Door buzzer / battery

[mrzwei]

Got back home today and on opening the drivers door got a contiuous buzz, key in or out. Went to have another look and couldn't operate the alarm de-activate with the key, no flashing lights on the car, nothing. opened the door manually with the key, put in the ignition and nothing again, not even clicking. It jump started ok and ran ok and the alarm set. I've been meaning to get a new battery for some time but have never had one so bad that the car has no electrics ie you can't even de-activate the alarm. The buzz on opening the door worries me as I'm thinking there is a big current drain somewhere. On reflection, should have posted this in electrical.

[roger]

[Mod:Moved to Electrical]

As you say sounds like a huge drain to go from perfect to empty in one easy step. Perhaps a battery/alternator check is the first job before spending cash on a battery.

[mrzwei]

I feel so stupid! The side lights were on, thus the buzz when you open the door and thus the flat battery. It's very old so will get a new one anyway   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  .

[cclarke99]

If the battery was only flattened for a short time, i.e. you only left the car for a few hours, then it will not have been badly damaged and will recover to it's original condition. That being said, if the battery is old it's probably a good idea to replace it as a precaution

[mrzwei]

Yeah, it seems to charge up quickly and can then go flat quickly which I seem to remember means its had it. The side lights on made it go flat in about 15 minutes. If the car didn't start first time then I think there would be a problem. 50 quid it is then   s:D s:D  . It's quite interesting to see what else happens with modern cars with a flat battery; my rev counter was stuck at 3000 and the four way flashers came on. I think it's down to the low voltages (or is it amps) required with modern sensor systems or something like that. Much as I love the technology, thank god the key still unlocks the door manually!