Hi.  

 

Is it safe to turn on the ignition, and leave it on awhile, without starting the engine?

 

With old cars, which had contact points, it was not safe because it was possible to burn out the ignition coil.

 

What about modern cars ?

 

I ask because I need to spend time exploring the car menus in the 'Infotainment'  system, and I might be gone for a long time !!

 

Thanks all

 

K

Yes it is safe... but take not to drain the battery

Tapatalk

i cant see it being an issue, no different to the car using stop/start

Hi.  

 

Is it safe to turn on the ignition, and leave it on awhile, without starting the engine?

 

With old cars, which had contact points, it was not safe because it was possible to burn out the ignition coil.

 

What about modern cars ?

 

I ask because I need to spend time exploring the car menus in the 'Infotainment'  system, and I might be gone for a long time !!

 

Thanks all

 

K

No need to turn on the ignition - just press the "on" switch on the radio. It will power up for an hour before automatically turning itself off

Hope this helps...........Tony

Yes it turns on the radio but that is all.  I'm pretty sure that you don't get access to all the configuration items.

It is completely safe.

 

No need to worry about the battery unless you plan on spending the whole weekend there.

The battery management will switch-off the infotainment system after 1-hour or if the battery is low anyway.

 

As Gerrycan says, you need the ignition to be on to access all of the settings.

It is completely safe.

 

No need to worry about the battery unless you plan on spending the whole weekend there.

.

It's a new car, of course he'll spend the whole weekend there

It is now worth worrying about the battery, especially if you have the non-LED DRL's.

 

The 21W DRL's will (over time of course) hammer the battery if left too long.

It is completely safe.

No need to worry about the battery unless you plan on spending the whole weekend there.

The battery management will switch-off the infotainment system after 1-hour or if the battery is low anyway.

As Gerrycan says, you need the ignition to be on to access all of the settings.

Good info and very true.

Many cars these days monitor battery levels for example when infotainment system is operational and will turn it off if battery drain is high etc

About ten years back I was doing some chauffering. One client preferred me using his own BMW 730d, rather than the company's Merc S. One evening I'd dropped him and guests off at a restaurant, to park up and then collect them a couple of hours later. The BMW had a TV built in the display in the dash, about a 6 inch screen, so I turned it on and settled to watch an episode of Frost. Forty minutes later the TV was interrupted by a series of loud bongs. I nearly wet myself, and then saw the dash was warning of a low battery. I had a sudden vision of trying to push-start two tons of BMW. Stupid thought, and impossible, I know, but that's what adrenalin does.

 

 

Fortunately just starting the engine and running around the block (with the TV off!) sorted it.

 

Client laughed like a drain.

Seen quite a few people catching 40 winks in laybys, ignition and radio on, but also DRL's, sometimes even dipped headlights.

 

No doubt a few annoyed sales reps when waking up and trying to restart the engine!

It is now worth worrying about the battery, especially if you have the non-LED DRL's.

 

The 21W DRL's will (over time of course) hammer the battery if left too long.

21W each, 42W total = 3.5A

Yes, it'll hurt the battery a bit butif you start with a fully charged battery you'll have a minimum of 8 hours until it's half discharged so no biggie unless you're playing with the settings for a whole day!

The 21W DRL's will (over time of course) hammer the battery if left too long.

The H15 bulbs in the halogen lights are 15 W for the DRLs. Of course the effect on the battery will be much the same.

21W each, 42W total = 3.5A

Yes, it'll hurt the battery a bit butif you start with a fully charged battery you'll have a minimum of 8 hours until it's half discharged so no biggie unless you're playing with the settings for a whole day!

 

I hear you, but that is assuming a brand new fully charged battery in tip top condition.

 

Skoda are renowned for fitting low spec batteries, lots of complaints with MkII Octavia's, Yeti's and Superb's.

 

I remember threads on the Octavia where people were listening to the radio whilst hoovering the car, even after the interior lights had automatically turned off they would quickly get the low battery 'bong' through the speakers.

 

Hopefully things have improved, but one thing is for sure, modern cars are harder on their batteries than ever before. I'm fairly sure I wouldn't get 8 hours of life out of our battery with the ignition and DRL's on. Hopefully the MkIII is better.