I did the same, very successful, with a floor. The tiles were 7mm thich heavy duty rubber (usually used for garage bays). That was in my (indoor) workshop.
SWMBO did complain about the smell of rubber for a bit.
Battery voltage? Almost certainly (on the port), but I'm not sure if that would be available with the ignition off and wouldn't that then depress the battery voltage a bit?
Cheers, T i m
Pretty sure it's available with the ignition off. There are solar trickle chargers that use the OBD2 port for charging.
I've seen my BT OBD dongle 'alive' when the ignition was off so it could well be 'talking' to the reader when the ignition was off but I'm not sure what you would be able to see, but then that may depend on the reader (mine are typically laptops and so self powered) and the vehicle?
Interesting ... but I was taking your 'OBD2 showing it' to be a device rather than sticking a DMM on the 12V pin (as an easier way to monitor the car battery).
On the Sierra Estate I added quite a reasonably high current rated, twin core (double insulated) fused cable that was tucked under the central console and ended up between the front seats, with a bit of slack to be able to lift it up and plug it into things or things into it. It was terminated in a couple of pairs of Anderson Powerpole connectors and it was very handy for all sorts of things. Powering the cooler box, taking a solar panel or mains charger, a double ciggy socket outlet (to charge guests phones) or smallish inverter to run laptops if you didn't have a 12V PSU for it.
I even made a long extension for it so I could easily run 12V to the tent when camping. Handy for a decent light, pre LED lamps. ;-)
Cheers, T i m
Me too, often where the bars join the tops of the plates gets eaten away, creating a simple open circuit (as discovered by taking several batteries to pieces).
Cheers, T i m
I fitted an accurate volt meter to the old Rover. Early models had one, but deleted on later cars. And to me far more useful than an oil pressure gauge.
I got a two wire digital LED type - 3 digits of volts one being a decimal point. Fitted it into the rev-counter. Cost very little.
Initially, just wired it to a convenient ignition switched feed in the instrument nacelle. On charge reading very different to that at the battery. And varied according to the load on the ignition switched circuit, and again different from the true battery volts.
So wired it direct to the battery, with a small relay switched from the ignition. Now reads pretty well the same as a decent DVM.
Only slight issue - it is fine in daylight, but slightly too bright in the dark. One which dimmed when the lights were on would be ideal. But failed to find a ready made one that does.
The readings today (two days later than the previous ones, with the car not having been started in between) were 11.6V, rising to 13.8V with the engine running. So I think I'm safe in saying the battery is perfectly OK.
No voltage check can tell the condition of the battery. That needs a heavy discharge test.
Well, that's encouraging.
You can do something similar by starting it. If it turns over as you'd expect on the starter, it's likely OK for a while.
As I said in my previous post, "The readings today...were 11.6V, rising to
13.8V *with the engine running*"...
But that tells you nothing about the condition of the battery. It tells you a bit about its state - fairly discharged, and that the charging system is working.
Perfectly possible to have a battery reading well over 12v that can't deliver enough current to turn over the engine.
I don't believe the issue wasn't *that* it started, but to get a feel of the battery charge state from *how well* it started.
Like, when I've had weak / low charge batteries in the past, what would be a near instant start was a much more laboured one, sometimes catching on the first go, sometimes the second or third, if at all.
Now some cars (I've had) always seem to be slow spinners but easy starters whereas other have spun over very freely but still seem to take a good few turns to catch.
The 2GL Sierra Estate was an example of one that often needed a few turns before it would pick up whereas the 1.8 diesel in my old Rover
218SD would generally start at the merest touch of the starter and if it didn't, you knew it was probably a low battery.When things are really bad, some cars will still start, even if the engine only seems to be turning over once per second (and maybe after several goes at that, well after when you would assume the battery was going to die).
I've even gone back to cars that I have abandoned as having a flat battery, only to have them start a while after with no charging etc (sometimes because the sun as come out and they have warmed up a bit, increasing their capacity).
Cheers, T i m
Ah, I see. Well, although I wasn't exactly listening analytically, it seemed to me that the car started in exactly the same way that it always does (unless it doesn't) - that's to say pretty well immediately.
I didn't realise that. As must be obvious from the rest of my contributions to this thread, my car-related ignorance is pretty profound.
No, most people don't because 'these days' with fuel injection they generally start pretty quickly, given half a chance.
Understood.
With the Meriva, if I've not been on a run for a while and given the battery some hard work the day before (short hops, rear screen heater / headlights etc), I can sometimes notice the slightest hesitation as I first hit the starter the next morning (the battery is quite old now).
Cheers, T i m
No problem. My guess is your battery probably hasn't suffered much. Maybe shortened its life slightly.
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