26 minutes ago, unofix said:

Unless the RAC guy stood around doing nothing for at least 30 minutes just waiting for the car to go back to sleep, I'm not in the least surprised that he was getting a current draw of 1.7 to 3.5 Amps. Were the keysfobs placed well out of range of the car or were they still next to it ?

No, he didn't. He was here 20 mins tops. 
I had one keyfob on my person stood about 3 metres away and he had the other whilst poking around the engine bay. 

It's been 3 hours since I turned the car off and locked it. I just checked the to see if the keyfob works to lock the car from my upstairs window and it is still working. 
Hopefully it'll still work tomorrow and the battery drain issue was a one off (the dashcam is not plugged in currently). 
 

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

I've got a GB40 jump starter for this sort of thing.  No need to call breakdown. 

My battery was at just 2.2v so I had to use the override button on the jump starter but then the engine started within seconds.  It's not often I'm genuinely impressed by tech but I was by that!

The price has gone up for those since I got mine, but there are other brands available.

Yeah, I just looked at starter packs and even basic ones are £85 or more now (especially for start stop compatible ones). 

This issue with the power drain is weird though because when I drove it yesterday, stop start was working which indicates the battery had plenty of juice in it. 

either the cam or stereo is the usual culprit for a parasitic drain, check wiring on both and if the car is garaged change over the cam live feed. not sure if forscan would have the info

Happened to me on both my previous Fiestas.  The brand new one, a Mk7 diesel,  after about 12 months, would suddenly be completely dead or very near. I could open the car but just clicked when turning ignition on, no dash lights.  Called the AA (included in warranty), jump started it.  They tested and said it was a dud battery.  I took it to the Ford ealer, told them what the AA had said (showed them the report)  they said nothing was wrong.  Happened again a few weeks later, got the AA out.  This time the AA followed me to the dealer and the AA told them the battery was faulty.  The dealer changed the alternator!     Happened yet again, this time the dealer replaced the battery and I had no more problems.

Sometimes had battery low problems with my second Fiesta (1.4 petrol)  but put it down to my driving pattern of very short journeys so I charged it every so often on a 4 amp charger.  I must have overcharged it as after about 2 years the 43AH ? battery died so I replaced it with the diesel spec larger one (70AH?).  Only used a trickle charger (0.75 amp) after that.

I still trickle charge my current one one every month or so.  Touch wood,no problems.

If you use the metal emergency key to get in the car (say you have locked yourself out) , can you still start it (assuming the battery is ok) ?

Just picked up the key this morning to check that there's still power in the car and there must be as the keyfob worked to unlock and lock the car.

18 hours ago, Jimpster said:

either the cam or stereo is the usual culprit for a parasitic drain, check wiring on both and if the car is garaged change over the cam live feed. not sure if forscan would have the info

Not sure how I'd check the wiring. I'm not knowledgeable about electrics and cars. 
The dashcam has been unplugged overnight and the car still has power so maybe a faulty 12v socket. 
 

6 minutes ago, Magenta said:

If you use the metal emergency key to get in the car (say you have locked yourself out) , can you still start it (assuming the battery is ok) ?

If you've locked yourself out and use the metal blade key to enter the car then I guess you could if the key was in the car and there was enough battery power. 
However, the emergency key is located within the key fob so if the car locked with the key inside, you'd have no emergency key unless you always carry the spare. 
If the fob was inside the car and there was still power to the car, I'd guess the door would just unlock when you put your hand over the unlock sensor on the door handle as the key is nearby. 

Can I push in on this topic please? Our son's car SEAT Ibiza, is kinda doing the same, however he only uses it to get to work 3 nights a week and it's less than 2 miles away and he doesn't like driving around just for the sake of it to charge the battery.

 

I've seen those solar chargers that you leave on the dash, are they any good?

2 minutes ago, Turvey said:

I've seen those solar chargers that you leave on the dash, are they any good?

I used one for over a year on a car not being used.  That kept the battery topped up enough to start whenever required.  Forgot to refit it after sending the car for MOT and the battery died within a month...  May just be coincidence but I don't think so in this case.

Having said that, it was in a south facing screen in East Anglia...  I'm not sure you'll get enough sun up there to get the same level of efficiency from a solar panel. 

If he parks near the house, using a mains charger once a month is much less hassle on a car that's being used regularly. 

Thanks @TomsFocus apart from me taking a quick run every couple of months, when usually it had a flat battery, it sat for about a year. So I'm guessing even though the battery is only 3ish years old it's maybe knackered? 

It would be facing west so wouldn't be the worse direction but as you say, maybe not enough daylight hours in the winter up here.

3 minutes ago, Turvey said:

Thanks @TomsFocus apart from me taking a quick run every couple of months, when usually it had a flat battery, it sat for about a year. So I'm guessing even though the battery is only 3ish years old it's maybe knackered? 

