My wife is recovering from a fairly big op. She's not allowed to drive and won't be for a few weeks yet.
Her car had been sitting for 3 or 4 weeks undriven so yesterday I thought I'd better give it run out. Just 7 miles or so as I was going that way anyway. It started fine and ran normally so doesn't seem to have come to any drain down harm yet.
If it was yours how often would you use it and for how long?
Years ago, I used to leave cars parked here in the UK for up to 3 months at a time while working abroad and they always started ok but I kind of suspect that things like alarm systems etc might run the battery down more quickly nowadays.
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>> If it was yours how often would you use it and for how long?
Every three or four weeks. More than 7 miles tho.
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Just use it?
I don't mean for business and the LEC might be better suited to carrying bikes, but for trips to the shops, visiting friends and relations etc
When I broke my hip and was off driving for 6 weeks Miss B was at home on vac so she got use of the Xantia. I think we told the insurer as a matter of openness/completeness but they only notes - didn't affect the premium.
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Aye you're probably right Bromp. I do actually have some roof rails to fit it so might chuck the bike racks on it for few weeks. At least that way it'd get used once a week or so by default.
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The thing to bear in mind is how long it needs to run for to put the battery back in credit, allowing for the juice it used in starting the engine. I suspect, even for a smallish petrol engine running with lights and AC off, seven miles won't be enough.
As it happens, I've been off driving too. Nothing as major as Mrs d'B but I had a sports injury repaired in my hip last month. It's the left one, so I'm now allowed to drive the automatic LEC but the S60 has to wait until the bruising has subsided. (They use an alarming amount of brute force in the operation!)
Anyway, we don't operate a strict his-car-her-car policy, so the Volvo's had some use, including Mrs Beest's trip to Birmingham last weekend, which gave it a nice long run and a not-so-nice purple ding in one door. And I do think I may have to call time on its 12-year-old battery; it's coughing a bit now the mornings are getting chilly.
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If the battery's good and the car is in proper tune, as modern electronic engines very often are, it will start more or less instantly without using much battery juice. Once it's started though it should be run until it has been at full running temperature for at least five or ten minutes. That means driving for say 15 minutes, going to be more than 7 miles. But that's for the good of the engine and exhaust system, not to restore the battery.
And I'd do it weekly, not monthly. In principle anyway, because I am lazy and inefficient, much given to hoping for the best.
Modern cars are a blessing. Not everyone here will remember maladjusted contact breaker ignition and dodgy old carbs wetting the plugs and running the dodgy old battery flat while warping the lead plates and boiling the acid... Those who do remember will know what I am talking about.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Sun 12 Oct 14 at 16:09
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My wife had two hip ops in two years and was in the position described.
I started and drove her car once a month for 5 miles. For some six months each time after each op.
It was fine.
Last edited by: madf on Sun 12 Oct 14 at 16:44
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Just used it again coincidentally. Had to do about 25 miles so took above advice and used it. It's really not a bad wee car to drive, fairly effortless in fact in a somewhat character deficient way.
Got a bit bored with the manual gearbox even on that short trip mind you. "She" prefers 3 pedals though so fair enough I guess. Fail to see the attraction myself. You have to take your left arm off the top of the passenger seat backrest far too often.
;-)
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Is that why the oldies here prefer the indicator switch on the right?
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As modern cars start almost immediately and have alternators powerful enough to light up a small town I don't think you need to worry too much about the battery (unless it is on its last legs !) as it will be back to full charge in no time. However I would give it a good run once a week if you can. Standing idle is not good for cars IMHO.
Slight thread drift, but I was thinking how nowadays you can get into any car be it petrol or diesel turn the key and it just starts, be it hot, cold or soaking wet without even touching the accelerator. In my experience petrol cars with carburetors and manual chokes all had their own way of being started - half choke and 1/4"" of throttle etc.
I hope Mrs Runfer makes a speedy recovery.
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Thanks Skip. Been a bit of a long haul but hopefully she's on the mend now. Sincerely hope so actually, she has an awful lot of chores to catch up on...
;-)
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>> Sincerely hope so actually, she has an awful lot of chores to catch up on...
>>
>> ;-)
>>
Very brave, she obviously does not read this. I hope she is soon back to fully fit and able to supervise your household duties. :)
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Thanks ON ! Mind you, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about, this housework malarky is a doddle. No wonder they had to invent day time TV...
;-)
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Discovered any more previously unknown domestic appliances?
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Well, not unknown, but previously a mystery to me was her steam mop. Good piece of kit actually. The dog objects to it though.
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I think it's intended for the kitchen floor.
};---)
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>> previously a mystery to me was her steam mop
Dying to try that out on a small oil stain on my engine, 'though I'll probably have to wait 'til she's out of the way (like putting the wheel trims in the dishwasher).
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>> Is that why the oldies here prefer the indicator switch on the right?
You have a large German car WDB. Would have thought you'd instinctively know that indicator use is terribly bad form when driving one.
