see them ever dropping that as the batteries have become increasingly inaccessible. My last two cars, you cannot even get to the battery without tools.

Furthermore, they have masses of stuff attached directly to the terminals including pyrotechnic charges to separate the connection in the event of an accident. You don't want to be poking around there with jump leads, and in fact, I doubt it's actually possible. There's literally no visible bare metal.

An all the ones I've had, the override key is completely mechanical - you prise a cover off the drivers door handle and insert the key. I can't imagine any circumstances where you wouldn't be able to lift the bonnet in the event of a dead battery.
By chevvron
#1570871
stevelup wrote:Furthermore, they have masses of stuff attached directly to the terminals including pyrotechnic charges to separate the connection in the event of an accident.

Last I heard, you have to have a 'permit' similar to an FAC for explosive charges.
By cockney steve
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1570937
@chevvron said
Last I heard, you have to have a 'permit' similar to an FAC for explosive charges.

All airbags have explosive charges. That's how they justify the obscene price for a tuppeny banger and a polythene bag :twisted: Hazardous goods, special carriage and all that. You can't post them, yet Royal Mail will quite happily shift tons of 5h1t for bowel-cancer screening, but not used oil-samples for analysis. (though the Ivory Tower claims they will, the jobsworths,apparently say no!)

Lost the master-key for the BMW, Agent wanted £150-ish for a new one and insisted on registration in my name, 2 forms of ID..... for a £500 banger...and, no, a vendor's receipt was not adequate. could post the immobiliser- brain and a PHOTO or picture of the key to London and Mr. Patel would cut a master-key, code it to the box and return, all for £60 !
Ah, but I didn't have a key!...jumped through the hoops, got the cheapest, purely mechanical key ~£45. Open door, pull bonnet- catch,hook jumpleads on terminals , all good to go. Yes, the plastic pull-release for the secondary bonnet-catch, is a bit of a bind. Judicious use of tools and abrasives will realign it and increase the clearances. :eye:
By chevvron
#1571057
cockney steve wrote: All airbags have explosive charges. That's how they justify the obscene price for a tuppeny banger and a polythene bag :twisted: Hazardous goods, special carriage and all that. You can't post them, yet Royal Mail will quite happily shift tons of 5h1t for bowel-cancer screening, but not used oil-samples for analysis. (though the Ivory Tower claims they will, the jobsworths,apparently say no!)


Royal Mail will happily accept live rifle ammunition through the post.
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By rikur_
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1572824
Update on the battery - apparently I might have too much music, or a corrupt music track

Apparently there is a bug in Ford's Sync system where although the radio looks like it is switched off, it gets stuck in an endless state of trying to index your music ... until the low battery voltage protection cuts the power to the radio. Removing the USB stick is apparently the answer. We'll see in a few weeks if this advice is true.
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By rikur_
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1572830
The badge by the gear stick may point to the root cause of the problem.
Obviously if there was one 'powered by Apple' it would be a much more intuitive car to drive, but only being able to drive on roads built by Apple could be a bit of a limitation.
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