> It seems like mechanics really don't like digging into the electrical part of the car... Tell me about it. I'm in a similar boat. My audi a4 has had a parasitic draw for the past 10 years. My mechanic didn't want to take the time to address it because that sort of thing takes a serious amount of time and he's always backed up. I got out my fluke and narrowed the cause to what I believe is the comfort control unit.…
If you can identify the fuse for the unit, it might be less annoying to pull it when parking rather than hooking up a charger.
Sterile compared to what? Is there another manufacturer of acceptably-tuned rear-drive sedan chassis out there at a semi-reasonable price point that I should know about? (I'm talking about pre-2010 BMW here; I would totally agree with most new ones being sterile)
I mean, I guess if you are limiting yourself to that exact style of car then yeah I guess. (Although the Mazdaspeed6 was 90% of a BMW with 10% of the maintenance bill).
I agree it may be 90% as fun to drive (which is subjective), but you're comparing FWD to RWD.
I'd much rather have a 80's-90's Nissan or Subaru, especially built, than a modern BMW, though. Much more soul in vintage cars imo.
Some vintage BMWs were pretty reliable, a lot of modern Nissans have awful reliability.
> It seems like mechanics really don't like digging into the electrical part of the car... Tell me about it. I'm in a similar boat. My audi a4 has had a parasitic draw for the past 10 years. My mechanic didn't want to take the time to address it because that sort of thing takes a serious amount of time and he's always backed up. I got out my fluke and narrowed the cause to what I believe is the comfort control unit.…
I wonder if installing a switch to disconnect the car's battery entirely would be an acceptable (but obviously hacky) solution.
I did this with an old vehicle taht was pretty basic without a lot of electronics.
the actual problem was sort of electronic-releated - leave lights on, drain battery to zero.
I put on a battery-cutout-monitor-thing. If battery drained to x%, it would disconnect the battery. to start the car, I think you had to stand on the brake pedal (add a load - like brake lights?) and it would reset and reconnect the battery - then you could start it.
My wife and I gave our old car to her parents. In the subsequent years, its battery kept dying and we had to go over to their place and jump it. Never happened in the prior 7 years we'd owned the car. The mechanic said nothing wrong with the battery, but suggested there might be a parasitic drain somewhere. A few days later, we were visiting them. I looked at the car and saw the door closed, but not properly latched…
Thats insane... To consistently not close the door like that
My wife and I gave our old car to her parents. In the subsequent years, its battery kept dying and we had to go over to their place and jump it. Never happened in the prior 7 years we'd owned the car. The mechanic said nothing wrong with the battery, but suggested there might be a parasitic drain somewhere. A few days later, we were visiting them. I looked at the car and saw the door closed, but not properly latched…
Thats insane... To consistently not close the door like that
I know, I'm at a loss. The kid slept in there a lot - maybe they were trying to shut it quietly to not disturb him?
Imagine as a software developer you tracked your time working tickets, your pay was hourly, and depending on the ticket type you were prescribed how long that ticket should take and paid those set hours whether you went over/under the set hours. This sounds completely insane but this is how car mechanics work (as I understand a lot of shops do this). Replacing a battery might be 1/4 hour labor, replacing brakes on ca…
That's kind of how dealer mechanics work but not any other mechanic... They work for 10 hours, you get billed for 10 hours.
Many shops work by book time, not just dealers, although obviously YMMV based on the shop and the work.
It’s more common for routine maintenance to be charged by book time since it’s a standard procedure, less common for more complicated issues
Ugh, I've also got an Outback (2019) with a regularly dying battery. Let me know if you ever find any leads on the root cause.
I have a 2019 Outback as well. I just went through some battery dying issues. Took it to the dealership, they said that the Onstar module (after 2-3 years) will start to malfunction and create a parasitic drain. The only fixes they have (as of a couple weeks ago) was to a) buy a new module (which are on back order because a number of peeps are having this problem) -- which will eventually break because they haven't r…
I have the same issue, seemingly, with my 2017 Outback. My battery kept dying for which I got a lot of run around from the dealer (gaslighting about keyless entry drains it if the key is too close to the car, etc.) Eventually I found a Reddit post about the DCM (Starlink) module, removed this fuse, and it hasn't died since. It sounds like it wakes up in the middle of the night to do something and thereby drains the battery, so whenever they test at the dealer for extra drain, they find nothing. Having that fuse out kills some speakers and the mic too, so it's a kind of annoying solution. I have not gone back to complain again recently though, so maybe they can do whatever it is they did for you. I saw some posts about wiring it to another circuit that's off when the car is off, but I am not confident doing that myself.
There's battery kill switches you can install onto the battery pole to effectively disconnect everything from the battery. This should work for older cars. For newer ones you may experience hiccups like reverse camera not working for a few hours until it has re-paired itself with the head unit.
This really wouldn't work for any car made in the last 20 years. Most of them have anti-theft systems that require you to put in a PIN to use your stereo if it ever gets disconnected from the battery. I suppose you could type that in every single time, but there are other computers like your automatic transmission management that learn how you drive, etc, and might not like to get reset every day.
This is false. I have owned many different cars from the last 20 years and none of them did this when you disconnected the battery. A quick google search shows that it's Hondas that do this, not "any car made in the last 20 years".
I'm looking into buying a reliable older vehicle, pre 2000, and just rebuilding the engine
I drive a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I get asked if I'm interested in selling it at least once or twice a month, nowadays. The sightlines are amazing compared to modern cars, its AC is OP, and the AMC 4 liter straight six is one of the most durable car engines ever made. Mileage is not great, but it's paid for and dirt cheap to insure, that buys a lot of gas right there.
Inline 6 has to be one of the best engines. I got 3 cars with them in 4L, gas injected, gas carbureted and diesel. They go so well.
The only computer in the diesel one is the glow plug timer and there is no computer in the carbureted one (both 1991 Nissan Patrols).
The injected one is a 2005 ford falcon and is starting to get all sorts of interior electrical niggles. Only wiring issues in the patrols is a left headlight short which was easily routed around using relays.
Well this is timely. I have a parasitic draw on my NC Miata. The first mechanic just replaced the battery. The second told me it's normal for the battery to die if you don't drive it for 3 days (because "cars have computers now"). It seems like mechanics really don't like digging into the electrical part of the car... but these days that encompasses more and more of what can go wrong. Without time to dig into it myse…
> mechanics really don't like digging into the electrical
Mechanics don't like fishing expeditions for nonessential things. $100/h for 2+ hours diagnostic, followed by tedious parts to replace and pair up.
A new battery every couple of years and a trickle charger probably seems like better value to them.