Agreed. My people carrier has an instruction that if left unused for >14 days, disconnect the battery.
Agreed. My people carrier has an instruction that if left unused for >14 days, disconnect the battery.
Yes, a louder lights on alarm would be appreciated.
Well I suppose that's something simple for the great unwashed but I doubt that is what they do when the car is parked up after manufacture and before delivery. Cars have had a "deep sleep" pre delivery mode for a long time. Also a bit of PITA with the radio needing it's code and probably the engine management having to relearn the engine and your driving style.
Relearning the driving style takes only a few minutes IME as the factory standard setting is pretty adequate. Been doing it for the last 17 years on our cars as we are away for long periods.
Why do they lose the codes / learnt settings when the power is removed? A I2C eeprom costs next to nothing and will store data indefinitely without power.
Lose codes: Because the radio might have been removed from the car. The fact that most radios can't be used once they have been powered down is one of the reasons that thefts of radios from cars have fallen like a stone. (The other reasons are that a) they are now built it; b) *all* cars come with a car radio, so there's no market for selling dodgy second hand ones. I suspect the time has come to drop the need for codes.)
Lose learnt settings: An I2C eeprom costs *next* to nothing - but not
*actually* nothing. Until you have experienced the discussions, you would not believe how cost sensitive automotive is. You could probably persuade them to fit it if it costs
Radio no longer works if it gets stolen?
And cars use CANBus not I2C, so you'd need some "glue" between the I2C eeprom and the cars systems and modify those systems to use it.
Because it's only the fine-tuning data that is stored in volatile memory, and that changes frequently each time the engine is started.
An eeprom would not withstand anything like the number writes that are made.
As an aside, a certain range of Rovers with Honda engines had all of their data in volatile memory. A completely flat battery, or a disconnection for maintenance, would result in a non-starting car until it had the base settings restored from a dealer's computer.
Now that was daft!
Chris
Wouldn't you *want* a radio to lose its codes when disconnected, to discourage theft? Otherwise what's the point of having to enter a code to make it work?
Yes its a mode that the average man in the street can't access though, most require direct access to the ECU at dealership level,
Not when it's in the central system you don't.
The Astra H post 2006 MY doesn't have a radio code. Nothing written in the car pass on my 59-plate, just a printed radio type, a forward slash and a space for the code but left blank.
Does anyone steal car radios these days, or even your CD collection ?. Sat navs and in-car cameras are more saleable now I suspect.
When the alarm flattened my car battery, it required dealer attention to get the damned thing going again.
That's because security is provided by means of coding the radio to the ECU and possibly other bits of electronics.
All fine unless the radio needs replacing.
Well, I don't. ;-)
Chris
So that if nicked, they don't work
OOI, what vehicle?
Chris
Jaguar XKR
a decade ago
On a couple of my vehicles the cigar lighter is only powered with the ignition on, not in the accessory position. Agree with your other points.
Agree completely, I did the same in my "economy motoring" days. These days I don't *expect* to need to jump start my own vehicles, other than the Suzuki Carry van which has a tiny battery and no "lights" warning. Flattened that in the Wickes car park the other day. (I bought a warning kit for it, but the dog ate it).
But I do use my Li-Ions for other things. Just thought it was worth sharing the experience. They are so small and light they will rest on top of the air filter while jumping. I used to find with my larger one with relatively short leads that it was often difficult to manhandle it into a suitable position, especially if single handed.
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