tinca Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 Hi guys My forester is 3 yrs old with low mileage, so you would think the Battery is still in good nick..but as I haven't used the car for 4 wks cos' of the 'virus' there wasn't enough power in the Battery to start it. obviously I need to charge the Battery , but disconnecting the Battery will no doubt upset the radio code..?? I cant find any code for the battery in my car info only a code for the security. I have phoned the garage but obviously no one available.... would appreciate any suggestions.. would it be straight forward to charge the battery in the car ?..if so is there anything I should be aware of. cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 Just charge in car and if need pull Battery for short period time (such as replacement) make a diy keep alive tool out of a pp3 Battery or 12v power tool pack and some elec cable and 2 croc clips . Rapid drain is known issue on newer cars, ideally want look at a solar topup charger, Battery life will be seriously reduced due to prolonged discharge state so best avoided as much as possible for convenience and your wallet and environmental waste . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebP10 Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 As Mr B said, just charge it in situ. We've had a similar issue with our XV so I fed the charger leads up through the front of the wheel arch so I could shut the bonnet and lock the car (Important: check the croc-clips are clear the bonnet before closing!) As for the radio, if you have the standard STARLINK touch-screen unit there isn't a code. I was "experimenting" with the current drain and disconnected the Battery and the radio was fine, including the preset stations. I don't know about older radios but if the car is three years old I would expect it to be the STARLINK unit. The only things that needed resetting after re-connecting the Battery were the time, date and auto driver's window function (very straightforward and in the manual; takes about 10 seconds.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinca Posted April 24, 2020 Author Share Posted April 24, 2020 Many thanks Mr B & SebP10 your input is much appreciated.. I would rather disconnect the Battery from the car and trickle charge it , but was wary of upsetting the electrics.... SebP10 you mentioned the auto drivers window function, can you elaborate please ..I don't see it in my owners manual. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebP10 Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 If the Battery is disconnected the one-touch function on the driver's window is deactivated. The instructions to reactivate it are towards the end of section 2 in the manual, but it's very straightforward: Close the door Turn on the ignition Open the window to half-way Close the window but keep the switch pulled up for 1 second after it is fully closed Push the switch right down and it's done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newn Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 Amazing!! It's been months since I last signed in to the Club and did so a few seconds ago because I had a problem for which I was seeking a solution. My Battery ran flat and since replacement the one touch window control on the driver's side does not work. The very first post I found was this one! I'm not usually this lucky. Thanks Seb and everyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 the Battery in my MY06 Forester went completely dead after only a couple of weeks - new one was fitted but that has drained after only a few weeks. I bought a charger (RAC 'approved') but dismayed to see the first line of the user guide 'Battery must be removed from the car before charging'. I don't want to take the Battery out ever time - have I bought the wrong sort of charger or are the user instructions just over-cautious ? By the way, the only thing I had to reset after a flat Battery was the radio tuning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy831 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 I have been having a similar problem with my petrol 68 plate forester. There is clearly a current drain when the car is stood and the monitors within the car electronics are still active, added to that the inactivity due to lockdown I was finding that whatever running time I had was insufficient to put back what the starting and the minor current drain was taking out. This became apparent when I noticed stop start had stopped working presumably this was the cars ecu protecting the Battery from over draining it. To cut a long story short my solution during these strange times is to hook up a Battery conditioner (Oxford Oximiser) for 3-4 hours once a week which seems to have cured the problem and stop start is back working again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Coles Posted October 27, 2023 Share Posted October 27, 2023 I’ve not driven my 15 plate Forester for 2 weeks due to weather in NE Scotland and illness. A Battery less than a year old is dead 🤦🏻♀️🙄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 Buy an older Forester and save the planet, your sanity and your money . New vehicles are total garbage engineered to empty your bank account . The old SF And SG foresters from 98 to 2005 are far better component quality and engineering logic, you can leave then unused for 2 months plus and they'll start right up and Battery of sensible quality level could last 4 to 7 years . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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