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I fixed a parasitic drain on my car in 408 days

davidmuller.github.io

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Re: I fixed a parasitic drain on my car in 408 days

#461

Post by Karawebnetwork »

lynx23 wrote: post #417
egeozcan wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People always think that they are compatible if they share more or less a common understanding in big subjects, but stuff like these really test you. One of my exes hated onion, and when I look back, this made my life way more insufferable than having to hear the (to me) weird political opinions. "Oh I'd like to have this salad but please no onion, and please don't use a knife that's used to cut onion when preparing!…

Entitled to special treatment. A modern phenomenon. A good sign that you should move on to a different partner.

What if it had been shellfish instead of onions and the person had suffered a life-threatening allergy resulting in anaphylactic shock?

Re: I fixed a parasitic drain on my car in 408 days

#462

Post by roelschroeven »

bolanyo wrote: post #416
LinAGKar wrote: post #409

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting, I think all microwaves I've had require you to press start to restart them after opening and closing the door.

Mine doesn't.

Mine doesn't even have a start button. It starts whenever the door is closed and there is at least one second left on the timer.

Re: I fixed a parasitic drain on my car in 408 days

#463

Post by jasonladuke0311 »

madaxe_again wrote: post #408
bityard wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would expect a _good_ car (no maintenance issues, new gas, newer battery) to go at least a couple months without being driven and not have any issues upon starting it up. The average car in average condition should go around a month without being driven. Anything less than that either means a battery nearing the end of its life, not getting charged, or a parasitic draw somewhere.

I park up my hilux for a year at a time, sometimes, and it Just Starts. Sure, it’ll take three attempts with a cold, damp engine and a sluggish battery, but it has yet to let me down.

The Nokia 3310 of motor vehicles.

Re: I fixed a parasitic drain on my car in 408 days

#464

Post by [deleted] »

Karawebnetwork wrote: post #461
lynx23 wrote: post #417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Entitled to special treatment. A modern phenomenon. A good sign that you should move on to a different partner.

What if it had been shellfish instead of onions and the person had suffered a life-threatening allergy resulting in anaphylactic shock?

[deleted]

Re: I fixed a parasitic drain on my car in 408 days

#465

Post by madaxe_again »

jasonladuke0311 wrote: post #463
madaxe_again wrote: post #408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I park up my hilux for a year at a time, sometimes, and it Just Starts. Sure, it’ll take three attempts with a cold, damp engine and a sluggish battery, but it has yet to let me down.

The Nokia 3310 of motor vehicles.

Had one of those, too, and used to hide it in a pint of Guinness for a laugh. Dropped it in the sea a few times. Accidentally melted it slightly in a small housefire. It lived on after I moved on to a t68i as an SMS gateway for my home server for my one-man proto-Twitter.

Re: I fixed a parasitic drain on my car in 408 days

#466

Post by dfinninger »

lukego wrote: post #422
Reason077 wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My flatmate does this with kitchen cupboard doors, and, most annoyingly, the microwave. She'll open the microwave to stop it, takes her food out and, just ... leaves it open. Then when I close it later it will start up again with nothing inside. Arrrgh!

I learned this behaviour for a while when living with a microwave that made an annoyingly loud beep when it finished or was stopped. Workaround: slightly ajar as default idle state for silent operation and intercept immediately before completion.

Every microwave I’ve ever owned has had a button to turn off the beeps. Usually, a long-press on 8 or 5.

Re: I fixed a parasitic drain on my car in 408 days

#467

Post by jwineinger »

o10449366 wrote: post #324
adversaryIdiot wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thats insane... To consistently not close the door like that

My wife, bless her heart, leaves everything partially open. Not even just open, but she'll screw the lid on jars just enough where if I pick it up by the top they'll drop. It drives me crazy.

I've finally found our marriage doppelgangers!

Re: I fixed a parasitic drain on my car in 408 days

#468

Post by garyfirestorm »

KennyBlanken wrote: post #365
garyfirestorm wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can’t replace it myself because it’s a coded part. Can you please explain this? Why does it need ‘coding’? It’s not a VIN specific part I’d think - i.e. engine controller. Also have you explored Ross Tech VCDS tool? You might be able to identify the coding on your part and use it on a new part. Replacing an ecu should be straightforward imo.

In VAG cars, the ECU and dashboard are often paired to each other for anti-theft purposes, since the immobilizer is part of the ECU itself. To stop people from simply pulling the ECU and replacing it with one keyed to the immobilizer key chip they have - the ECU is paired to the dashboard, which often requires a lot more time and effort to remove. For other modules they're often used across many different cars/engine…

Yes I work in automotive and have routinely replaced ECUs. I work for an American OEM, I guess we don’t pair ecus to each vehicle. Unless its ecm/tcm/radio/security gateway and probably the key fob ecu. Everything else is just a part number that you can easily swap out. The few screws holding the controller and the wiring connector(assuming the controller is easily accessible)… Though I own an Audi and use VCDS I was not familiar with pairing an ecu to the vehicle, however I was aware of coding in the VCDS. (I have not yet needed to swap an ecu on my car)

Re: I fixed a parasitic drain on my car in 408 days

#469

Post by garyfirestorm »

brokenmachine wrote: post #355
garyfirestorm wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can’t replace it myself because it’s a coded part. Can you please explain this? Why does it need ‘coding’? It’s not a VIN specific part I’d think - i.e. engine controller. Also have you explored Ross Tech VCDS tool? You might be able to identify the coding on your part and use it on a new part. Replacing an ecu should be straightforward imo.

>Replacing an ecu should be straightforward Really? I would have thought that'd be one of the most complicated things to replace.

I’d say an engine controller which needs a specific vehicle information to work is going to be difficult. But an ecu that controls say your headlights, depending on the oem it is just a part with unique part# that can be swapped. I work for one of the American OEMs and have replaced a ton of controllers on vehicles (engineering vehicles and customer vehicle). never had an issue. That being said I know German vehicles are next level pita since I do own an Audi. I just wasn’t aware about the coding part for the Audis.

Re: I fixed a parasitic drain on my car in 408 days

#470

Post by jollyllama »

micromacrofoot wrote: post #162
overthrow wrote: post #3

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…

I've been to multiple mechanics, talked to roadside assistance people, posted in multiple forums, and talked to family about this problem with an old car of mine... and they all swore up and down that you should start a car if it sits longer than a weekend, maybe a week tops. They made me feel insane about it, it's one of those widely accepted things that's just not true most of the time.

There are other reasons to do that unrelated to the electrical system of the car. You're keeping the engine and any other moving parts lubricated. You're burning fuel, so that you don't wind up with as much degraded oil.
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