Several points starting to play up, could they be linked?

[Alans Car]

I've been getting annoying points, like auto wipers not always auto wiping, auto high beam not always coming on when it should, doors not auto unlocking straight away, nor auto locking when leaving the car (I forgot to do this other day or I wouldn't have know), all the features actually work (not sure about auto lock though never tried it), but they don't always fire up first time, and the latest niggle is the doors, a few times I have to pull the handle a few times before it actually opens the door (I put a new battery in the fob when I got it last autumn), all settings are set to auto etc, don't always work when they should, any thoughts?

[anon]

Sounds like a sub par battery charge might be responsible. In cases like this, I suggest an overnight charge with an intelligent charger,and give the car a day to sort itself out. This has an 80+ % success rate so it is worth a go.

[unofix]

Have you measured the voltage of the battery in the keyfob ? There are lots of problems at the moment with poor quality batteries failing after only a few months. Cheap batteries and also Duracell seem to have the most problems.

The Auto High Beam and the Wipers may well be linked. If the camera fitted behind the rear view mirror is dirty, or the sticky gasket is starting to come away from the screen these problems tend to occur.

[Alans Car]

I do need to get one of these chargers, but the Start\Stop ones are more expensive than the normal ones, so I will definitely give that a go when money allows, gives me another reason to finally install a new socket outside as well so the wife can do the grass without extension leads, I'd already got the wiring ready, but then I was getting really bad so never finished connecting it up.

I don't buy cheap battery's for that very reason, I stick with Duracell most of the time, but my meter died years ago, so I can't check that now, the seal around the housing looks good, but I will try and remember to check more closely.

Thanks for the pointers guy's.

I was worried when the guy who did the tyres said it may be the sensor at fault and said it's a dealer job if it was, but I'll check these bits when I can, Thanks again. 🍻

[unofix]

14 minutes ago, Alans Car said:

I stick with Duracell most of the time,

Very bad move at the present time. Lots here on the forum will tell you that Duracell batteries are just not lasting and in fact there are a lot of counterfeit Duracells about.

 

Smart Chargers don't have to be expensive to be good.

Maypole available from amazon £24.89

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maypole-7423A-Battery-Charger-Electronic/dp/B009A83P1E/ref=sr_1_5?crid=OK1OJOU3DBAI&keywords=maypole+battery+charger+car+12v&qid=1675203751&quartzVehicle=29-10519&replacementKeywords=maypole+battery+car+12v&sprefix=Maypole++battery%2Caps%2C276&sr=8-5

[Alans Car]

I admit it's not great when you see these things, but the seller isn't known for these things as I've used them before and never had a problem, I think the expiry on the was 2027 from memory, but I know the unexpected can always happen, I will definitely check it out ASAP.

The charger I was going to get a CTEK MX5 I think it was as they have a great rep, the only reason I hadn't got one prior is due to not knowing which model I may end up needing, as Stop\Start was going to be a high probability on the car when I got it so would need a different model, do you know if the one you suggest do the same kind of conditioning etc?

Thanks for the reply.

[unofix]

The CTEK MX5  is a good charger, but quite expensive and I very much doubt that it will extend the life of your battery.

I use the Maypole on my Mk4 Focus (with Start/Stop) and over the winter period I connect up the car about every 4 weeks and leave it on charge overnight.

I'm sure that @StephenFord will confirm the quality of the Maypole ( I think he's on commission 😉 ). At the end of the day do you spend £25 or £85 on a charger, will the battery know the difference ?

[StephenFord]

19 minutes ago, unofix said:

...At the end of the day do you spend £25 or £85 on a charger, will the battery know the difference ?

If he insists on spending £85, I would suggest he spends £25 on the MayPole, and split the remaining £60 between us for the recommendation 

[Alans Car]

Yes I do get that, it's never easy to know the benefits over others because unless your a pro, the advertising is what sells such features, so I take such advertising with care, but equally if another unit can do the same thing, it's poor business sense not to advertise the same way, it's not about a charger its about conditioning with these things, looked for the typical 'best' out and this one doesn't even show up, but that doesn't mean its not good, just harder to figure without knowing any better.

Given all the advertising of CTEK units about conditioning the battery, discharging and trickle charging etc, does this one do the same thing?

I am looking at leaving it permanently connected in the boot (the first car I've had with the battery in the boot), so I can shut the boot with the cable plugged into the outhouse (I assume the cable can be done like this?), which is great if it does, would it be safe left connected while driving (mains unplugged obviously) with the cars system charging the battery as it does?

Thanks again for this guys.

[Tizer]

7 minutes ago, Alans Car said:

I am looking at leaving it permanently connected in the boot

Batteries  with Acid in them should be charged in a well ventilated place for safety reasons.

My cheap Lidl Special Charger probably does exactly the same as almost any other DIY one except it can't charge if the Voltage is below a certain level, and if it is 6 Volts it will think it is a 6Volt battery and charge it accordingly.