;-)
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>>Years ago, I used to leave cars parked here in the UK for up to 3 months at a time
Me too, often. But in those days when a car was off, it was off. Nothing needed to be kept alive. So provided you returned to a car which had a live battery and the pistons were not rusted in the bores, you were fine.
These days it is pretty much impossible to leave a car for any period of time and expect it to start on your return since the ECU or the alarm will kill the battery in a week or two.
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I just knew there was a reason why I have a Ctek battery charger / maintainer gadget. :>)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 12 Oct 14 at 19:33
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Utterly useless things on anything other than a fully charged battery.
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>> Utterly useless things on anything other than a fully charged battery.
Yours must be broken then. I've used mine on the MX5 when it hasn't had the juice to turn over.
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>> >> Utterly useless things on anything other than a fully charged battery.
>>
>> Yours must be broken then. I've used mine on the MX5 when it hasn't had
>> the juice to turn over
Anything under 12 volts and it just cycles between 12v, 6v, and then turns off.
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>> >> Utterly useless things on anything other than a fully charged battery.
>>
>> Yours must be broken then. I've used mine on the MX5 when it hasn't had
>> the juice to turn over.
>>
Mine charges the old car battery I keep in the garage as a 12v supply, as you say, Zeros must be broken.
Mine also charged the battery of my pre registered car which had been in a compound for four months and was delivered with a partially charged battery.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 12 Oct 14 at 20:05
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Zeros must be broken.
>>
Or just denying that there's a problem despite the battery telling it otherwise. Thought it was just pets that took after their owners. ;-)
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I have a Lidl clone that is reluctant when a battery is more or less dead, but the CTEK has been OK.
Last edited by: Manatee on Sun 12 Oct 14 at 20:14
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>I have a Lidl clone that is reluctant when a battery is more or less dead, but the CTEK has been OK.
My CTEK has already paid for itself.
It revived a brand new but totally discharged battery for the Chevy that my other semi-intelligent charger stuck up two fingers to.
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>> Mine also charged the battery of my pre registered car which had been in a
>> compound for four months and was delivered with a partially charged battery.
well clearly it had enough to start the car if it had been delivered.
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>> well clearly it had enough to start the car if it had been delivered.
>>
Did you work that out all on your own? :)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 12 Oct 14 at 20:49
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>> >> well clearly it had enough to start the car if it had been delivered.
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>> >>
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>> Did you work that out all on your own? :)
Didn't take much working out, so lord knows why you thought it needed charging.
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Perhaps it didn't have enough charge to power the passive SONAR.
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>> Perhaps it didn't have enough charge to power the passive SONAR.
>>
Gone up market, this one has a camera on the back. :)
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>> Didn't take much working out, so lord knows why you thought it needed charging.
>>
When I take delivery of a car be it new or used I take nothing for granted. I check that everything works, tyre pressures, fluid levels, battery state, paint condition, and even RTFM. I take it you don't care about the state of your mobile dog kennel.
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>> >> Didn't take much working out, so lord knows why you thought it needed charging.
>>
>> >>
>>
>> When I take delivery of a car be it new or used I take nothing
>> for granted. I check that everything works,
you turn the key, it starts intently - it works. Check done.
And the mobile dog kennel has done over 110k 100% reliable miles with my servicing , so I must be doing something right.
I dont suppose you know side of a brake pad from the other.
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 12 Oct 14 at 21:58
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>> I dont suppose you know one side of a brake pad from the other.
>>
Metal to metal lasts longest. :)
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With your grumbly old diesel you wont hear the grinding noise.
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But the engine braking of a high compression ratio diesel helps to stop it.
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The compression works both ways, so diesels usually have pretty poor engine braking, unless they have a throttle plate. I wouldn't rely on it if I were you:)
Maybe an anchor?
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My last two diesels have had throttle plates controlled by the engine ECU. I don't know if the Yaris has one (yet).
The anchor sounds like a good plan. :)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 12 Oct 14 at 22:17
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Just had a quick look and the Yaris has a motor driven device on the inlet pipe which may be a throttle, it is just before the EGR valve. The Ceed 1.7 and ix35 2.0 had vacuum driven throttle plates which were solenoid controlled.
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>> The compression works both ways, so diesels usually have pretty poor engine braking, unless they
>> have a throttle plate. I wouldn't rely on it if I were you:)
>>
I thought that engine braking was provided by the pistons on the compression stroke being driven by the wheels.
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>> The compression works both ways, so diesels usually have pretty poor engine braking, unless they
>> have a throttle plate. I wouldn't rely on it if I were you:)
>>
I thought that engine braking was provided by the pistons on the compression stroke being driven by the wheels. I seem to remember something from my dim distant HGV training about low gears and going downhill
Last edited by: Old Navy on Mon 13 Oct 14 at 07:44
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>> The compression works both ways, so diesels usually have pretty poor engine braking, unless they
>> have a throttle plate. I wouldn't rely on it if I were you:)
All the diesels I've driven had pretty good engine braking. Useful both on long downhills and in allowing, with a bit of anticipation, a minimum use of braking in ordinary driving.
