OT: Parasitic car battery drain

I tried one some years back, it was a failure. Probably not enough daylight.

I suspect it is ineffective in winter as is most UK solar powered kit. Snowdrop vehicles will be very prone to this mode of failure.

The active radar "please go round the dangerous bend" signs here are always dead in the water on cold frosty winters mornings but fine for an hour or two after sunset. They work perfectly in midsummer though.

Well that's 2 hours of my life I won't get back. "Sorry sir, on that model you'll need to bring it in when it needs resetting, it doesn't use a code as such". Why couldn't they have told me that before I set off to go there this morning! It is the dealer I bought the car from and they had full details on their 'puter.

It could be it needs no re-setting at all. Do you have to take your computer back to the dealer if you switch it off for a couple of months? Absolutely no reason why a car needs to.

I thought it was all about security - make the unit useless if stolen. I've certainly needed to re-enter the code on some of my other cars.

AIUI that is the theory. I took pains to ensure that I was given the code for the radio in a car I bought second hand. When I eventually had to remove the radio, the code was pencilled on its side. :-(

Chris

How many cars can have their radio swapped easily? Apart from perhaps the same make and model. And since virtually every car has a radio these days, just how many do get stolen?

up to about 20 years ago, there was DIN aperture to take (or take out) any radio. Then manufacturers started integrating radios into the dashboard.

Not only that. Things like steering wheel controls which seem to vary even with the same maker.

One thing no maker wants is uniformity of parts.

To be fair, even in most modern cars, once you remove the stereo and its bezel, you find a double DIN aperture behind and can usually buy a replacement bezel to go around a stadard unit.

SteveW

I wish someone would pinch mine so that I can justify an upgrade to Mrs H...