Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: theolodian on 06 December 2006, 12:08:25
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I am going back to the states for Xmas for 3-4 weeks. I am worried about the battery going flat while I am away. Normally, this isn't the end of the world, but the lock doesn't work in the driver's door so if the battery dies I have to break into the car. >:(
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A fully charged battery, in good condition, should last a lot longer than four weeks :y
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Yeah, I know it should in other cars. Bit worried about the Omega, wasn't expecting it to go flat on me when I did the crank sensor. Was cranking fine, left it for a week, ran the hazards for 2 hrs, and it was flat?!
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Modern batteries have this trait. They dont "run down" gradually like batteries used to. You get everything one minute and the next, as you discovered, nothing. Modern cars need a hell of a lot more zap to fire up and batteries are designed to give a full output right up until they are exhausted.
Give it a charge and it will be OK, provided, as I said earlier, that the battery is in good condition to start with.
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I am going back to the states for Xmas for 3-4 weeks. I am worried about the battery going flat while I am away. Normally, this isn't the end of the world, but the lock doesn't work in the driver's door so if the battery dies I have to break into the car. >:(
Not quite sure why you would have to break in would you not be able to open the boot and climb through if the battery was to die.
If the drivers door does actually unlock and open I have seen it mentioned you can turn the lock with a little bit of force even if its been deadlocked.
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I am going back to the states for Xmas for 3-4 weeks. I am worried about the battery going flat while I am away. Normally, this isn't the end of the world, but the lock doesn't work in the driver's door so if the battery dies I have to break into the car. >:(
Not quite sure why you would have to break in would you not be able to open the boot and climb through if the battery was to die.
Yeah, thought of leaving the seat back unlatched. Still counts as breaking in in my book, with my back. ;) Visions of my old Rover 214 where I had to climb in from the passenger side. ::) :)
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Not the ideal, but I know someone who used to disconnect the car battery if he was leaving it for a long period, mainly as it aided in his car not being stolen maybe abit extreme in your case.
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Not the ideal, but I know someone who used to disconnect the car battery if he was leaving it for a long period, mainly as it aided in his car not being stolen maybe abit extreme for your purpose though.
Then I definitely won't be able to get in! I was toying with the idea of unplugging the crank sensor . . .
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Not the ideal, but I know someone who used to disconnect the car battery if he was leaving it for a long period, mainly as it aided in his car not being stolen maybe abit extreme for your purpose though.
Then I definitely won't be able to get in! I was toying with the idea of unplugging the crank sensor . . .
Good Idea with the sensor :y
Surely you would still be able to get in via either the drivers door lock or boot still
Still as others have said if your battery is well charged it should last by rights meaning the above is Unnecessary, it was purely a suggestion :)
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The problem is that the door lock is stuck, so the only way to unlock is with the remote. I think that I will leave the seat back unlatched as a backup so that I don't have to break anything.
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The problem is that the door lock is stuck, so the only way to unlock is with the remote. I think that I will leave the seat back unlatched as a backup so that I don't have to break anything.
Could you not connect a battery charger to the car (not switched on) then if when you come back, if the battery was flat, you could just switch it on?
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You could leave it with me & I'll give it a good thrape every few days :o
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The problem is that the door lock is stuck, so the only way to unlock is with the remote. I think that I will leave the seat back unlatched as a backup so that I don't have to break anything.
Could you not connect a battery charger to the car (not switched on) then if when you come back, if the battery was flat, you could just switch it on?
Some of us don't have silicon wafer labs cum garages AA! It sleeps on the street, sometimes the next street over due to lack of parking.
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The problem is that the door lock is stuck, so the only way to unlock is with the remote. I think that I will leave the seat back unlatched as a backup so that I don't have to break anything.
Could you not connect a battery charger to the car (not switched on) then if when you come back, if the battery was flat, you could just switch it on?
