The dark nights / Winters coming

[Yorkshire Andy]

I bit the bullet and had the car battery replaced. It was on its last legs and even during the hot spell the engine stop/start rarely cut in. .

A often neglected prep just done my sister's it was 10 years old but the drop test / load test showed it was well past it's best least I got a new one at cost via work

[GeraldTheBonzai]

I bit the bullet and had the car battery replaced. It was on its last legs and even during the hot spell the engine stop/start rarely cut in. .

A often neglected prep just done my sister's it was 10 years old but the drop test / load test showed it was well past it's best least I got a new one at cost via work

There was a time when you could pop to Halfords, get a new battery, stick it in, job done. Ha..
Its a stop/start engine. The battery has a BMS. The BMS talks to the Engine Management System. The EMS in turn talks to the smart alternator. So they fit the battery, then check its talking to the EMS. Then they run the engine so that they can get the smart alternater charging profile. Then they have to remap the EMS to take into account the charging profile and the fact thats its a new battery. BMS has a different profiel when new rather than old, as the EMS "learns" how to charge the battery over time.... All this so that the engine can cut out for 10 seconds when you come to a set of lights...
Time to fit new battery - 4 hours.

[Yorkshire Andy]

I bit the bullet and had the car battery replaced. It was on its last legs and even during the hot spell the engine stop/start rarely cut in. .

A often neglected prep just done my sister's it was 10 years old but the drop test / load test showed it was well past it's best least I got a new one at cost via work

There was a time when you could pop to Halfords, get a new battery, stick it in, job done. Ha..
Its a stop/start engine. The battery has a BMS. The BMS talks to the Engine Management System. The EMS in turn talks to the smart alternator. So they fit the battery, then check its talking to the EMS. Then they run the engine so that they can get the smart alternater charging profile. Then they have to remap the EMS to take into account the charging profile and the fact thats its a new battery. BMS has a different profiel when new rather than old, as the EMS "learns" how to charge the battery over time.... All this so that the engine can cut out for 10 seconds when you come to a set of lights...
Time to fit new battery - 4 hours.

Welcome to my world


Also battery needs to be bench charged prior to fitting then leaving an hour once charged to dissipate surface charge ideally


Then into the cars diagnostic system to be told it's got a new battery....

Some need fitting and leaving an hour with the car locked (Peugeot) the diagnostic tablet tells you what to do step by step ..

Fortunately mine is leave the battery off 30 mins and the BMS then boots up with the new battery in its self learn mode ...

Then there EFB, AGM flat plate to AGM spiral some brand new cars use lithium £££ and if youve got the Little battery behind the glove box on most new cars with the SOS button ( think small sla alarm battery ) so in the event of a bad smash and the car battery gets mullered the SOS ""mobile phone"" system still works

Then try doing rear brake pads on the electric handbrake systems


Jump starting a modern car is like playing Russian roulette with some of the sensitive electronics too

[GeraldTheBonzai]

Whilst I like the car (good old mondeo), this nonsense really makes be think about changing it for something simpler. Don't need electronic handbrake, keyless entry, keyless ignition etc. Also, the GPS is well out of date. Asked how much it would cost to update it... £220. That's the Ford price, because they use their software and kit. Technically, you can do it yourself, but if the flash fails it screws up Sync 3 and it's back to Ford...

Anyway, rant over. Winter is coming...

[Frnc]

Checked both solar motion lights above the back door last night. Both working. One came on as soon as I opened the door, and the other when I waved my hand. They point in different directions.

Have more or less learned the ideal boiler flow (temperature), thermostat settings, trv settings etc for different times of the year now. Starting with 56° boiler, thermostat set to 17.5° first thing, then 17 til early/mid evening. Winter default is 61° and 18°. I also use sparingly a 700W electric radiator to top my room up, mainly in milder weather.

I have a gas heating budget based on average temperature for the day. It ranges from zero above 12.5° to 80kWh/day at -5°.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Whilst I like the car (good old mondeo), this nonsense really makes be think about changing it for something simpler. Don't need electronic handbrake, keyless entry, keyless ignition etc. Also, the GPS is well out of date. Asked how much it would cost to update it... £220. That's the Ford price, because they use their software and kit. Technically, you can do it yourself, but if the flash fails it screws up Sync 3 and it's back to Ford...

Anyway, rant over. Winter is coming...

I really do not get electric parking brakes total over complexity and nothing but grief when it goes Pete tong. Standard ford rear disc mechanical parking brake caliper circa £50 one with electric parking brake £250+ .. that and changing the pads got to put the big battery charger / support pack on..then plug in the magic computer tell it to wind the calipers back then whilst all is still turned on (turn ignition off the rear calipers wind on it battery drips low) the perking brake hence the funky battery charger)) turns a 20 minute a side job into a epic quest try and do it the manual way and modern cars throw a tantrum with the hill / auto hold as the calipers loose calibration and systems do not work as Intended

[Frnc]

Forecast for October is warmer than average. You can get a very good overview by going to Accuweather Monthly, and then scrolling past the calendar to the graph. It shows all the days' forecasts (max and min) plus a line for the average temp for the max and min. So you can see at a glance how many days are warmer or colder than normal. This might help you know things like whether you'll need the central heating on. I'm going to play it by ear, but there is no chance of me putting it on before Oct 14th, as it's going to be several degrees above normal. Whereas November starts off a bit cold, and ends warm.

When I do put it on, I'm going to try lower thermostat settings. Also I have the boiler down to 56°. These are just initial settings for early to mid autumn.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Been slowly tickling away at winter preps

Lads now got a down coat and winter ski jacket plus staplolettes and a pair of winter snow boots....

I treated myself to a snukpak jacket for £5 charity shop bargain £95 ISH retail like new...


Plus some army softy trousers ..

Got some more packs of supermarket firewood for the outdoor oven. Just need chopping to length and re bagging..


Got my car sorted over the weekend screenwash boosted with winter mix..

Battery charged on a decent smart pwm charger door rubbers siliconed glass treated with rain repellent.. engine bay treated with spray and a bit of a look over .. know the antifreeze is good I replaced it over summer when it was warm tyre pressures to check next weekend

[Frnc]

Checked both outside solar motion lights over back door.

Put C/H on Auto at thermostat, and turned it back to Off next day! Will put back on in a few days - next three are mild. C/H came on yesterday morning for half an hour before I turned it off. It only heated my room about 0.3 or 0.4°, but used 4.3 kWh. Thermostat was on 17.5. This is not efficient when I only want my bedroom a bit warmer.

Been using 700W Dimplex electric radiator in my room, using 10 minute countdown on Tapo plug. Thermostat turns it off after about 7 or 8 minutes, but the Tapo makes it stay off. It's set on Auto Off setting, not timer, so all I have to do is one tap on my phone to turn it on and start the countdown. Each time uses 0.12 kWh, costs 3p, and heats room about 0.3-0.4°. This works out about 9 x cheaper that putting the C/H on for half an hour in current conditions, and heats my room about the same amount. But obviously in winter I'll mostly be using the C/H.

Still using Tog 1.5 duvet. Got the 3 out ready.

Reviewed autumn bike wear. Bought an extra pair of 3/4 length padded shorts, as I only had one. These are sold as summer shorts, but I wouldn't wear them above 13°C. Ok down to about 10. Below that I'll go back to normal shorts, but with Ron Hills (tracky bottoms with narrow ankles) on top.