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[jereboam]

It's bl**dy done it again!

Battery has been drained, not enough juice left to work the door locks, so I can't get in to open the bonnet to jump start it.

There's nothing wrong with the battery and I used the car on Thursday, and by yesterday lunchtime it was dead.  It happened a few months ago, and neither the AA man who restarted it, or the garage who maintain it for me, could find any unusual drain on the battery which might account for the problem. 

OK, I'd only been using the car locally for a few weeks, so it hadn't had a good long run this time, but last time I'd just been down Bristol and back a couple of days before.  To save some money, I cancelled the AA Home Start, so I'm going to have to call the garage to get it going again, as I don't have the necessary kit to do it myself (trolley jack, axle stands, skill, patience).

So, any suggestions on

• how to get it restarted
• what is causing the problem

would be greatly appreciated

[Andy B]

Trolley jack, axle stands? You should still be able to get in the driver's door with your key, with a bit of force. Having said that, I failed to do so last year when my car locked me out. Mine's a preface lift saloon, so I connected A N Other batter to the boot light which provided enough power at the car to unlock via the reomote.
You say your battery is OK. It does sound like an iffy battery to me if it's not holding charge over just a couple of days.  :-/

[jereboam]

Trolley jack, axle stands? You should still be able to get in the driver's door with your key, with a bit of force. Having said that, I failed to do so last year when my car locked me out. Mine's a preface lift saloon, so I connected A N Other batter to the boot light which provided enough power at the car to unlock via the reomote.
You say your battery is OK. It does sound like an iffy battery to me if it's not holding charge over just a couple of days.  :-/

Key won't work on driver's door.  Boot locked.  Perhaps key will work on boot lock, although I think I tried that last time.  But you've given me an idea - perhaps I can get at the number plate light externally.

The jack and stands are to get under the car and put some current in via the alternator or starter motor so that I can unlock the doors.

I thought it must be the battery, but it's fairly new and it checks out perfectly.  I can usually leave the car for a couple of weeks without a problem.

[Andy B]

.....
The jack and stands are to get under the car and put some current in via the alternator or starter motor so that I can unlock the doors.

I thought it must be the battery, but it's fairly new and it checks out perfectly.  I can usually leave the car for a couple of weeks without a problem.

Like I said, in theory, you should be able to open a deadlocked driver's door withthe key, but I couldn't either.  You boot should still unlock with the key, a bit of lube in there first perhaps?
Registration plate light won't work unless your lights are switched on! 
Looks like you're pulling fuses till you find a current drain.

[jereboam]

.....
The jack and stands are to get under the car and put some current in via the alternator or starter motor so that I can unlock the doors.

I thought it must be the battery, but it's fairly new and it checks out perfectly.  I can usually leave the car for a couple of weeks without a problem.

Like I said, in theory, you should be able to open a deadlocked driver's door withthe key, but I couldn't either.  You boot should still unlock with the key, a bit of lube in there first perhaps?
Registration plate light won't work unless your lights are switched on! 
Looks like you're pulling fuses till you find a current drain.

It's a bit early in the day for me.  No, the lights weren't left on.

The AA man used a meter and it showed there was just less than 1A going out when "everything" was turned off.  This is too high, I think, but neither the AA man nor the garage thought it was enough to drain the battery in 2 days.  They couldn't find out where it was going, either.  I suppose I can have a go, but I'm not sure my little DMM is up to the job. 

And I've got to get it going first!

[Andy B]

....
It's a bit early in the day for me.  No, the lights weren't left on.   ......

That's not what I meant  I meant that, for you to use your reg plate light as a point to connect A N Other battery, your lights would need to be turned on for it to work. 

[jereboam]

....
It's a bit early in the day for me.  No, the lights weren't left on.   ......

That's not what I meant  I meant that, for you to use your reg plate light as a point to connect A N Other battery, your lights would need to be turned on for it to work. 

Thanks. I understood you - I just wasn't thinking when I said that I could use the number plate light - "obviously" the lights would have had to be on.  But it was a bit to early in the morning for the "obvious" to be obvious to me :-/ :-/ :-/  The very first time this happened - about 2 years back - it was because I left the lights all day in a car park

And I've just been out to check - boot lock doesn't respond to key either.  Is this because I double clicked the remote and set the deadlocks?

[Andy B]

......
Thanks. I understood you - I just wasn't thinking when I said that I could use the number plate light - "obviously" the lights would have had to be on.  But it was a bit to early in the morning for the "obvious" to be obvious to me :-/ :-/ :-/  The very first time this happened - about 2 years back - it was because I left the lights all day in a car park

Ah! 

...And I've just been out to check - boot lock doesn't respond to key either.  Is this because I double clicked the remote and set the deadlocks?

