Flat battery again, my fault though!
Discussion
Hi There everyone. Does anyone know how to fit a warning alarm to stop me leaving my lights on and killing the battery. Went out today, lots of fog so lights on, gets sunny and I park and yes, you guessed it, I left the lights on. Came back 3 hours later and found an almost dead battery. Luckly enough, some of the cars admirers helped push start it and now its back in the garage with the charger on.
Heres hoping I dont have to take the top of the dash off again, I am still recovering from last time!
Please help!
Heres hoping I dont have to take the top of the dash off again, I am still recovering from last time!
Please help!
It should be quite easy with a little circuit knowledge.
Off the top of my alcohol addled head and without much thought, I'd take a tap from the nearside headlamp and run it to a push-to-break switch in the driver's doorframe (so when the door is shut, the switch is pushed from make position, to break position). Then run that switch to a small 12V buzzer (Maplins will do them), and finally to a suitable earth. The idea being that with the circuit in the break position (door closed), the buzzer hasn't got 12V. With the circuit in the make position (ie door open), the buzzer gets 12V. With the headlamps off, the circuit never gets anything.
Dunno who does push-to-break switches, but someone will. If you can't source them, you could always build your own with a microswitch and some sticky-back-plastic
Or, you could just pull the fascia from the dashboard where the headlamp switch is, and run it to the ignition barrel, so that the headlamps turn off when the ignition barrel isn't in position II. Best leaving the sidelights intact though, its a good idea to keep them powered if say you're parking in a slightly dodgy spot in the dark to get money from the cash machine etc.
Off the top of my alcohol addled head and without much thought, I'd take a tap from the nearside headlamp and run it to a push-to-break switch in the driver's doorframe (so when the door is shut, the switch is pushed from make position, to break position). Then run that switch to a small 12V buzzer (Maplins will do them), and finally to a suitable earth. The idea being that with the circuit in the break position (door closed), the buzzer hasn't got 12V. With the circuit in the make position (ie door open), the buzzer gets 12V. With the headlamps off, the circuit never gets anything.
Dunno who does push-to-break switches, but someone will. If you can't source them, you could always build your own with a microswitch and some sticky-back-plastic
Or, you could just pull the fascia from the dashboard where the headlamp switch is, and run it to the ignition barrel, so that the headlamps turn off when the ignition barrel isn't in position II. Best leaving the sidelights intact though, its a good idea to keep them powered if say you're parking in a slightly dodgy spot in the dark to get money from the cash machine etc.
Buy an audible lights-on sounder for a Ford: even the Transit has it, so scrapyards should be able to supply (or Ford dealers). Connect the positive end to the supply from the light switch (the terminal that goes up to +12V when the lights are switched on). Connect the other terminal to the switched ground terminal on one of the door switches (mounted in the sill, the terminal that is only grounded when the door is open).
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