It would be facing west so wouldn't be the worse direction but as you say, maybe not enough daylight hours in the winter up here.

It probably has lost some capacity.  But with the current low usage as well, a new battery isn't going to remain in peak condition for long either, so replacing it may be a false economy in this case.  If you use a mains charger, many of them have a maintenance mode that can improve battery life again by shaking off some of the sulphation crystals.

I guess it depends on the size & type of battery, and how much a new one costs, to decide whether it's worth replacing or trying a mains charger first.  Small basic non-stop/start battery are cheap enough not to bother with a charger.  Big EFB/AGM battery probably worth trying to charge before replacing.

The snow looking like it is starting early this year. 

The last time I remember a decent amount of snow in November in the lowland area where I live in was the severe winter of 2010 when we had a meaningful amount of new snow almost every day for about 6 weeks

I don't like going back to work after 3 weeks of holiday 😥

Now retired,  I still recall the same feeling when I was working.  In retirement, the pay is poor but the hours are great !

5 hours ago, Turvey said:

I don't like going back to work after 3 weeks of holiday 😥

Lucky you having 3 weeks off. Never had more than 2 weeks away from work, even during COVID when everyone else had a couple of months off. 

last time i remember serious decent snow i was 12

21 hours ago, iantt said:

Lucky you having 3 weeks off. Never had more than 2 weeks away from work, even during COVID when everyone else had a couple of months off. 

I think that's the longest I've ever been on holiday 🤔 I'm very fortunate that there's plenty of folk to cover when anyone is off and not many off at this time of year 😉

 

Sounds like a few places I've worked in the past regarding time off! 

I don't like being officially bro/friend zoned by a lady whom I have feelings for and have had for a long time. 
I should be used to the phrase "I see you as a brother" or "I can't see you in any way other than as a good friend" by now. I've had those said to me by pretty much every lady I ever had romantic feelings for. 

Hmm, what's the saying?  If it ain't broke...it will be once I've touched it.

Noticed one of my outdoor temp sensors was reading 20c earlier this week.  Seemed unlikely as it feels freezing.  Must have been picking up a signal from elsewhere, with my own sensor battery failed.

Finally got round to replacing the battery yesterday.  Working fine, showing 5c which is more believable!

However...  The sensor is awkward to reach, and I've got another one fitted near it for a second unit indoors.  Thought I might as well change the battery in that one at the same time, despite it working fine.  Damn thing hasn't worked since fitting the new battery! 🤦‍♂️  Tried another new battery, tried the reset button several times, tried different channels, can't get the LED to flash at all.

I think it's this one but seems to be obsolete.  Anyone know if there's a generic one that works with an Oregon Scientific unit?  The cheaper one from the other unit doesn't seem to get picked up at all.

https://www.weathershop.co.uk/oregon-scientific-thn132n-sensor

23 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Hmm, what's the saying?  If it ain't broke...it will be once I've touched it.

Unlike you, I was too cheap to pony up for an 'Oregon' monitor.

I bought mine from Lidl over a decade ago, the batteries last ages so only really replace every other year. It's been very reliable, apart from the last battery change. Like you, the little red LED  on the sensor refused to budge, but it did eventually after 5 or 6 resets. I get the feeling that despite being located in a sheltered spot, it may have a finite lifespan.

But I do get your point, if it ain't broke...🤣

59 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Unlike you, I was too cheap to pony up for an 'Oregon' monitor.

I bought mine from Lidl over a decade ago, the batteries last ages so only really replace every other year. It's been very reliable, apart from the last battery change. Like you, the little red LED  on the sensor refused to budge, but it did eventually after 5 or 6 resets. I get the feeling that despite being located in a sheltered spot, it may have a finite lifespan.

But I do get your point, if it ain't broke...🤣

I didn't buy that one, it was a gift.

The cheaper one is from Lidl lol.

I had a rather sad message on FB early yesterday morning and a missed call on my mobile from a friend. 
Sadly their dad passed away suddenly in the early hours. 

Would I be correct in thinking that all data being sent to and from the FOC servers is now going via Royal Mail (second class) ????

Each click of a link takes 10 to 20 seconds 🙄

@unofix thank goodness someone else has that problem! I thought it was just me 🤔😃

I don't like having to fix my lavatory after the cistern bolts corroded and started leaking. 
I hate being near anything germy.
I've had to decontaminate myself and the bathroom with medical grade antibacterial and antiviral sprays and wipes. 

Same here, I wouldn't touch to clean or fix a toilet without disposable gloves and unfortunately I've had to fix far too many times.

There's something weird about toilet cistern water too.  It's exactly the same water we drink*, yet it feels dirty just because of it's proximity to the pan!

*(I know some of you will have a disgusting cold water tank in the loft full of dirt, limescale and dead pigeons instead of a mains filled cistern.)