Thought for the day :)

[varesecrazy]

After 30 years of FIAT ownership..

I wonder if a 2022 FIAT will have sidelights that go off as you take out the ignition key..?

We lost the little button to reverse the barrel @15 years ago

 

[StevenRB45]

Never owned a Fiat without it..

I assume canbus made it surplus, it was always funny when former Toyota owners would think it was an electrical fault (they have/had a similar that was required to release the key).

One of those things that's a nice idea that you never use..similar to those parking lights where you flick the indicator stalk after the engine is off to leave the lights on one side of the car.

 

[DaveMcT]

All of my lights go off when I turn off the ignition.

 

[varesecrazy]

All of my lights go off when I turn off the ignition.

Is yours a 2022 'vauxhall'?

 

[DaveMcT]

Why would anyone want their car to behave like a 1970s Austin or Vauxhaul where you could leave the lights on by mistake? It's not like today's starter batteries are "that" much better.

 

[varesecrazy]

My sisters 70's vauxhall had a similar ignition barrel..

If you didnt press the button.. you didnt get your key back

She improvised..

Took the others keys off the ring and locked the doors.. with the key still in the ignition

 

[StevenRB45]

Why would anyone want their car to behave like a 1970s Austin or Vauxhaul where you could leave the lights on by mistake? It's not like today's starter batteries are "that" much better.

My recollection of it was you had to press a button next to the ignition barrel while rotating it backwards past the off position. So if you didn't press the button lights went off.

I'd be surprised if a modern car will allow you to leave the lights on for long enough to kill the battery. All the stalks do is tell the bcm what you've requested now there's no direct circuit.

On the Citroën if the battery is low it slowly restricts what you can use while parked up engine off...until that answer is nothing except restart the engine.

I suppose the lights probably will as a safety item though never tested it. However given the parking function uses 1 or 2 L.E.D. units and 1 or 2 5w bulbs it would be several hours if not a few days or so before the battery was drained. It's 70AH capacity..you can run 2 5 watt bulbs off it for more than 70 hours (draw of just under half an amp), obviously depends on the LED DRL draw but in general don't leave your lights on for 3 days and it'll be reet. The Chevette batteries I can find online are pretty much half the size at 38ah.

But you have to switch the lights back on after switching the car off to get them to come on or press the indicator for side specific ones.

The relevance of this..you can bet Fiat will be using the same BCM in the next few years.

 

[DaveMcT]

Clearly modern cars manage the batteries and the power. But it was always silly that older cars allowed you to leave the lights on. All because the manufacturers put the lights on a big fancy switch rather than using the steering stalk switches with relays. Ford Mondeos were doing that in the mid 1990s. The switch pull position for rear fogs caused drivers to run around dazzling the street because they'd left it pulled out by mistake.

Saying all that - I'm pretty sure the 1986 Citroen BX did switch off everything with the ignition. But it was a while ago so I may well be wrong.

 

[portland_bill]

Never had a Fiat that didn't put the lights off when the ignition was turned off.
If you required parking lights with the 500s we had with BSM, 2009/10, you had to turn the lights off, then on with teh ignition off. That gave sidelights. I think the Panda may do something similar, but in 10 years, have never had to park with lights on.

Edit: Just looked in the handbook.
"PARKING LIGHTS fig. 51/a
With the ignition key at STOP or removed,
turn lever to position 6. The instrument
panel warning light 3 will
come on together with side/taillights and
number plate light.
Move the lever upwards a to turn the
right-hand sidelights on only; move it
downwards bto turn the left-hand ones
on. In both cases, warning light 3will
not turn on."

 

[chris3234]

Never had a Fiat that didn't put the lights off when the ignition was turned off.
If you required parking lights with the 500s we had with BSM, 2009/10, you had to turn the lights off, then on with teh ignition off. That gave sidelights. I think the Panda may do something similar, but in 10 years, have never had to park with lights on.

