hotwire

You'll be farting against thunder trying to do that with the wheel on. Use a power bar to release the wheel nuts. I find this frequently on AA callouts when some muppet has over tightened the wheel nuts - yesterday infact

^^^^ Are you using a spanner/ratchet? If so - try a rattle gun

F##ken tenants you trusted that contaminate the house with Meth. A##holes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

^^^^ Ha - forgot my password a few years ago & haven't bothered the easy task of recovering it. Not missing anything either!

You say the other w/lights don't light up either - you mean none go with the key on?

Disconnect the alternator & recheck.

Also, if its urgent - take it to a garage to get it professionally checked, sounds like you are stabbing in the dark somewhat.

sh*t doesn't even have a factory Hi Stop lamp!

And then I grew up...

^^^^ Different receptacles are probably pre & f/l versions which don't interchange

The airbag circuit doesn't go through the slip ring, it is connected via the clock spring. This quite likely the fault but needs checking to confirm. Best done by someone familiar with the system.

Thanks Ron for the explanation. Sorry I mistook that you were referring to "my response". Having reread - i see the way you were referring to your "pedantic" explanation of correcting the actual operation of a clutch. An often misunderstood operation of.

Thanks Ron! Yes i could have been more specific. I did mean (and probably should have specified) flush the system, that said - in bleeding a clutch pretty much flushes it anyway. I was merely giving that as a likely starting point, not giving ALL the variables of the cause. Also yes the clutch works the other way around - but that is a technicality is not really relevant to the question.

Try bleeding it first

And look at the radio in it....

Ok, .2 is way too high, even .08 is getting up there. Should be up to about .05 & constant at that. That said - even .2 won't flatten the battery in a couple of days from a charged state. You did say though - it was at 12.1 from memory. this is well down on charge to start with so will hasten the discharge. Try disconnecting the FSR (regardless of you saying the system works ok) and recheck. Then, if that is ok, try disconnecting the phone. Does your car have a monitor or the radio in the dash? Had a S Class Benz at work a few years ago that drove me in sane trying to find a random intermittent current draw that was flattening the same size battery every few weeks. Could never catch it out. After pulling half the car apart, and disconnecting the seat modules (previous Benz experience of current draw) I walked past it in the workshop one afternoon & noticed the dash cluster illuminated & stayed on for about 5 mins then turned off again. Finally traced it to the keyless start module in the boot that had gone awol. Owner wasn't using it anyway so just disconnected the module.

Bugger! I wasn't suspicious of the previous battery - just throwing out the variables / possibilities. What is the current draw when the car is asleep?

New battery at 12.1v - that's only partly charged. 11.8v is technically flat & 12.8v is fully charged.

Yes meant to substantiate the temp/boot thing, & yes 20deg celcius is the ideal operating temp for a battery. That said there is more to it with the Navara thing - batteries don't get overly hot in them - certainly not to the 60 deg 18 month level. I suspect it is a "different" Varta as far as quality. The modern batteries composition is designed to more handle higher under bonnet temperatures & for the most part they do, batteries are still usually getting to the 6 yr old mark before dying/cooking.

"MOST" cars alternators will charge at 14v at under 1000 rpm with lights on. i see this every day of the week. More load will obviously drop the voltage though at this rpm though. 450 - 500 rpm is very low though - i certainly would expect voltage to drop with lights on

Should be way over 12.6v @ 2000rpm. 12.8 is fully charged static, it ought to be charging @ 14v + on these cars. Was a different story years ago with the old Lucas ACR's where they were rated to 13.8v max & they were less efficient at idle. 500 rpm is very low for idle speed - i would expect it up around the 700 mark. Once excited, an alternator will generally stay in at idle & cover lights, not at 500 rpm though. Try holding about 700 -50 rpm & recheck charging voltage.

A tired battery will make the starter labour due to its inability to supply the current required (even when fully charged) a good battery though will supply the required current down to a lower state of charge level. Just to complicate - batteries can self discharge too. Not a common scenario & usually on older batteries.

Charger wont necessarily reveal a crook battery. Also bear in mind that the battery will start the car from anywhere from full charge down to about 1/4 charge ish - a fine line between start/no start. If the car starts - you have no idea of the actual state of charge of the battery at that time, equally if just off the charger - it could still be "flat" but start on the surface charge. Just like a jump starting a car with a flat battery, leave it running for 10 mins & the car will start on its own battery - on the surface charge the alternator has just poked into it. The battery is still "flat" though. Leave the car sitting for an hour - the surface charge has dissapated & the car wont start again.

Batteries can fail off the shelf - seen it a few times over the years. The amount of people I see at work that say it cant be the battery - it's only 2 yrs old. Guess what! Most BMW OE batteries (Varta) last 10 yrs +, some less. Have replaced a few Varta batteries in 2 - 3 yr old Navara utes, so they aren't all built the same.

6 hrs is nowhere near enough time to charge a battery from 2v. It will only be partly charged with a surface voltage sitting on top. Charge it for at east 24hrs & have it tested. 12.8v is fully charged but only after surface voltage has disappeared. Fan isn't always heard when the FSR is faulty They generally take over 20mins to go to sleep 11.2v overnight could be highlighting a problem, but also. the voltage would have dropped after the car sat again & the battery only partially charged. These, like many cars nowadays are a pain to check current draw - to eliminate anything you have to wait each time for it to go to sleep Start by charging the battery properly first. Ign switch - yes they fail BUT wont cause current drain, not that i have ever seen anyway. Edit. Battery likely to still be ok - flattening a good battery wont kill it. Sometimes old ones refuse to respond. That said - it could still be faulty