Well bollocks, either the solar panel doesn't work and has been draining the battery or I've had a second battery die on me. Came to start it just now, no juice to power the locks or dash.

####ing **** ####ery.
 
New vacuum hoses for cruise control and viola it works.:)

2 days ago the f**** book symbol appeared, changed left blend motor a week before and all was fine - Today no more book symbol all is well for now:confused: but :)
 
Fitted a new air con hose after my local garage fitted the new condenser. Theoretically now all I need to do is get the bad boy regassed then I can enjoy air con for the one remaining warm day this year. :)

On a more infuriating and ire inducing note, I was mowing the lawn next to my gravel drive when I turned round and noticed a smashed quarter glass on my P38. The only thing that could have happened was a stone flew up and hit the window. I've lived here for four years, have always parked there, have always used the same lawn mower even, with not even a sniff of a problem, so I can only assume my P38 is so large and heavy it's exerting its own gravitational influence on errant gravel. Cue a call to AutoGlass, an £80 excess and a follow up call to confirm they don't have the part in stock and won't until some time next week.

Some days, making any progress is challenging.
 
Well bollocks, either the solar panel doesn't work and has been draining the battery or I've had a second battery die on me. Came to start it just now, no juice to power the locks or dash.

####ing **** ####ery.
The solar panel should come as standard with a blocking diode so it can't flatten the battery. Could be you have a duff one.
 
The solar panel should come as standard with a blocking diode so it can't flatten the battery. Could be you have a duff one.

That was my understanding. But I'll give it another try now my battery is, hopefully, fully recharged. If it still sucks the battery it is going back... or my battery is naff and I need to find an alternative that works.
 
That was my understanding. But I'll give it another try now my battery is, hopefully, fully recharged. If it still sucks the battery it is going back... or my battery is naff and I need to find an alternative that works.
Can't you leave the battery off the car and charged up and if the solar is working it will remain so , unless the battery is duff must be your car draining it if you hardly use it leave battery off untill you need it and can sort the rf reciver out . Thus you will have a ready charged battery when needed.or are you going to worry about losing sync for no reason .
I've had my battery of time and time again doing work on the car
With no suggested pitfalls .
 
Well I think the battery might be duff anyway. Doesn't appear to be taking on charge, although unlike last time it isn't overheating my charger and causing it to cut out (ambient temp is cooler now however).

Loss of sync isn't my concern. My vehicle gets little use these days as I have a company car. Maybe once a week if I'm lucky and it noticeably lost charge. I am due a holiday which means parking in an airport carpark for a week, I don't want to come back and have to dick around waiting for recovery. Hence looking at solar panel chargers. Couple that with a change of career which means I won't get to look at my car for 14 weeks, I wanted to keep the battery alive as even with a new receiver over a 14 week span the battery will still be quite dead.
 
Well I think the battery might be duff anyway. Doesn't appear to be taking on charge, although unlike last time it isn't overheating my charger and causing it to cut out (ambient temp is cooler now however).

Loss of sync isn't my concern. My vehicle gets little use these days as I have a company car. Maybe once a week if I'm lucky and it noticeably lost charge. I am due a holiday which means parking in an airport carpark for a week, I don't want to come back and have to dick around waiting for recovery. Hence looking at solar panel chargers. Couple that with a change of career which means I won't get to look at my car for 14 weeks, I wanted to keep the battery alive as even with a new receiver over a 14 week span the battery will still be quite dead.
If you are leaving it for 14 weeks, take the battery off:)
 
Well I think the battery might be duff anyway. Doesn't appear to be taking on charge, although unlike last time it isn't overheating my charger and causing it to cut out (ambient temp is cooler now however).

Loss of sync isn't my concern. My vehicle gets little use these days as I have a company car. Maybe once a week if I'm lucky and it noticeably lost charge. I am due a holiday which means parking in an airport carpark for a week, I don't want to come back and have to dick around waiting for recovery. Hence looking at solar panel chargers. Couple that with a change of career which means I won't get to look at my car for 14 weeks, I wanted to keep the battery alive as even with a new receiver over a 14 week span the battery will still be quite dead.