Edit: Just looked in the handbook.
"PARKING LIGHTS fig. 51/a
With the ignition key at STOP or removed,
turn lever to position 6. The instrument
panel warning light 3 will
come on together with side/taillights and
number plate light.
Move the lever upwards a to turn the
right-hand sidelights on only; move it
downwards bto turn the left-hand ones
on. In both cases, warning light 3will
not turn on."

My 17 plate Tipo does just the same

 

[varesecrazy]

Looking at 'future cars'

Nothing Vaux-PSA really appeals

I saw an item the other day that made me look a little deeper

The LADA niva - boxy 4x4..
Is about to get a reboot

Now under the same management as Dacia it is lined up for a production push later this year.

It looks interesting enough.. and no 'electrification'..as yet

 

[g8rpi]

A lot of German cars put parking lights (half side lights) if you leave the indictor stalk up or down. Which side is on depends if indicator stlk is up or down.

Robert G8RPI.

 

[varesecrazy]

A lot of German cars put parking lights (half side lights) if you leave the indictor stalk up or down. Which side is on depends if indicator stlk is up or down.

Robert G8RPI.

Nigel says the Panda manual tells the same story..

I suppose is it all BOSCH kit

 

[mowermender70]

hi varesecrazy had 3 lada nivas a hussar and 2 cossacks would go any ware any condition,was very good moving mobile homes out of tight corners .also round steep fields with trailer full of fencing posts and rolls of wire my last one ended up on borth beach lugging boats into the water. just got a 3year old panda i wont be buying another lada

 

[portland_bill]

Nigel says the Panda manual tells the same story..

I suppose is it all BOSCH kit

It has been a legislated requirement in Germany for most of my working life. In the eighties, manufacurers started to put it in all European market cars, rather than make different specs, VW and Opel/Vauxhall had it very early, Ford followed, but it seems only more recently that others have followed suit.

This is why you see cars parked with the left side and tail lamps on, when the driver has not cancelled the indicator when exiting the vehicle. When they restart, the left indicator will then flash, and if they don't check, they move away indicating left.

 

[StevenRB45]

Looking at 'future cars'

Nothing Vaux-PSA really appeals

I saw an item the other day that made me look a little deeper

The LADA niva - boxy 4x4..
Is about to get a reboot

Now under the same management as Dacia it is lined up for a production push later this year.

It looks interesting enough.. and no 'electrification'..as yet

I've got to the point now where I think cheapest possible way of doing "the job" is the best option. Obviously you define the job...so not necessarily Dacia, but with the sheer cost cutting going on at all levels of the market its not like you get better quality for your money.

None of it is particularly exciting, even the hot hatchbacks have no excitement factor for me as the day I have a 300bhp car is either the day I end up getting a driving ban or the day I travel just as fast as I would have in 100bhp car and wonder why the hell I paid the extra.

Lack of interesting engineering...lack of originality..50% of all cars you see being based on one of about 4 different chassis and having one of maybe 6 different engines.

This is why you see cars parked with the left side and tail lamps on, when the driver has not cancelled the indicator when exiting the vehicle. When they restart, the left indicator will then flash, and if they don't check, they move away indicating left.

Not in all cases...

The PSA stuff is literally idiot proofed these days...it's almost like they expect the people who buy them to be clueless.

So if you did that indicator goes off, side light doesn't come on unless you flick the stalk back to centre and the indicator wouldn't come on when you started the engine unless you centred the stalk and pressed it again.

Same with wipers and foglights, regardless of what position you leave the stalk in when you switch the car on they are off until switched on.

 

[portland_bill]

Not in all cases...

The PSA stuff is literally idiot proofed these days...it's almost like they expect the people who buy them to be clueless.

So if you did that indicator goes off, side light doesn't come on unless you flick the stalk back to centre and the indicator wouldn't come on when you started the engine unless you centred the stalk and pressed it again.

Same with wipers and foglights, regardless of what position you leave the stalk in when you switch the car on they are off until switched on.

So they'll be the ones WITHOUT the left sidelight on then.

 

[StevenRB45]

So they'll be the ones WITHOUT the left sidelight on then.

Nah it's just when you see a PSA car indicating left while turning right...they've actually consciously done that