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[robson]

Daft me left my lights on in tesco carpark. car dead doors locked,Mechanical key no joy, green flag man crawled under front of car and did something to open bonnet.I have read on here before that it is a grill smash to do this. What did he do? Mecanical key perhaps we were afraid of snapping the key.

[Doctor Gollum]

A few things going on there...

Presumably he put some tension on the cable or was somehow otherwise able to get to the latch.

Impressive given that the cable runs inside the engine bay and the latch is obscured by the cooling pack... Certainly, unclipping the bottom of the bumper or removing the engine tray is the only way you could expect to get an arm anywhere near either

You've had problems with the locks before. Mechanical locks need regular use to maintain reliability. That said without power, turning the key doesn't always pop the lock button, so it may actually have unlocked it. Also, the key needs turning with alot more force than might seem reasonable... (I have actually snapped a key doing this).

And, if your battery went flat in the time it took to go shopping, then you might need to revisit the charging system or consider alterations to how you use the car...

By this I mean that the battery can't have been fully charged to begin with, so either it's weak or the alternator isn't charging at 100% or the types of journeys your doing aren't enough to recharge the battery each time. None of which is helped by the dark evenings and cold wet weather.

Take the lock barrel out, clean and suitably lubricate it and relubricate the latch mechanism whilst you're in there, and carry out Kevin's starting/charging test and address any shortcomings you find.

[robson]

 Hello Doc why are you saying lubricate the lock barrel which lock barrel,The green flag man was a hefty chap and the car was front end to a curb how he got anywhere near the bonnet catch I dont know.I was some time waiting in the queue at the pharmacy so I must have been about an hour in the shop with head lights left on.

[Doctor Gollum]

The driver's door lock barrel. To ensure that it actually turns fully.

And the lock mechanism so that it actually works.

I have no idea how he got the bonnet open without dismantling anything or breaking something. Having replaced a slam panel on one of my Omegas, there should be a cover over the latch mechanism, but to access it you have to go in from Infront of the radiator, which should mean either detaching the bumper from the subframe or going through the grill

If the battery was fully charged it should have been able to be left for much longer

Man maths suggests 7-8 amps draw with the headlights on plus side lights. So about 450-480 amp/hours

[Nick W]

Hello Doc why are you saying lubricate the lock barrel which lock barrel,

All four** of them. That's both front doors, the boot lid and the ignition lock. The good news is that it's quick, cheap and easy to do:


  give each barrel several copious squirts of solvent cleaner(brake/carb/contact/whatever you have).


  rub a soft, good quality pencil over the sharp bits of the key and


  pump it in and out of the barrel a few times.




Finish the job by ensuring that the keyring you use for the ignition holds a maximum of one key.


While you have the cleaner handy, use it on the both parts of the bonnet latch then grease them both and as much of the inner cable as you can see.






**I know Omegas might not have four, but this isn't Omega specific advice.

[TheBoy]

Man maths suggests 7-8 amps draw with the headlights on plus side lights. So about 450-480 amp/hours

Think the maths is out, esp if its not a CDX/MV6/Elite.

60W per headlight, 5W per tail light, so 2 x 60W plus 4 x 5W plus 1 x 5W (numberplate) plus, say, 20W for internal illumination of dash, wireless etc.

So around 165W, or around 14ish amps.  So an Omega battery should be able to withstand that abuse for around 4 hours.

[Raeturbo]

I agree there could only have been between 10 and 20 amp hours left in the battery when he pulled up

[Doctor Gollum]

Man maths suggests 7-8 amps draw with the headlights on plus side lights. So about 450-480 amp/hours

Think the maths is out, esp if its not a CDX/MV6/Elite.

60W per headlight, 5W per tail light, so 2 x 60W plus 4 x 5W plus 1 x 5W (numberplate) plus, say, 20W for internal illumination of dash, wireless etc.

So around 165W, or around 14ish amps.  So an Omega battery should be able to withstand that abuse for around 4 hours.

Perhaps, I assumed. 35W X2 for xenons plus 4W X2 for the rear lights and 5w X2 for the front side lights... So circa 88w.