Discussion
I've just been away for 12 days and left my chimaera and my MGF (haven't got round to advertising yet) on the drive with all lights, radio etc. turned off. When I got back to fire them up - nothing!
Got the RAC out to re-charge them (mechanic said it was because of the cold weather) and then took both for a good motoway run to re-charge the batteries.
2days later... jumped in to pop to the supermarket and both are again flat as a pancake!! Rather embarrassing :0
Any ideas why my car(s) are running flat?
Got the RAC out to re-charge them (mechanic said it was because of the cold weather) and then took both for a good motoway run to re-charge the batteries.
2days later... jumped in to pop to the supermarket and both are again flat as a pancake!! Rather embarrassing :0
Any ideas why my car(s) are running flat?
I work away a lot, this is what I use cheap and very effective. Would not waste my time with trickle chargers unless you have radio codes ECT.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LORRY-TRACTOR-etc-Battery-Is...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LORRY-TRACTOR-etc-Battery-Is...
ah yes - as i have just found out for myself:
disconnect the battery and close the door and you can't get into a chimaera with under wing mirror door buttons. The doors require battery power to open!
So I am spending my evenign breaking into my chim tonight...
The MG battery is only 1yr old..? It was fully charged. Still puzzled.
disconnect the battery and close the door and you can't get into a chimaera with under wing mirror door buttons. The doors require battery power to open!
So I am spending my evenign breaking into my chim tonight...
The MG battery is only 1yr old..? It was fully charged. Still puzzled.
I don't normally have a problem as I have an Accumate charger and the car is always plugged in. However, for trips away from home, it would be useful to have an isolator to use.
I don't think I need the "isolator with bypass" to keep the radio clock "live", as I never use the radio, but since cutting the power resets the ECU, would this be a bad thing?
Could someone with an isolator say whether they chose the with-bypass or just straight isolator, and why?
I don't think I need the "isolator with bypass" to keep the radio clock "live", as I never use the radio, but since cutting the power resets the ECU, would this be a bad thing?
Could someone with an isolator say whether they chose the with-bypass or just straight isolator, and why?
biggiles said:
Could someone with an isolator say whether they chose the with-bypass or just straight isolator, and why?
No fused bypass, if I turn the electricity off, I want it off. Mainly to work on car, its easier to spin a knob to turn the power off, but also very occasionally its an easy way to do an ecu or alarm/immob/locking hard reboot. I did stick my own fused supplies from the battery side so that I have charging points when the battery is 'cut-off' which also serve as good testing points.Can only see the point of the bypass if you are using the disconnect as some kind of security measure or kill switch.
spend said:
biggiles said:
Could someone with an isolator say whether they chose the with-bypass or just straight isolator, and why?
No fused bypass, if I turn the electricity off, I want it off. Mainly to work on car, its easier to spin a knob to turn the power off, but also very occasionally its an easy way to do an ecu or alarm/immob/locking hard reboot. I did stick my own fused supplies from the battery side so that I have charging points when the battery is 'cut-off' which also serve as good testing points.Can only see the point of the bypass if you are using the disconnect as some kind of security measure or kill switch.
I'll get the standard isolator.
There are a couple of little wires which attach to the battery terminals (in addition to the main cables). I'm hoping these are from the Accumate, and if the multimeter confirms this, I'll wire those up before the isolator so I can always charge up the battery easily.
I use an intelligent isolator which can automagically reconnect itself. So you could have your cake and eat it; have the battery automatically isolate itself if the battery starts to run down and still open the door via the buttons afterwards.
You can also get remote controlled isolators that you can reset remotely from a fob, as a slightly cheaper option.
You can also get remote controlled isolators that you can reset remotely from a fob, as a slightly cheaper option.
GreenV8S said:
I use an intelligent isolator which can automagically reconnect itself. So you could have your cake and eat it; have the battery automatically isolate itself if the battery starts to run down and still open the door via the buttons afterwards.
You can also get remote controlled isolators that you can reset remotely from a fob, as a slightly cheaper option.
That's very clever! but would be overkill for me. I'd only intend to use the isolator if away for a long time... and I hope I'd remember to leave a window open so I can unlock the door!You can also get remote controlled isolators that you can reset remotely from a fob, as a slightly cheaper option.
If your battery spends more than a few hours at below 12V ish then it will start to sulphate, once this has happened then the battery is irreversibly damaged. Some conditioners with 'pulse-charging' claim to be able to de-sulphate a battery but I'm not sure how well they work.
So if your battery keeps failing, chances are you will need a new one. As for why it is flat, how often were you using the cars? The battery voltage could have been low for some time. To make sure you don't have a problem I suggest you check your quiescent drain, it should be below 50 mA. If it's higher than that, a lot higher maybe then you probably have a short or something that is staying awake e.g. alarm, stereo. Then you will have to start pulling fuses to see which.
So if your battery keeps failing, chances are you will need a new one. As for why it is flat, how often were you using the cars? The battery voltage could have been low for some time. To make sure you don't have a problem I suggest you check your quiescent drain, it should be below 50 mA. If it's higher than that, a lot higher maybe then you probably have a short or something that is staying awake e.g. alarm, stereo. Then you will have to start pulling fuses to see which.
All,
I haven’t used my Chim for about 3 weeks, went to it the other day and nothing, I have since charged the battery up, but when I go to start it, it runs like a tractor for about 30 seconds, then it dies, and wont re start, if I leave it for a while it does the same again, I guess it is being flooded, any ideas what might be up ?
I haven’t used my Chim for about 3 weeks, went to it the other day and nothing, I have since charged the battery up, but when I go to start it, it runs like a tractor for about 30 seconds, then it dies, and wont re start, if I leave it for a while it does the same again, I guess it is being flooded, any ideas what might be up ?
R11chard said:
All,
I haven’t used my Chim for about 3 weeks, went to it the other day and nothing, I have since charged the battery up, but when I go to start it, it runs like a tractor for about 30 seconds, then it dies, and wont re start, if I leave it for a while it does the same again, I guess it is being flooded, any ideas what might be up ?
Have had similar problems. Found that borrowing device labelled "Vidal Sassoon" from She That Shall Be Obeyed (non-Porsche owner), and appying around coil etc helped first time starting. I haven’t used my Chim for about 3 weeks, went to it the other day and nothing, I have since charged the battery up, but when I go to start it, it runs like a tractor for about 30 seconds, then it dies, and wont re start, if I leave it for a while it does the same again, I guess it is being flooded, any ideas what might be up ?
But like earlier correspondents - reckon that its time for a new battery. Mine now won't hold charge for more than 1 week.
There is always a drain on the main battery for things like the clock, the radio and the alarm system. So some sort of charger like an Accumate is necessary to maintain the charge in the battery if you don't use the car regularly.
Also if you disconnect the battery then the siren on the alarm (mine is a Meta system) will activate from the internal battery. Without the later version of the siren, where you can isolate the internal battery, there is no way to stop this from happening. If the alarm siren does not activate when you disconnect the battery then the siren is probably faulty.
Also if you disconnect the battery then the siren on the alarm (mine is a Meta system) will activate from the internal battery. Without the later version of the siren, where you can isolate the internal battery, there is no way to stop this from happening. If the alarm siren does not activate when you disconnect the battery then the siren is probably faulty.
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