CitroJim's AX, C3 Picasso, Cycling and Running Tales

[CitroJim]

You'll have to swap to a "Finish Collection Colander"

That is a very good plan Matt

[Huskyxantia]

Whats the small Lidi charger look like Jim ? How do you hook it up and how long for ? , reason for asking my 308cc has been off road since last November and I do start it every other week but id like something on it to keep the battery topped up but not over the top as to damage the thing

[MattBLancs]

Of the ( *cough* five! ) cars err, "resting" here that aren't on the road, all have their batteries disconnected. The parasitic drain of the vehicle's electrics soon flatten the battery, but left disconnected the volt drop over months is pretty low. I give each a trickle charge maybe every 3 months (i.e when I remember!) and they are not very flat at that point.

[mickthemaverick]

Whats the small Lidi charger look like Jim ? How do you hook it up and how long for ? , reason for asking my 308cc has been off road since last November and I do start it every other week but id like something on it to keep the battery topped up but not over the top as to damage the thing

I don't know which one Jim uses but this is like the one I used to have a pair of for my motorbikes at the workshop. I used one of them on SWMBO's car when she was in New Zealand for six weeks and the battery was in tip top condition when she got home!. Plugs straight into the mains socket and clips on the battery.

[Huskyxantia]

Nice one thanks Mick

[CitroJim]

Yes, it just a cheap little (supposedly regulated) maintenance trickle charger Husky... It does the job it seems...

If I need to get a battery charged quickly I have the tool for that. It'll happily put out 20A all day long but conversely it'll also maintenance float a battery too... It's an old professional device designed for use in unattended hilltop VHF/UHF radio relay stations where the mains supply could be subject to frequent interruptions.

The parasitic drain of the vehicle's electrics soon flatten the battery, but left disconnected the volt drop over months is pretty low.

The only drain on Bluebell is her old-school analogue clock Matt. Normally the car can go months with no issues. Even the radio does not dream as it has no memory to maintain. Again, like the clock, it's proper old-school analogue!

Double-trouble my the car yesterday

And I had a success last evening - no screams when I jabbed Steph

[MattBLancs]

Ah, true enough Jim, I overlooked the simplicity of the AXs, I guess the approximate decade or so explains all the all the electronic load that mine all put on their batteries

[CitroJim]

Ah, true enough Jim, I overlooked the simplicity of the AXs, I guess the approximate decade or so explains all the all the electronic load that mine all put on their batteries

Yes, on moderns, it's quite significant. A couple of weeks is par for the course on a certain Vauxhall Corset I'm familiar with and I'd not trust my posh van far past that.

Back in the day, a well-specce'd Xantia used to consume a steady 50mA when asleep...

[CitroJim]

Whilst looking for something else entirely yesterday, I found a few scruffy old loose negatives in an envelope...

I found quite a treasure-trove of photos of my girls when they were little.

Amongst them was this one - of my old AX11TGE Salsa - the car that started it all for me

Going by my girls running around it, the photo was taken some time in 1997 or 1998.

The car was 8 or 9 years old by then and shows I was never very good at washing them and keeping them clean... The car that is, not my girls

Note the aerial base on the rear window for my mobile phone!

[MattBLancs]

The car was 8 or 9 years old by then and shows I was never very good at washing them and keeping them clean... The car that is, not my girls

Nice image Jim - if it were my too lads they'd be trying their best to persuade me to let them get it washed!

[Huskyxantia]

My 207 needs a good wash

[Skull]

Whilst looking for something else entirely yesterday, I found a few scruffy old loose negatives in an envelope...

I found quite a treasure-trove of photos of my girls when they were little.

My old 3-door 1.4D Echo had a towbar as well ...I only used it once in 7 years to pull my motorbike on a borrowed bike trailer ...hardly made any difference despite the 58 bhp it had

[CitroJim]

My old 3-door 1.4D Echo had a towbar as well ...I only used it once in 7 years to pull my motorbike on a borrowed bike trailer ...hardly made any difference despite the 58 bhp it had

That towbar got a lot of use towing a little box trailer Gary Funny was when we had a big caravan and we had a G reg Sierra for a short while to tow it... The Sierra was a terrible car... A big disappointment but I digress... One day someone saw the AX (also on a G Reg) and caravan together with both plates partially obscured and expressed amazement such a small car could tow such a big caravan

It was a Sprite Major and here it is with Robyn posing by the door in 1995

The car was 8 or 9 years old by then and shows I was never very good at washing them and keeping them clean... The car that is, not my girls

Nice image Jim - if it were my too lads they'd be trying their best to persuade me to let them get it washed!

You're lucky Matt - never have my girls ever offered to clean any of my cars

[daviemck2006]

I've had my boxer van 6 months now, done just over 3000 miles and I've never washed it yet! I've cleaned the inside twice as I can't abide sitting in a dirty vehicle. Come to think of it I've owned my skoda coming on for 3 years, a record for me, and 20000 miles and never hand washed it either. It got a ceramic coating on it just after I bought it and since then just needed the jet wash and plain water. No chemicals or sponges near it. Fairly keeps the paintwork in good condition.

[myglaren]

I've had the current Mazda for almost a year and have washed it once; quite recently, as it had a thick coat of pigeon s**t on it.
Have cleaned the inside a couple of times.