Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

My truck wouldn't start this afternoon after driving fine this morning, doing the click click thing. Stuck it on the charger for a couple of hours and it fired up OK. Battery giving 12.5V after charging,but then with engine running and supposedly charging, only 11.5V. Battery light not illuminated on the dashboard.

I assume my alternator is fucked, anything else I should be considering / investigating?

Yeah, in the car because of previous battery drama.

How big is your solar panel?

Between A4 and A3 I'd say. Maybe foolscap.

https://www.kuranda.co.uk/20w-solar-panel-sfp020ma-solar-technology

Is the truck obd2?

See what the voltage the battery is.

Worthwhile to check if there is a drain?

No, it's an 05 Isuzu, basically tractor technology

Hmm, interesting. That could almost sit in the sunroof.

Yeah I did all this last time. I'll check the battery coz it now seems fucked.

I can't remember what the drain was but it's probably in this thread. The last time I was worried it was high drain but that was just the security system arming and stabilising. Measuring it after 10s the drain numbers didn't seem too high. But how long in this cold-ass country can batteries sit with even a little bit of drain? My old car had zero tech in it so probably had very little drain and it was in a country that stays in the postitives re: degC.

It was 2 years ago. https://www.lfgss.com/comments/13342359/

This is weird, an Astra with 7 miles on the clock and a load of bites taken out of it for display purposes

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1985-Vauxhall-Astra-mk2-1-3-s-unused-motor-show-car-7-miles-only-museum-showroom/282038080518?_trkparms=aid%3D333200%26algo%3DCOMP.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20180409081753%26meid%3Decbce4de7dca4cb589402fb9cd213230%26pid%3D100008%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D142895798436%26itm%3D282038080518&_trksid=p2047675.c100008.m2219

Reminds me of this:

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Was the battery guaranteed?

Some alarms do seem to drain alot but then we want security. Modern cars can Have two batteries.

There is an MG like that the motor history museum.

You mean like a manufacturer guarantee? Dunno, could look when I check voltages.

Battery is guaranteed by the shop for a few years. Did you keep the receipt? My trick is to stick the receipt on the battery.

Newwr shape Honda jazz. Magic seats are magic, boot is bigger than most cars in the class size abive
Skoda roomster if you want all the boot space but the front end of a small car.

had a great little five day grand tour in the little car over the new year. kent coast and the high weald. little car behaved beautifully and has been a joy over the nearly a year of owning.

though had problem with nearside window and had it booked in to get sorted on Monday. and within half mile of the garage first major fail. all sorted already with the big thanks to R Prioetti. New driveshaft installed. that should last longer than I will.

my girlfriend has her driving test on Friday. so the next big bill will be putting her on the insurance.

but worth every penny

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Car insurance, what a joke.

Admiral sent me a renewal and they were very proud to tell me that they'd upped my premium from 800/year to 1100...

So I went back on money supermarket and the cheapest quote was over 1000, no idea why!

So I went on confused.com and my cheapest quote was 474 with Churchill! Completely different set of companies offering quotes than on MSM.

I am very confused.com #dadjoke

Can't believe it's been a year already! It's good to hear you're enjoying it.

It's very easy, I have discovered, to pootle around in the Merc using maybe 10% of the power - especially if you have three bikes on the roof. No bikes on the roof yesterday and merging onto a quiet motorway - it's brutal, proper pin you back in your seat hard brutal. I had forgotten how fast this car is.

Admiral have just sent me my renewal, from £447 to £699, I haven’t had chance to shop around yet but hoping I can make it more sensible

Well it's only been 11 months. but you know that feeling you have about something when you can't remember how you lived before it.

it's been ace.

and don't get me started on insurance. with admiral too. but worth shopping round and then sharing your lowest quote with them as they do have some room to negotiate and will aim to match. mine went down by three quid. but that's cos of earning a year's ncb