Some of us don't have silicon wafer labs cum garages AA! It sleeps on the street, sometimes the next street over due to lack of parking.
Sorry, it was just a thought.
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The problem is that the door lock is stuck, so the only way to unlock is with the remote. I think that I will leave the seat back unlatched as a backup so that I don't have to break anything.
Could you not connect a battery charger to the car (not switched on) then if when you come back, if the battery was flat, you could just switch it on?
Some of us don't have silicon wafer labs cum garages AA! It sleeps on the street, sometimes the next street over due to lack of parking.
Sorry, it was just a thought.
You should know by now that I'm just giving you sh!t ;) ;D
I have thought of dropping a charging jack of some sort down below the battery behind the front bumper so that I can juice it up without unlocking it. I don't think any light sockets will work unless you leave the relevant switch on. Although that does bring up the point of gaining access through the trunk and pumping some juice in somewhere.
Thanks for the idea! :y
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Your confidence in your omega has really taken a knock
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On my project 2.0, I locked the doors with the central locking, with a battery in place, removed the battery, and then shut the bonet. Only to kick myself, and think crap, it's deadlocked now!! So I couldn't open with the key.
Rather than use force when I came to open it again, I crawled under the front, and attached jump leads onto the battery cables, and then put them on an external battery. Worked a treat!
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Your confidence in your omega has really taken a knock
The day that the knock sensor died the remote that I usually use died. Thankfully it was at home where I have a spare, or I would have been in trouble. I'd be an idiot to be caught by that one twice! I am going to try again to free the door lock, but wanted some backups just in case. Leaving the seat back unlatched and trying to find unswitched power in the boot should cover it nicely.
James, I don't have jackstands and not sure where I could find a positive under the engine other than the starter.
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I left my 'meega for over three weeks when going on holiday and had no problems.
Of course if you have a weak battery of some sort of abnormal drain then this will not be the case.
If in doubt, why not disconnect the battery? It takes a couple of minutes (disable the alarm by doing this within 15 seconds etc etc) - and all you need when you re-connect it is the radio code, but failing that you could just humm to yourself until you get the radio sorted.... I wouldn't worry too much about the autobox having to re-learn your 'shifting pattern...'
On my previous car and on my wife's MPV I have even installed a master switch to disconnect the battery when the car is not in use for long, but they did not have alarms with NiCd backup...
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The problem is that the door lock is stuck, so the only way to unlock is with the remote. I think that I will leave the seat back unlatched as a backup so that I don't have to break anything.
Could you not connect a battery charger to the car (not switched on) then if when you come back, if the battery was flat, you could just switch it on?
Some of us don't have silicon wafer labs cum garages AA! It sleeps on the street, sometimes the next street over due to lack of parking.
Sorry, it was just a thought.
You should know by now that I'm just giving you sh!t ;) ;D
I have thought of dropping a charging jack of some sort down below the battery behind the front bumper so that I can juice it up without unlocking it. I don't think any light sockets will work unless you leave the relevant switch on. Although that does bring up the point of gaining access through the trunk and pumping some juice in somewhere.
Thanks for the idea! :y
That's what I have done, dropped a charging jack (fused) down behind the front bumper.
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How about a trickle charger? Thinking specifically about the optimate type that I use for my bike. It is more sophisticated than a standard workshop charger.
http://www.accumate.co.uk/it010003.html
HtH
B
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Just noticed that the optimate one has a 28 amphour max, so leaves a car battery a fair way behind. :-[
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I have a solar panel (cost about £20) that sits on the dash and then plugs into the cigarette lighter to keep the battery topped up.
I use it when I park at the airport and go away for a while, nothing worse than getting back at 11pm from holiday and having a flat battery
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I have a solar panel (cost about £20) that sits on the dash and then plugs into the cigarette lighter to keep the battery topped up.
