acurod

just saw this on a battery site:

"Another factor that is becoming more important is locking your car. Modern vehicles, especially luxury cars have many computers and accessories still running when the key is removed, they don’t go to “sleep” until the car is locked. So even if you car is in a locked garage it is good practice to lock your car to improve battery life."

Anyone know if this is true for our RL's? Will battery life be extended by locking up every night?

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^i think you're being paranoid or over thinking.

lets do an experiment. its not #scienceSunday yet, but fuck it.
take a multimeter to the battery.
car off, and unlocked. Whats the voltage?
car off and locked. Whats the voltage?

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

If you dont lock your car people will steal your crap.

Ignition off, is ignition off.

getakey

seems odd to me
I'd almost think the opposite as alarm gets powered up when car is locked

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

essentially you are trading one draw for another, I dont have a list but the off cycle powers radio and settings memory as well as the "lock" of the car will power the proximity system for the fob and the alarm.

So, the moral of the story is to keep fresh batteries in your car and dont over analyze

getakey

radio and memory settings will be powered whether car is locked or not, right?
so, alarm and proximity will be additional draw when car is locked

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

yup, thats why I said "off cycle" and "lock"

Just think about it logically, the car remembers everything by FOB sync. (a/c, radio, seat, etc)

Then every time you walk by it with the FOB, whether you get in the car or not, it picks it up.

You go down the driveway to get the mail with the FOB, the car wakes up... the wife gets home from work with FOB 2, and parks next to you, the car wakes up...

oo7spy

The memories are volatile memory that use a small battery to store the data when the car is off. There shouldn't be any draw there.

OP, the bluetooth module will stay on for ~15 min or until an in-progress call is ended after the car is off. However, the draw from bluetooth is chump change for a 550 CCA battery.

Does anyone know if the ambient blue LED ambient light above the console turns off if the car is locked? I know it stays on all the time if not locked.

getakey

I leave my car unlocked in the garage all the time. Just checked and the blue LED is not on. Had the window down so I could check it out without opening the door.

oo7spy

You're in an '06? I am positive mine was on all night, every night. I just can't remember if it was on when it was locked because it was rarely locked in my garage.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

your shit was broke

oo7spy

Depends.

getakey

mine is 05
I'll check it again

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Present tense?

getakey

I confirmed that the blue LEDs go out when car is unlocked. I checked tonight and they went off at the same time the auto headlights went off after exiting the car

we sure are making a big deal out of a couple of little lights

That said, I don't agree with the original quote from the battery site

DanL07RL

Wow, that was entertaining....but not particularly educational. Just sayin'!

oo7spy

Yes, whether my shit was broke or not depends on the design of the system.
Are you sure we are talking about the same LED? I am talking about the tiny little one behind the map light that shines on the cup holder.

musty hustla

I can still hear the nav hdd when I turn the car off. It will also spin up when I open the door and get in the car. It will also power up my ipod connected by USB as well.

oo7spy

I don't think you are talking about an RL. Are you?

getakey

there are 2 blue LEDs in the overhead console on either side of the headrest down button. I just went out to car and got in without my FOB and car was unlocked (obviously). Both lights were out and did NOT come on when I opened the door without the FOB

oo7spy

Hmmm. Do they come on with the car?

getakey

they come on when car is started and then have a delayed time after ignition is turned off until they go out

checked with fob in pocket and open door, they do not come on

oo7spy

Interesting. I wonder if it was one of the those design flaws of the '05 like the auto lights on indicator, if they changed it, or if my shit was indeed broke.

It was something I noticed quite often when the garage was dark. I could always see a blue light on the cup holder/console area.

09RL

Blue LEDs that light the cupholders come on with the headlights. They go off when the headlights time out. I did interior LED swap tonight and noticed this when DIY was taking longer than expected. My headlights were on auto setting, when i turned them off, the blue LEDs went off as well.

knv8

i wonder if this has anything to do with my interstate battery dying after 2 yrs, ill just lock from now on.