OT: Car battery drain current

In message snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk>, "Dave Plowman (News)" snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk> writes

At the beginning of the lockdown, I left my 2019 Fiesta for four or five weeks before even opening the doors. When I tried, the alarm went off - and then the car was effectively dead. I had to use the key to get in - but that first entailed searching through the user manual for how to remove the cover over the key hole in the door handle!

I should have measured the battery voltage immediately, but didn't. I simply connected an old-style home-made battery charger which will do

As the charge current had dropped to around 12A, I left the charger connected for a further couple of hours, after which the battery was up to around 10.3V. The starter click was slightly louder - but still no start.

After a further hour charging, and the voltage still just short of 11V, I eventually got a start. With the engine ticking over, the battery now read about 14.5V. I went for a ten minute spin around the block, and after returning home the battery was around 13V with the engine off.

Although in normal circumstances my car would never be not driven for more than a few days, I found the whole experience rather alarming. In

My last couple of cars, if you use the key to physically unlock doors the alarm always goes off, nothing to do with having a flat battery.

Mine starts by turning off the touch unlock on all but the drivers' door. Then it turns that off and you use the remote. Than that turns off and you have to extract the key from inside the fob, unlatch a cover and use the hidden keyhole.

(Is NT Tabbypurr as I think there may be another NT?)

Either way, the fact that you (even) have to ask the question suggest that there would not be a hope in hell you would ever understand the answer. ;-(

But I'll give it a try, in the case it helps (you), and again, it's all down to the context and spirit.

"Oy mate, you looking at my Mrs ..." is likely to be a precursor to you waking up with a crowd round you.

"Do want sugar in this mate" is how you might check with someone (say another biker) you met at a bike-meet if he wants sugar in the tea you are getting him.

"My mate ... " is the preamble to a conversation surrounding someone you know and consider 'a mate'.

"She's my mate" is an expression to someone else of how you might feel about someone you are close to, like your wife.

Now a 'house mate' is someone you share a house with but may not have any relationship with or feelings about either way.

'Plumbers mate' (now this could get confusing for you, as it's actually spelled 'Mait'), is a jointing compound Plumbers sometimes use.

"He is mourning the loss of his mate" is how a dog owner might refer to the reaction of one of their pets dogs on another dying.

I hope that helps mate! (but doubt it will).

Cheers, T i m

For all their smart features mine has an intermittent parking light sensor failure that I CBA to have fixed. That is the parking light

It would be prohibitively expensive to diagnose and repair and the main dealer won't reset the fault indicator without doing such a repair.

A flattish battery quite often causes the immobiliser to panic if the initial stall current drawn by the starter motor pulls the available voltage down too far and too fast.

Another one I found after parking in a very awkward underground carpark space which required me to squirm across to the passenger side to get out and in is that the immobiliser on my car will not allow you to start the engine unless you have first opened the drivers side door.

I was parked facing outwards in a really too narrow for the size of car space (but the only one available) drivers side about 4" off a solid concrete wall. I was able to open the drivers side door just enough to make the sensor happy but otherwise it would have been an AA call out.

always pleased to educate you timbo ....

mate is english pal is scottish ...

The alarm actually went off when I first tried to get in by pressing the fob button (when the battery would have been well below 9V). IIRC, it went off two or three times more (not spontaneously, but in response to me doing something) before I eventually got the battery voltage up high enough to start the car (about 11V).

Eye, you got that reet at least pal. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

You've only just realised that?

A *real* amateur in line with the battery will get blown to kingdom come the first time the car is started up, though!

"We're going to need a bigger shunt" :-)

Paul