On Sunday morning arrived back home in a downpour and hopped out of the car to unlock the front door for the family. It was n't until evening, when I went to plip the doors from the house, that I realised that my key was missing and it slowly dawned on me that it was still in the ignition.
Result was totally flat battery!
Wondered- what is the daftest way that BR colleagues have managed to drain their batteries?
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Never managed it!
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Neither have I.
Well, I?ve had a dead battery but it wasn't my fault (honest guv?)
Put the Polo into the garage while I was learning to drive. But the battery turned out to be a dud, so after it was left a week, it was as flat as a knacker.
Turned the key and got a very labored 0.25 of a rev (or thereabouts)!!
Kept that battery in use for another year after that, god only knows how it did its job after being that discharged.
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I'm surprised this did drain your battery.
Was the ignition left on ?
In modern cars, with no contact breakers I thought that even with the ignition switched on only the ECU would be drawing a few amps so I wouldnt have thought part of a day switched on would do the deed.
I remember on the older cars, if the ignition was left on and the points happened to be closed, you would not only have a flat battery, but also a good chance of a burned out coil.
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Ignition was left on so the heater/blower would have been on as well. I guess it had been left on for some 8 hours. No problems since AA man got me going again so can only conclude this was the cause.
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I can confirm that one week of the courtesy light being on in a Rover 216 coupe is an effective way to achieve this. It works especially well in an airport car park
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Does anyone know how long a mobile phone charger would take to drain a car battery? I've used mine in my stationary car when I've left the mains charger at home a couple of times. It didn't seem to cause any problems.
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Mine was OK for about 40 minutes last night.
I once left my cool box plugged into the cigarette lighter socket during a Dover - Calais ferry crossing. Once I realised I'd done it I spent the rest of the voyage fretting I'd have a flat battery. Thanksfully I didn't.
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Soupytwist !
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My Portable cool box drained my Golf battery in 2 hours. Totally dead.
I had a Vauchall Vectra when they first came out (P-reg) - the radio in it used to drain the battery if left on without the engine running within 20 minutes! >> Mine was OK for about 40 minutes last night.
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Daftest way to drain your battery=drill a hole in it?
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Train your pet rabbit to nibble a hole in it!
Well, you did say daft and driling a hole is boring!
I'll get me coat.
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Trying to drink the contents.
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When I first met my dear SWMBO, she would go out to the car on a cold morning and put the heater/blower on. But she never realised the engine needed to be on. Great way of draining the battery.
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My 605s used to munch though batteries with no help from me. The last one I kept for 6 years had 3 new batteries from me plus the one I bought it with. I notice the 607 now comes with two so you?d have to be twice as daft to drain them both.
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Leaving the indicator stalk on a VW in the left-hand down position at work one lunchtime, just before going on a trip to the States for five days using another vehicle to get to the airport.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Using the cool box on to chill the Bergerac Rose and using a halogen spotlight for several evenings when camping.
Dead battery in 3 days.
Jump start by camp site proprietor caused no problems.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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Went to an airshow once, they had an AM radio channel to hear the commentary. The car was a Pug 405, the radio only worked with the ignition on. Problem was I forgot there was a fault with the heated rear window switch and it couldn't be turned off. Everything was fine for a couple of hours and then the radio went very quiet....
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Trying to drink the contents.
A bloke was arrested for drinking battery acid,the police took him away and charged him.
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I once left my cool box plugged into the cigarette lighter socket during a Dover - Calais ferry crossing. Once I realised I'd done it I spent the rest of the voyage fretting I'd have a flat battery. Thanksfully I didn't. -- Soupytwist !
A Fry and Laurie fan I take it.
I have a device that plugs into the cig lighter,then fridge plugs into that.As soon as the battery drops a bit it shuts cff the fridge.Called battery saver,a fiver from local parts shop,Maplins do them too.
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"A Fry and Laurie fan I take it."