You can have the boot locked independantly of the rest of the central locking, so the fact the car's dead locked doesn't make a difference to the boot. It's probably lack of use, how many of us actually opperate locks manually these days? I'm as guilty as the next.    You might just have to be a  little more forceful     

[jereboam]

...And I've just been out to check - boot lock doesn't respond to key either.  Is this because I double clicked the remote and set the deadlocks?

You can have the boot locked independantly of the rest of the central locking, so the fact the car's dead locked doesn't make a difference to the boot. It's probably lack of use, how many of us actually opperate locks manually these days? I'm as guilty as the next.    You might just have to be a  little more forceful     

Today is quite clearly not a thinking day as far as I am concerned   What exactly would be the point of fitting a deadlock to the boot?  There is probably no way of opening it from the inside, and if there is, it probably doesn't get used a lot!

If I use more force, I'll either break the key or the lock.  It turns freely for about an eighth of a turn, then it's absolutely solid.  Same with the dirver's door, so I don't think it's a lubrication problem.  I did actually use the key a few weeks ago after I'd been driving my son's car (which doesn't have central locking, let alone remote) for a while - force of habit.  Kept trying to change gear for the first couple of minutes, as well.

[jereboam]

It's back on the road now.  The man from the garage came and jacked it up and attached a booster pack and the doors opened.  Jump start followed.  Drove it round for half an hour this morning, and it restarted OK this afternoon.  As a precaution, I've left it unlocked overnight, so if the battery dies, at least I'll be able to jump start it off my son's car (as long as it doesn't get stolen). 

It's going in to the garage later in the week for them to see if they can locate the problem.  Don't think they'll find it, but I've been given the name of a auto-electrics specialist who should be able to track it down, although I'm not sure I can afford to have it done. 

He should be able to sort out my CD-changer as well - can't get the magazine out, but everything else works fine.  I'm fed up with having to listen to the same five discs for about a year now 

For the record, now that it's got power back, the driver's door and boot locks work fine with the key, although the latter needs a drop of oil.  Glad I didn't use extra force with the key.

I think I'm going to get a couple of heavy duty wires soldered to the starter motor terminals and bring them out to somewhere convenient to attach a battery to - probably under the wheel arch.  Then next time it dies, I can inject enough power with an external battery to get the doors open.  The man from the garage thought this was a good idea.   Any comments from here?

[KillerWatt]

The AA man used a meter and it showed there was just less than 1A going out when "everything" was turned off.  This is too high, I think, but neither the AA man nor the garage thought it was enough to drain the battery in 2 days.

1 amp over 48 hours = 48 amps consumed.

Take the average 70Ah battery, kick it in the nuts with some extra cold just for good measure.....starting (no pun intended) to see the problem?

[KillerWatt]

I think I'm going to get a couple of heavy duty wires soldered to the starter motor terminals and bring them out to somewhere convenient to attach a battery to - probably under the wheel arch.  Then next time it dies, I can inject enough power with an external battery to get the doors open.  The man from the garage thought this was a good idea.   Any comments from here?

Soldering wires to the starter motor is an idea I'd expect to dream up during a joke cracking session down the pub after a few bevvies, or after smoking some nice weed (or a combo of both).

Much easier to buy one of those el cheapo battery booster packs from Lidl for £20.

[Tony H]

1 amp drain seems alot to me, one favourate on Meegas is the boot light staying on, Drop the back seat and check.

[Tony H]

I think I'm going to get a couple of heavy duty wires soldered to the starter motor terminals and bring them out to somewhere convenient to attach a battery to - probably under the wheel arch.  Then next time it dies, I can inject enough power with an external battery to get the doors open.  The man from the garage thought this was a good idea.   Any comments from here?

Soldering wires to the starter motor is an idea I'd expect to dream up during a joke cracking session down the pub after a few bevvies, or after smoking some nice weed (or a combo of both).

Much easier to buy one of those el cheapo battery booster packs from Lidl for £20.

I think the Jereboams idea is to make access to power it up easier

[KillerWatt]

I think I'm going to get a couple of heavy duty wires soldered to the starter motor terminals and bring them out to somewhere convenient to attach a battery to - probably under the wheel arch.  Then next time it dies, I can inject enough power with an external battery to get the doors open.  The man from the garage thought this was a good idea.   Any comments from here?

Soldering wires to the starter motor is an idea I'd expect to dream up during a joke cracking session down the pub after a few bevvies, or after smoking some nice weed (or a combo of both).

Much easier to buy one of those el cheapo battery booster packs from Lidl for £20.

I think the Jereboams idea is to make access to power it up easier

Jereboam would have been able to open it up on the key if it hadn't been for the neglected drivers door lock.