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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

#491

Post by porkbeer »

Scoundreller wrote: post #233
grokx wrote: post #149

In the 00s, my dad had an issue with the infotainment system of its Peugeot 407 that would no longer boot. An official Peugeot mechanic told him that it would cost something like 4200€ to replace the unit, so he asked me if I could have a look. After a quick search, I found an update for his system, burn it on a CD, and put the CD into its car. The system updated, and then would work normally. Problem fixed for one h…

A lot of dealership mechanics are mindless flowchart followers that aren’t even allowed to use their brain. Though I’m surprised “update” wasn’t a part of that official flowchart. Have had dealership mechanics ignore my notes and identify a part as being failed despite my method of 100% excluding that part as being bad.

Theybare because they are trained to be. You are actively dissuaded from any diag work, because it can be harder to justify your hours to the customer and dealerships are awful. For a mechanic, its a good and bad job. Nevermind ASE certification that encourages the same. Only small indie mechanics have the freedom to do good work.

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

#492

Post by porkbeer »

everybodyknows wrote: post #43

Anecdata: Some Hondas (e.g . 2010 Element) exert enough parasitic drain to put the car into a chronically undercharged state if a door is left ajar overnight. The wrong thinking turned out to be: Car is safe in garage, interior lights go off, and my hands are full now -- why bother going back to the door to shut it completely?

Never seen this issue with any hondas, including elements, sure you got a good battery? But leaving a door ajar is user error.

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

#493

Post by d3ad1ysp0rk »

fullstop wrote: post #145

"Fixed" in the same way I can "fix" a stuck key on a keyboard by physically removing it. They've circumvented the problem but are left with less than what they originally had.

I was hoping he'd take the module out and open it up to see what was fried/malfunctioning inside.

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

#494

Post by egeozcan »

lynx23 wrote: post #488
egeozcan wrote: post #428

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Asking nicely and not protesting when they didn't manage is okay in my book, to be honest. That was not the problem. Having to experience stuff like these (everyone has their quirks) regularly and learning to deal with it is the hard part in a relationship, is what I'm saying.

Having to experience weird behaviour on a more or less regular basis is not how relationships are supposed to work, thats what I'm saying . There are spouses out there who treat their partner with respect and love, not like a tool to be used to fix up anoyances in life.

Weird behavior to you.

Never underestimate how much some people hate onions, and no they won't start up a new dating site to find people like themselves :)

edit: I later saw your comment stating what you reacted to, and yup, that part is mean indeed^^

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

#495

Post by jonmb »

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…

Our 1990 Miata has a parasitic drain too. We installed a battery disconnect switch that takes about 5 seconds to connect or disconnect whenever we use the car. It's a little bit of an extra hassle, but it was an easy solution.

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

#496

Post by [deleted] »

lynx23 wrote: post #487
easywood wrote: post #438

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Second opinion from someone in a 25 year marriage: do not move to a different partner over a disagreement on onions. You'll be moving a lot.

My comment was not about the onions, but about the "you can eat this at home while I go and find myself some other food elsewhere." part of the story.

[deleted]

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

#497

Post by topspin »

topspin wrote: post #175
KingMachiavelli wrote: post #134

I've never understood why cars don't just cut power before the battery is too low to start. If that's too complicated then just have an option to cut all power after X hours of non-running time. I bet the old popular theft of car radio is a root cause; cars needed to stay running to keep the alarm active and power the radio continuously so it wouldn't require the unlock code every time you start the vehicle. It's act…

> I've never understood why cars don't just cut power before the battery is too low to start. The design of most cars can't tolerate losing 12V DC power without problems. Clearing superfluous codes after a battery swap is SOP. Cars are build for two simultaneous customers: regulatory regimes and work-a-day 13.5K miles a year workers that start (and thus charge) their cars at least every 48-72 hours. Other use cases a…

Something I forgot to mention here that supports my view that designers of modern cars are not thinking about this problem at all: after battery power is lost cars lose their maps and tables for ignition timing and fuel delivery. After a usually short period of time (20 minutes is typical) that data is lost and the engine etc. has to 'relearn' when the power is restored and the vehicle is operated for a time.

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

#498

Post by sleepytimetea »

Dalewyn wrote: post #294
civilized wrote: post #166

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…

Tangent, but what's the rationale for car doors requiring slams? They are the only door I know, at least in common, daily life contexts, that require slamming them with the force of Thor to properly close them.

I got a new(used) car which has power closing doors - you just bring them close to the car and the motors gently pull them closed. Luxury feature because you never slam or even shut the doors anymore, they are closed soundlessly. I didn't know I wanted the feature till I got this car...now I wish all cars had this. I bet I won't feel the same when I have to pay a thousand dollars to get a single motor replaced.

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

#499

Post by Karawebnetwork »

lynx23 wrote: post #488
egeozcan wrote: post #428

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Asking nicely and not protesting when they didn't manage is okay in my book, to be honest. That was not the problem. Having to experience stuff like these (everyone has their quirks) regularly and learning to deal with it is the hard part in a relationship, is what I'm saying.

Having to experience weird behaviour on a more or less regular basis is not how relationships are supposed to work, thats what I'm saying . There are spouses out there who treat their partner with respect and love, not like a tool to be used to fix up anoyances in life.

Can you explain how lying to someone is a proof of respect and love?

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

#500

Post by sh34r »

coding123 wrote: post #373
rjzzleep wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is more an anecdote than anything else. My wife leaves all sorts of stuff open, and it's really because she's not paying attention, i.e. most of the time she's not fully present. I'm glad to have read this, it gives me a little comfort to see that other people deal with same issues. Sometimes I just close the door for her when she's in the restroom. I feel like a lot of these habits come from having live…

I'm getting older and one of the things I started to notice is that men are just there, doing things that are generally... straightforward. I mean I guess posting on hacker news is probably pretty strange to a lot of people - so ignore that. Anyway, women however, I feel like they build these neurotic behaviors - like learned things that just stick with them forever. Like ouch, the pan was hot, don't do that again, b…

I find that everyone has these quirks, regardless of gender. Sometimes it makes the world a more interesting place. Sometimes it's utterly baffling. Like my friend who refuses to use tissues because his parents taught him to blow his nose with a paper towel instead. Maybe we're the weird ones for believing Big Kleenex's ads though!

One gender difference is that when these quirks are presented to men, they're a bit more likely to change to a more sensible method. Women tend to get annoyed about the male tendency to suggest solutions to everything. Annoyance can motivate stubbornness.

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