We have some shooters that have an old caravan whenever they come back to use it they have a charged battery,they leave unconnected with a small solar pannel as a charger it works well , mind you you will need an open air car park as you won't get much light in an multi storey .
 
Out of interest, I've had a butchers at my charger (proper plug into the wall job) and it only squeezes out 4w. If what I've read is accurate, I should probably replace it with something that has more balls, correct? It has been used to top up leisure batteries for years but the 190RC unit I use in my P38 is much meatier than any leisure battery I've ever hung from it.

If you are leaving it for 14 weeks, take the battery off:)

Probably don't have any other options open to me, do I?

We have some shooters that have an old caravan whenever they come back to use it they have a charged battery,they leave unconnected with a small solar pannel as a charger it works well , mind you you will need an open air car park as you won't get much light in an multi storey .

I wanted to avoid having to disconnect the battery if I could help it, but it appears I don't really have many options open to me. Checking if it was an open air car park was one of the first things I did. Although given the current ballache, I might take a power pack with me too, just to play it safe.
 
Out of interest, I've had a butchers at my charger (proper plug into the wall job) and it only squeezes out 4w. If what I've read is accurate, I should probably replace it with something that has more balls, correct? It has been used to top up leisure batteries for years but the 190RC unit I use in my P38 is much meatier than any leisure battery I've ever hung from it.



Probably don't have any other options open to me, do I?



I wanted to avoid having to disconnect the battery if I could help it, but it appears I don't really have many options open to me. Checking if it was an open air car park was one of the first things I did. Although given the current ballache, I might take a power pack with me too, just to play it safe.
Not sure where you get a figure of 4 watts from for a charger, the out put is usually given in amps, 4 watts at 12 volts is about a third of an amp. You need a 4 amp smart charger to be useful.:) Lidl £15 from time to time.
 
Woops, I meant 4 amps. I blame old age...
4 amps can't be up to much though. Given the size of the battery it is going to take about 24 hours to charge it.
 
Out of interest, I've had a butchers at my charger (proper plug into the wall job) and it only squeezes out 4w. If what I've read is accurate, I should probably replace it with something that has more balls, correct? It has been used to top up leisure batteries for years but the 190RC unit I use in my P38 is much meatier than any leisure battery I've ever hung from it.



Probably don't have any other options open to me, do I?



I wanted to avoid having to disconnect the battery if I could help it, but it appears I don't really have many options open to me. Checking if it was an open air car park was one of the first things I did. Although given the current ballache, I might take a power pack with me too, just to play it safe.

Sounds like you have a battery Maintainer ie keeps it topped for little use,not for charging flat baterys !
Where as a battery charger it for charging flat battery's and in general is a much bigger unit than a maintainer and I've just looked at my charger and it pumps out way more than yours and it still only a trickle charger type.11amp rms and 2.3 for bike battery's
 
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More like 48 hours:)

48 hours? Bugger. So at 8ish on Monday I can take it off charge and see if she spins.
Me thinks a new charger is in order then.

Shoulda kept my old Escort. Never had battery problems with that.

Sounds like you have a battery Maintainer ie keeps it topped for little use,not for charging flat baterys !
Where as a battery charger it for charging flat battery's and in general is a much bigger unit than a maintainer and I've just looked at my charger and it pumps out way more than yours and it still only a trickle charger type.11amp rms and 2.3 for bike battery's

It does say it is a charger. But IIRC, it is about 30 years old and cost £5 from a local parts place.
Thinking one of these might fit the bill. http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_895217_langId_-1_categoryId_255205
 
48 hours? Bugger. So at 8ish on Monday I can take it off charge and see if she spins.
Me thinks a new charger is in order then.

Shoulda kept my old Escort. Never had battery problems with that.



It does say it is a charger. But IIRC, it is about 30 years old and cost £5 from a local parts place.
Thinking one of these might fit the bill. Halfords | Ring RCB320 Battery Charger

Now that's a charger;)
But they do cheaper ones :)
This is more than capable

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?sbk=1&nav=SEARCH&itemId=261262142793
 
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