Focus 08 1.8 Zetec. Is it safe to put a charger straight on to the battery in the car or should I first disconnect the battery leads? If I do disconnect, is there a routine that must be followed to reconnect after charging? (There was with my old Corsa, or all sorts of crazy things happened!)

I find the instrument illumination much too bright at night. According to the owners manual there is a dimmer swich on the right-hand side, next to the headlamp level adjuster....except there ain't! Am I missing something?

not sure about the battery thing but the dimmer is only fitted to ghia/titanium's and st as far as i know

Focus 08 1.8 Zetec. Is it safe to put a charger straight on to the battery in the car or should I first disconnect the battery leads? If I do disconnect, is there a routine that must be followed to reconnect after charging? (There was with my old Corsa, or all sorts of crazy things happened!)

I find the instrument illumination much too bright at night. According to the owners manual there is a dimmer swich on the right-hand side, next to the headlamp level adjuster....except there ain't! Am I missing something?

"Do not" charge your battery in car, you could end up with a burnt out car. Take care disconnecting leads,and keep them away from metal until both removed from battery. Slow charge battery overnight for best results, but remember to take note of your radio key code before disconnecting battery (see owners manual for how to get). Refit battery and there shouldnt be any issues.

Thanks for that, taffg. Modern cars are a wonder of technology, the trouble is you hardly dare touch any thing for fear of catastrophic cosequences! No such worries with my first motor, an old 100E van; the highest technology there was the vacuum-operated wipers, which worked more slowly the faster you went! :)