Superduner

I just visited my local Lidl (Villefranche, France) and the bars were there for 39.99€. They fit really well.

Quite often the "protrusions" around the base of the battery are only clipped on and can easily be removed.

I find that 2 empty cans and a bit of string works well.

And this is their answer to my question asking if it's ok to recon AGM batteries seeing as the manual for my Ctek says (or implies) that it isn't. So now it's 😞 again. "Yes, it is very much true. Still. Recond program is developed for flooded batteries (including EFB), to mix/balance the flooded acid inside. Recond can be used to treat an already stratified battery, or to prevent severe stratification. As a preventive treatment, we recommend once or twice a year, depending on battery characteristics and usage. AGM or GEL batteries are not flooded, and therefore does not suffer from stratification. Reconditioning an AGM battery will not cause any harm what so ever but the benefits will not be measurable or noticeable – unlike its use on flooded / standard batteries, where performance and acid density are improved and can be measured. For GEL batteries, recond can be harmful, if used often, because using too high voltage can dry the gel inside the battery and weaken the battery instead of empowering it. NOTE: When you choose Recond program, you should note that Recond program always starts with a normal battery charging program. Then, after battery has reached fully charged, Recond treatment itself is implemented. Depending of charger model and battery size, Recond step lasts from ½ to 4 hours, on top of the charging time. When charger turns to green light, the program is completed. I will explain here more about the topic: So, Recond is made for remixing flooded acid inside the battery– hence, stratified batteries. What is stratification? Stratification is when the acid inside the battery gets layered. As long as the acid and the water of the electrolyte in the battery are well mixed, the battery works as it should. But if the acid and water separate into layers, the battery just cannot be charged anymore regarding the parts that are layered, not by the alternator, nor by a charger. So, acid that gets layered inside a battery causes loss of capacity. WHY does the batteries get stratified? Stratification can happen if the alternator charging voltage is too low or the charging time is insufficient (due to short drives for instance, or a lot of parallel loads during drive). Or if a battery is deeply discharged and unused for a period. Different batteries suffer more or less of stratification, depending of the battery type and qualifications. Why is stratification a problem? A stratified battery cannot store voltage as well as a healthy battery, and behaves as a smaller battery than it is. When conventionally charged - by the charger or the alternator- only the parts that still are ok, will be charged. So, a battery seems to be fully charged – but can be emptied by one start attempt. Stratification also promotes corrosion on the upper half of the plates and sulphation problems at the bottom. Why does recond help? Recond causes a controlled gassing that remixes the acid and equalizes the acid balance and through that the battery capacity is reclaimed and battery efficiency is restored, partially or almost all of it, depending how severe the problem is. Just one more thing: Do not mix Stratification with Sulphation problems! Sulphation affects all kind of lead/acid batteries AND every CTEK charging program starts with a desulphation step, so you do not have to worry about that!! Hope this was helpful Best regards, CTEK SUPPORT TEAM " And I guess that they would know!

The manual for my MSX 7 which is about 10 years old says that the recon programme is for wet and ca/ca batteries. Hmmm...I'll drop them an email.

If it does not say AGM, then it isn't one. AFAIK, you can't use a Ctek reconditioning charge on an AGM battery although I would be happy to be proved wrong!

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For sure the Grom is "a bit finicky" at times (but I don't have any of the issues that McSchmoopy has). My wife is used to me spending a couple of minutes on every trip checking for updates both for the system and the apps. Either that or I park where I can get wifi from the house and spend time in the car on its weekly battery top up. At the moment it's working ok, touch wood, but Sygic is not. So I'm waiting for a Sygic upgrade to fix those issues. Music is ok, and so is Hybrid Assistant.

I was watching the last episode of LoD last night and said exactly that to my wife. It's pretty inconceivable that a senior police officer would have made that mistake consistently over a long period of time. Just one of the plot holes.... Maybe I have a faulty one, or maybe, as I've said before, the RX400H tends to run with a lowish base charge in normal use. I'll be interested to see how you get on with it - and for sure it's way more convenient to use regularly.

No, it's stuff like the speed warning not kicking in until you are going 10kph over the current limit (instead of 4), and sharp bend warnings hardly ever showing - and if they do, it's when you are half way round the corner in question. Sometimes there is no compass or direction shown in the top right corner Even though the map is moving and the position updating, I have a constant message saying "getting position". That's a new one today. There was another update today to get the advance routing window to appear in the top left corner.

There are loads for sale out there that do just that

My nav app of choice used to be Sygic (and may yet be again) but after the latest "update", it's not a happy bunny. A lot of functionality has been (I hope temporarily) mislaid. I was a beta tester, but none of my comments on the beta releases were ever acted on. Sorry for hijacking......

It doesn't take much of a drop in battery charge for the traffic light to turn red, in my experience. Definitely (or definately for LoD fans) not to be relied on - far better to use a permanent battery monitor as referenced above.

As I said, I don't know anything about the workings of Apple stuff, but on the Android you go to the contact (on the phone) and then select "share". It then gives you an option of using bluetooth to send it, to the car in this case. Maybe iPhones have something similar?

You might be lucky with recovery mode on a good battery charger (Ctek being one). Leave it on for a couple of days and repeat if necessary

Glad to help!

I put this one in: Amazon.fr : Bosch S4021 Batterie de Voiture 45A/h-330A I've also fitted a battery monitor: Amazon.fr : TONWON Testeur de Batterie, 12V Bluetooth Automobile Charge Testeur de Batterie Analyseur Numérique Mal Pile Outil de Test which really has helped me to work out what's going on under the bonnet. Can't recommend it enough as a diagnostic tool. When I get some time, I'll post up my findings on the whole battery issue, but basically, the Toyota recommendation of an hours running a week (in park, stationary) is only just enough to maintain the minimum acceptable charge. To get a "full" charge, you would need at least a 5 hour run in the car - or a session on a good battery charger once a week. My Ctek took 5 hours to charge a new Bosch from the "one hour car charge" level to full. It took 8 days to go down from a "car charge" to 12v. So maybe 2 weeks from a full "charger" charge, if that makes sense. Note - the car was absolutely fine starting at this battery level. If anyone is interested, I'll post the voltage graphs over 8 days of non use. It is clear to me though that you have to use the car an awful lot to maintain anything like the full rated charge, and in winter, with lights and so on, it may not even be possible.

If it's like my 2007 (and I use an Android phone), you have to transfer every contact individually from the phone. Android won't do it en masse

Alas, not in French Lidl, according to the website.

Actually I've found Grom help (based in Texas) to be pretty good. They have recently sorted out a gps problem that several users were experiencing. Firmware and software upgrades happen fairly regularly. I use the Agama skin, which I think helps the user experience a lot.

Ignition on, open window with the door control and continue to hold the button down for a couple of seconds after it's fully open. Then close it and hold the button up for a couple of seconds after it's closed. Voila...hopefully! Normally caused by disconnecting the battery.

Yes, it just drops out the back of the light unit after taking out the screw.

I didn't have to access anything other than the back of the actual audio/display "boxes" when I installed my Vline. The only fiddly bit was feeding the wires to the Vline unit in the glovebox.

In France?

The reason for the momentary button would be so I don't accidentally leave it on. I'm not sure how the car and the NOCO would behave if they were left connected.