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All the diesels I've driven had pretty good engine braking.
Mine too, even the automatic LEC - although that suffers from a high third gear that reduces the braking effect below 40 mph. Never heard of a throttle plate; ON's explanation is the one I understand too.
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>> All the diesels I've driven had pretty good engine braking.
>>
>> Mine too, even the automatic LEC - although that suffers from a high third gear
>> that reduces the braking effect below 40 mph. Never heard of a throttle plate; ON's
>> explanation is the one I understand too.
>>
I think the throttle plate on a modern diesel is an open or shut device, I don't know why it is there. The fuel shuts off on the over-run anyway.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Mon 13 Oct 14 at 08:53
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>> These days it is pretty much impossible to leave a car for any period of time and expect it to start on your
>> return since the ECU or the alarm will kill the battery in a week or two.
All the (reasonably new) cars I deal with at work have various states of "shutdown" depending on how long they are left. ISTR they drop into power conservation mode after about 7 days; certainly when some cars have been locked for longer than that the key has to be inserted to unlock the doors, there is a lack of ambient lighting and welcome displays on the dash as you get in, but the engine starts immediately and everything else then functions as it should.
It doesn't seem to do the brand spankers any harm to be left in a compound for weeks/months* before a 2-hour setup and valet and off they go.
*I got told recently of a particular model requiring a bargepole, as they're still registering examples that arrived on the boat in 2012.
Last edited by: Dave_C220CDI on Sun 12 Oct 14 at 22:56
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>> These days it is pretty much impossible to leave a car for any period of
>> time and expect it to start on your return since the ECU or the alarm
>> will kill the battery in a week or two.
Only limited experience but never had problem with car #2 starting after being left for three weeks while we holidayed in car #1.
Neither have my neighbours who leave cars for up to six weeks while on cruise/Oz trip or whatever.
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Well, it's now 6 weeks since "her" op and yesterday the Doc said she could drive if she felt up to it. She's still not on top form yet by any stretch and is wrestling with herself between wanting to get back to normal as soon as possible and not wanting to push herself beyond her limits for now. She's missing driving and is desperate to try, so later on we'll take a run out on some local, very quiet country roads to see how she copes. I'll go with her so if it all gets too sore or something I can take over.
I've been using the Qq as a bike transport these last few weeks as a reason to give it a run and it's currently debatable whether there's more mud on the inside or the outside of it so I suppose I'd better remove the worst of it. With it being a bit taller than my car it's necessarry to open the doors and stand on the seats to secure the bikes on the roof so you can imagine the state of them. The outside wouldn't look much different if the car had been used on manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain.
I live in the sort of street where if they're not manicuring their lawns then they are washing and polishing their, usually German cars on a Sunday morning before going for lunch at a gastro pub so I suppose it'll go down quite well with the locals if I do !
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Sat 1 Nov 14 at 12:30
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I know from experience that recovery takes time, let your good lady set the pace. I hope her recovery progresses well. You will know when things are back to normality, your status as boss of the house will be removed. :)
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You will know when things are back to normality,
>> your status as boss of the house will be removed. :)
>>
It's only ever a temporary promotion.
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I hear 6 blokes were laid off at Nissan, there was a sudden drop off in the sales of door mirrors.
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I shall, ironically enough, miss having unlimited access to it now while of course naturally being delighted as to the reason why.
I've mentioned before that it feels like a holiday car to me. No subliminal associations with work I guess. It's not fast or particularly dynamic or posh or anything but it's a sort of relaxing thing to drive if you're not on a schedule. Very comfortable for pottering about in but I still prefer not to be sitting up in the air like that to drive any serious distance.
We've been for a short outing, she did just fine but was experiencing some pain from dipping the clutch. Maybe give it another day or three.
No point in washing it now then.
;-)
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Sounds like an auto would help - you should swap cars for a few weeks :-)
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Not a bad idea. Think I'll get a price on E Class door mirrors first though.
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No need. Just leave them folded in like a lot a twerps do around here.
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>> Not a bad idea. Think I'll get a price on E Class door mirrors first though.
>>
Drivers mirror glass, in excess of £250.00......
..... Yes, just the glass!
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>> >> Not a bad idea. Think I'll get a price on E Class door mirrors
>> first though.
>> >>
>>
>> Drivers mirror glass, in excess of £250.00......
>>
>>
>>
>> ..... Yes, just the glass!
Je-sus. I could get Waterford crystal cheaper than that.
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Wouldn't be heated and auto-dimming though ;-)
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I can sort of hear Dervla Kirwan saying "this is not just a door mirror, it's a Mercedes door mirror"
Sorry, as you were...
;-)
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Why do drivers of German cars need mirrors? They never use them ;-)
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>> Why do drivers of German cars need mirrors? They never use them ;-)
>>
They need to inspect their sun tans daily.
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How much, how often? - Zero