Without wishing to veer too far off topic, yes. The re-runs of A Bit of Fry and Laurie on Paramount 2 over the last few weeks have kept me amused.
Marjorie !
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Soupytwist !
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Does anyone know how long a mobile phone charger would take to drain a car battery?
I wouldn't have thought a phone charger would draw much current. Certainly not enough to drain the car battery for quite a while anyway. My phone charger has a 2 amp in line fuse. Chances are the charger only draws ½ amp at most.
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a week? When I left my 214 boot ajar overnight the battery was dead next morning, presumably just from running the boot light.
John
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Sierraman, that is a sick joke...
I fitted a battery voltmeter to my old car to ensure that I could spot in advance when the battery was running low. Because the mechanism was slugged to the extent that it took minutes to give a full reading I connected it directly. I realised quite soon that it had a low impedance, and drained the battery all by itself.
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Sat in Sainsburys car park one wet, wintery Saturday afternoon listening to the Pompey match on the radio (ignition on) whilst SWMBO braved the Xmas hordes to do the shopping. When she emerged over an hour later, stressed and laden with hundreds of bags, you can probably guess how pleased she was when I turned the key and found there was not enough power left to fire up the engine. Had to wait another half an hour, whilst my ears were ringing, for FIL to turn up with jump leads.
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a week? When I left my 214 boot ajar overnight the battery was dead next morning, presumably just from running the boot light. John
I managed the same, after pressing the boot plipper for the car in the garage, not the one in the drive I was trying to get into.
To add to the annoyance, I discovered my free AA cover on buying the car ended early when Virgin Cars went under! On the plus side, I found that out at home instead of stranded on a motorway.
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Went to Texas for 8 weeks and left my car outside on the street. In February/March/April. Battery was flat as a pancake when I got back.
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Life is complex; it has real and imaginary parts.
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mount the battery a couple of inches above the exhaust pipe, so that the heat form the exhaust evaporates all the liquid.
Marvellous things, Caterham 7s
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I read often, only post occasionally
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On the Focus, and probably many other cars, if you leave the car, say, in the garage, and fail to shut the door fully so that it is properly latched, the interior light will stay om forever. Leave it long enough and you'll have a flat battery.
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Many years ago I did not believe the red light on the dash so...
drove on for 50 miles. Decided it was a faulty battery so bought another one en route and swopped it over on the garage forecourt.
On arrival at my destination it was identified as a bust alternator.
So with both good batteries fully charged I set off on the reverse trip at night. Half way the lights got so dim I changed batteries and made it home.
I was quite surprised at a 50mile range with lights on.
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12 weeks in my diary?+did you go halfway through february then? and come back early?
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I actually went for 5 months, but I popped back for a weekend at the end of Feb and drove the car to Derby and Back (after jump-start then as well). I only intended to be away for about 4 more weeks after that so I didn't put in the new battery I'd bought, but ended up staying until the last weekend in April.
The car was an E34 525i which has no mechanics between the key and the lock - the key just activates a switch. So not only did the fob not work, I physically could not unlock the car. So I couldn't open the bonnet. So I couldn't fit a new battery. So I couldn't unlock the car. Vicious circle.
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Life is complex; it has real and imaginary parts.
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A friend, who used to run a garage, dropped a spanner across the terminals. Just a few sparks!!!!!!!!!!!! Luckily the car did not catch fire.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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I know someone who, when he was younger, was helping his dad jump start one of his cars. Thought he'd give it a go and connected each end of the black cable to the two battery terminals! Lucky it was the dead battery!
I once flattened my car battery by leaving the interior light on, and knew about it the night I needed to go to a concert with some friends. Got it started with a push, but got stuck in stop-start traffic in the outide lane of a dual carriageway a couple of miles down the road. Guess what? I stalled it!
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Mike Farrow
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My Passat has security LEDs that flash when locked up.
After 28 days they stop flashing to prevent the battery from going flat! I didn't think they'd drain that much power.
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