[unofix]

Both makes of charger are supplied with a short length of cable which has a quick connector fitted. The idea is that this cable is permanently connected to the battery and that the charger can be easily connected (and disconnected) when it needs to be.

A word of caution on these quick connectors.

They do come with a rubber cap to cover the end while not in use. Make sure to always fit it. I can not say what way round the connector has been fitted on the CTEK charger, but on the Maypole it is in my opinion fitted the wrong way. When the lead from the battery is not in use, then the live pin of the connector is left exposed and could short against the metal work of the car. Hence the reason to always fit the cap.

[StephenFord]

54 minutes ago, unofix said:

They do come with a rubber cap to cover the end while not in use. Make sure to always fit it. I can not say what way round the connector has been fitted on the CTEK charger, but on the Maypole it is in my opinion fitted the wrong way. When the lead from the battery is not in use, then the live pin of the connector is left exposed and could short against the metal work of the car. Hence the reason to always fit the cap.

and a top tip - if you do fit a 'fly connector' to your battery, remember when you sell the car to remove it. I didn't notice for ages after my last car went that the fly lead was still attached to it when I went to charge my 'new' one...

[Alans Car]

This is why I was looking at the CTEK ones, they are safe to leave on because they are not 'charging' the battery like a normal charger does, it uses a low level maintenance trickle charge fully monitoring it as it goes, and automatically adjusting with auto stop when it has reached it's optimal level, this is not just about charging a car battery, or that would be simple, this is looking long term, being retired disabled for well over 3 decades I only go out on short runs as a rule, and the odd bit of shopping, so once a week at best, this is to maintain the battery for the rest of the time it's just sat there.

I do 3 or 4 600 mile round trips a year, but the battery doesn't get a good run other than then, so although the initial suggestion was about charging the battery as a possible cure to the problems mentioned, I know from my Merc that these big cars need more than that to maintain  a healthy battery, hence my previously considering the CTEK after seeing an article on Honest John's site, as the other battery was deader than dead, yet it started on the first turn of the key with a jump from my daughter in laws C1, also most new battery's (if not all) are sealed units these days are hey not?

The old days of dragging the battery into the shed and opening the acid caps, adding liquid as needed and leaving them off, and charging away from anything you don't want ruined from acid splashes as it bubbles up, that along with touching electrics on a Hybrid is something I won't do until I know more after seeing a training Ad enticing newbies into teaching\learning with the female saying now the 600 volts is down to... (a safe level), they can now work on the car, not to mention about the settings and electronics, I don't know how that may affect the car, a bit like the old days of not knowing the keycode for the radio and having to mess about sorting it, but more advanced today I imagine.

But I agree that cap doesn't inspire confidence, but you'd of thought they would have caught it as a design flaw surely(?), might be worth an email to them and see what they say, I did that on an item I was looking to buy once and they gave me the item as a thankyou because they would of been screwed otherwise.

 

Thanks for the pointers guy's, all good to know. 🍻

[StephenFord]

6 minutes ago, Alans Car said:

This is why I was looking at the CTEK ones, they are safe to leave on because they are not 'charging' the battery like a normal charger does, it uses a low level maintenance trickle charge fully monitoring it as it goes, and automatically adjusting with auto stop when it has reached it's optimal level...

So does the MayPole LOL

[Alans Car]

Ah, just wondered given the warning about ventilating lol 🤣

[Alans Car]

OK found my meter and turned out it needed a new battery which it now has, the fob battery is reading at 3.07v, which to me suggests that is fine, but I'm no pro with meters, does this tell you much more now?

I also found that the car battery itself appears to be the wrong one after researching the charger, it's a Bosch 52Ah (attached), but I don't know if it's enough of what the car needs or not (it's very low powered compared to my last one), and as such could be the cause of all this?

[StephenFord]

2 minutes ago, Alans Car said:

OK found my meter and turned out it needed a new battery which it now has, the fob battery is reading at 3.07v, which to me suggests that is fine, but I'm no pro with meters, does this tell you much more now?

A brand new lithium fob battery should push out 3.3v out of the packet. Once it reaches 3v and below, it could start to be problematic...

[Alans Car]

Ah right so new one on order then, I'm guessing Energiser would be the recommendation?

[StephenFord]

11 minutes ago, Alans Car said:

Ah right so new one on order then, I'm guessing Energiser would be the recommendation?

Or Panasonic, or Duracell (though some on here reckon there are too many Duracell fakes floating around) But if you buy from a reputable seller with a secure supply chain, you'll be fine. It's like asking for a 'tire' recommendation, everyone will have their own favourite brand, and rubbish all the others!

[Alans Car]

Yeah I have the Duracell in them already, hence being warned to check them, I know the Panasonic have a good rep in rechargeable ones, don't know about normal ones, but I tend to stick with the big names as they have more invested to get it right lol, Thanks for the info. 🍺