Battery and Stereo connections
Discussion
I'm having two problems with my 500 - the battery life and the stereo connections.
Battery: I went away for two months and low and behold, the battery had drained when I got back. Since then I've tried charging it and each time it appears to be only partially charging. This may be that my charger is too small but the battery itself should be okay (recent service showed the discharge to be good). So appart from being a complete twat to get at, the problem is that I can't get enough charge in - Any thoughts? Also, I rang HHC in Hexham about it and they said A) they'd have to have a look and B) Its not a home style job to change the battery!
Stereo: I've bought a Pioneer CD player to swap with my Pioneer cassette player but the connection from the car does not fit and Halford, local stereo suppliers, etc. can't help - anyone know where to get the interface connection?
Battery: I went away for two months and low and behold, the battery had drained when I got back. Since then I've tried charging it and each time it appears to be only partially charging. This may be that my charger is too small but the battery itself should be okay (recent service showed the discharge to be good). So appart from being a complete twat to get at, the problem is that I can't get enough charge in - Any thoughts? Also, I rang HHC in Hexham about it and they said A) they'd have to have a look and B) Its not a home style job to change the battery!
Stereo: I've bought a Pioneer CD player to swap with my Pioneer cassette player but the connection from the car does not fit and Halford, local stereo suppliers, etc. can't help - anyone know where to get the interface connection?
Re stereo connector, visit your local car audio specialists, most stock standard connector/converters.
Battery, if you have a small output battery charger you will need to leave it charging for a lot longer, e.g. 72AmpHour battery will need 24 hours at 3 amps. Also disconnect it from the car to charge as the circuitry that drained it (alarm?) will still be drawing current thus adding to the charge time requirements. Check for current drain from other circuits such as interior lights, sometimes the switches fail and the lights stay on and this will drain a battery. Finally get one of the battery maintenance devices that keeps the charge up when away. This is connected to your mains and monitors the battery and recharges when necessary.
Battery, if you have a small output battery charger you will need to leave it charging for a lot longer, e.g. 72AmpHour battery will need 24 hours at 3 amps. Also disconnect it from the car to charge as the circuitry that drained it (alarm?) will still be drawing current thus adding to the charge time requirements. Check for current drain from other circuits such as interior lights, sometimes the switches fail and the lights stay on and this will drain a battery. Finally get one of the battery maintenance devices that keeps the charge up when away. This is connected to your mains and monitors the battery and recharges when necessary.
The details are in the Griff bible and on my website (sample chapter). Don't forget to mark wher the box went with a marker pen!
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
quote:
I rang HHC in Hexham about it and they said A) they'd have to have a look and B) Its not a home style job to change the battery!
Well that's not exactly true, it is about a 15 min job to remove the battery and provided you mark the location of the box to the floor with a marker pen it's about 5 mins to get it back...
Thanks for those.
Battery: I think it may be a case that I haven't left it on trickle charge long enough. I left it on for 18 hours (the charger said it was full) but I could arrange to get it on charge for a few days to see if that has much effect.
Stereo: I tried the local companies and they were of the opinion that I'd have to cut the connector off and re-wire a new one! If its a standard, do you know which vehicle it comes from as most electrical parts are Vauxhall apart from this!
Battery: I think it may be a case that I haven't left it on trickle charge long enough. I left it on for 18 hours (the charger said it was full) but I could arrange to get it on charge for a few days to see if that has much effect.
Stereo: I tried the local companies and they were of the opinion that I'd have to cut the connector off and re-wire a new one! If its a standard, do you know which vehicle it comes from as most electrical parts are Vauxhall apart from this!
I think most poeple who don't use their car every day have have battery problems,I did until I bought an automatic trickle charger from Race Tech.Now I just leave the car plugged into the charger when I'm not useing it and the battery is kept in optimal condition ready for use.To connect the charger to the car I bought a cigarette lighter extension lead,cut it in half attached the female socket to the battery and then fed the socket up into the glovebox, then attach the male end to the charger.Every time I put the car in the garage I open the glovebox and plug in the charger safe in the knowledge that the battery will be kept in tip top condition.The charger can be left on for up to three years,and can also revive previously dead batteries.
There's only one problem I've found with Battery Conditioners (the sort you leave in all the time at rest). They give a knackered a battery an extended lease of life, which sounds great - except that it means the car will start OK-ish straight from the garage (when otherwise it wouldn't) - but it then dies next time you try to start it - which of course is NOT at your home!
A very nice man from the AA jumped it, I followed him to the nearest Halfords and he fitted the new battery in their car park. Some days later I realised he'd got the battery box in the wrong way round, but apart from the grooves in the floor not lining up, it's fine.
A very nice man from the AA jumped it, I followed him to the nearest Halfords and he fitted the new battery in their car park. Some days later I realised he'd got the battery box in the wrong way round, but apart from the grooves in the floor not lining up, it's fine.
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