I use it when I park at the airport and go away for a while, nothing worse than getting back at 11pm from holiday and having a flat battery
I was just about to suggest using one on those :y
I guess it would prolong the charge in the battery :y
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I have a solar panel (cost about £20) that sits on the dash and then plugs into the cigarette lighter to keep the battery topped up.
I use it when I park at the airport and go away for a while, nothing worse than getting back at 11pm from holiday and having a flat battery
I was just about to suggest using one on those :y
I guess it would prolong the charge in the battery :y
Umm, when was the last sunny day you guys had? Or do I need to park under a streetlight? :P ;D
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This is the one I use:-
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/search.asp?q=atc12v
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I have a solar panel (cost about £20) that sits on the dash and then plugs into the cigarette lighter to keep the battery topped up.
I bought one of these but it would only work with the ignition on? Tried both lighter sockets!
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I have a solar panel (cost about £20) that sits on the dash and then plugs into the cigarette lighter to keep the battery topped up.
I bought one of these but it would only work with the ignition on? Tried both lighter sockets!
That's a good point. Think you would need to run a cable direct to the battery for it to work.
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I have a solar panel (cost about £20) that sits on the dash and then plugs into the cigarette lighter to keep the battery topped up.
I bought one of these but it would only work with the ignition on? Tried both lighter sockets!
That's a good point. Think you would need to run a cable direct to the battery for it to work.
Both my lighter sockets work with the key removed. I even leave the phone to charge hidden under the seat...
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I have a solar panel (cost about £20) that sits on the dash and then plugs into the cigarette lighter to keep the battery topped up.
I bought one of these but it would only work with the ignition on? Tried both lighter sockets!
That's a good point. Think you would need to run a cable direct to the battery for it to work.
Both my lighter sockets work with the key removed. I even leave the phone to charge hidden under the seat...
So do mine but I couldn't get it to charge, couldn't work it out, so I sold it!
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I had a constant live to my lighter socket on the last car I use it on (Jeep), haven't used it on the omega yet so I guess I will have to look at that. It did have some clips to go straight to the battery that came with it!
You don't need sun, just daylight will keep it topped up
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I have a new battery in my Omega and can leave it for around a month with no problems. I had thought about a solar panel but then remembered that you should not charge a battery with the alternator still connected. It could well damage the diode pack. Just a thought.
If it were me, and I was not confident about the battery, I would simply buy a new one, charge it fully overnight using a trickle charger and then fit it.
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Yeah, thought of leaving the seat back unlatched. Still counts as breaking in in my book, with my back. ;) Visions of my old Rover 214 where I had to climb in from the passenger side. ::) :)
2000 Omega! That's a face lift isn't it? If so you don't have a boot/T-runk ( ;) ) key lock
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Yeah, thought of leaving the seat back unlatched. Still counts as breaking in in my book, with my back. ;) Visions of my old Rover 214 where I had to climb in from the passenger side. ::) :)
2000 Omega! That's a face lift isn't it? If so you don't have a boot/T-runk ( ;) ) key lock
It's a mini-facelift & it does ;)
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I use one of the solar chargers but the ciggy lighter being off causes a problem. I wired mine into a power feed that was always on, last car I had I used the feed to the boot courtesy light. The one I have has in built diode protection so I can leave it plugged in with engine running, so just wired it in and left it on parcel shelf. Generally it provides enough power to counteract the power drain of the car alarm.
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I have a solar panel (cost about £20) that sits on the dash and then plugs into the cigarette lighter to keep the battery topped up.
I bought one of these but it would only work with the ignition on? Tried both lighter sockets!
That's a good point. Think you would need to run a cable direct to the battery for it to work.
Both my lighter sockets work with the key removed. I even leave the phone to charge hidden under the seat...
Mine doesnt.....so that might be a prob.....a bit of rewiring should fix the prob tho......a solar panel charger will only trickle charge so should fine with battery still connected.....plus as Gwilym says daylight should be enough.
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It's a mini-facelift & it does ;)
Oh! :y