Arse.

[denny]

My car appears to have eaten all the electricity in the battery while it was parked up for the last week. I assume this means that at some point someone set the alarm off, and I've totally failed to notice because it was parked bloody miles away (I hate this area).

Anyway, it now occurs to me that not only do I no longer appear to own any jump leads, but also I don't appear to know very many people who drive (I can think of exactly three, after careful thought - the rest of you are clearly a bunch of bloody hippies). The combination means that the only way I can see to get the car going again is to pay the RAC something like 40 quid extra to extend my cover to 'home' as well as 'roadside recovery' so that they'll come and jump-start it for me. Which seems a bit crap really.

Update: battery currently on charge in the hallway. The gauges on the charger don't seem to suggest that it's as flat as I'd expect, but then they have been known to be fairly inaccurate in the past.

Comments

[easternpromise.livejournal.com]

I thought you said it was parked miles away - can't you blag it? :)

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Not quite :)

[ev1ldonut.livejournal.com]

A mains charger for the battery will cost you rather less than that if you can get one and leave it overnight?

Or buy some jump leads and try and blag a jump start of a random? That would work around here, not so sure in London though...

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Hrm. I do have a battery charger, forgot about that. Wonder where it is? :)

Not sure about the idea of removing the battery and wandering up the road with it. I suppose the car will still be locked though.

[kelemvor.livejournal.com]

A car without a battery (so far as I understand these things) is essentially a very big paperweight, albeit with a very high scrap value. How many car thieves take a battery with them on the off-chance that they'll see a car in need of one? :P
(Also, think of the workout that you'd get carrying the battery there and back again...)

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

A car without a battery (so far as I understand these things) is essentially a very big paperweight, albeit with a very high scrap value.

In the case of mine, it's also a box containing some rather valuable hifi equipment, currently not protected by an alarm to prevent the windows being broken or the locks screwdrivered open.

How many car thieves take a battery with them on the off-chance that they'll see a car in need of one? :P

Car thieves who've deliberatedly set off the alarm the night before to wear the battery down, so it won't go off on the night that they steal the car.

"A paranoid is simply somebody who is in possession of all the facts" ;)

[kelemvor.livejournal.com]

Oops. Forgot about that aspect of it. Possibly an advantage of cycling - the music goes with me... Also, I clearly don't have the required mentality to be a car thief!
Would it be worth, I don't know, getting another battery, charging it and then performing a transplant?

[easternpromise.livejournal.com]

*snort* I _love_ that icon!

[kelemvor.livejournal.com]

Take!
I made it with an image from a meme that dennyd posted a while back, and inspiration from a well-written piece of fanfic made entirely of Wrong (http://www.pendorwright.com/other/html/A_Night_On_Thundera.html) that was circulated by E-mail back in my Unit days.

[djlongfella.livejournal.com]

Dude, I've seen solar powered " trikle " chargers that sit on your dash and charge the battery durring the day ( if required ) from sunlight, argos kinda thing, about 15 quid...that way if it is theives setting off alarm, then it will charge again that day, just plug into fag lighter or hardwire...

something like this?

[missyasmina.livejournal.com]

http://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-50022-Battery-Trickle-Charger/dp/B0006JO0TC/ref=sr_1_2/002-5619693-3611237?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1177718325&sr=1-2


http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Charger-Charging-Reconditioning-Maintenance/dp/B000MFS6MM/ref=sr_1_6/002-5619693-3611237?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1177718006&sr=1-6

Re: something like this?

[djlongfella.livejournal.com]

Yup, that's the thingy

[original-hell.livejournal.com]

*hug*

[tribeca-tom.livejournal.com]

Mr Denny,

I've added you mainly as what you've got to say is often entertaining. Hope this is OK with you.

S.

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Of course - people are always welcome to read my public ramblings :)

[tribeca-tom.livejournal.com]

Ta muchly. And you're always welcome to read the melodramatic, quasi-hysterical cyber-graffiti on my blog.

[zetetyc.livejournal.com]

if you're not gonna be watching the car anyhow, just disconnect one of hte battery leads when you're gonna be leaving it for a while. you save yourself a hike with teh car. and the battery won't drain.

or you can get one of those solar powered charge things that was linked above

or an emergency jump start device, which i'm sure is also available from an autoparts store.