2 hours ago, Alex-W said:

Apparently if it goes so flat it won't operate the central locking it's a bit of an issue btw as you then can't open the passenger door, which in turn means your can't pull the bonnet lever and get under the bonnet to charge the battery.

If that happens you can slide a cover off the rear of the passenger door handle which will reveal an old fashioned lock barrel, then you open the door using the key.

10 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

If that happens you can slide a cover off the rear of the passenger door handle which will reveal an old fashioned lock barrel, then you open the door using the key.

Oh, perfect.

 

I read a post a while ago that said you could only unlock manually on the drivers side and the lever was supposed to be drivers side as it's designed as a LHD car.

If there's a key hole both sides then great.  Can't say I'd actually checked.

I’ve left my car unused for over a month, no probs. What I do notice is that after a week or so of non-use, the Kessy system stops working, some kind of power saving I guess. This just means you have to press the button on the keyfob, rather than just grasping the door handle.

On 29/03/2020 at 23:34, Alex-W said:

If there's a key hole both sides then great.  Can't say I'd actually checked.

 

I doubt that. Cars with remote control un/locking have been equipped with a single "manual" key cylinder in the driver's door for at least a decade (not claiming that applies to all makes and models).  To remove the cache, pull the doorhandle, slide the key into the slot underneath the cache, and flip the thing upwards. It really beats me why they couldn't just put a normal key hole instead - the cache doesn't look like it's designed to be waterproof or something...

 

 

Our Fabia has been sitting unused for maybe 3 weeks now. No frills, just the Kessy system that we'd have done without if given the choice.

 

Needed to do a supermarket run this morning, got the "Key not detected, present it in front of the XXXX, see the manual". Car talks French, so XXXX is actually "repère", which means something like marker. Of course there's nothing that screams "hold your key in front of this" and *maybe* I'd find the explanation in the manual by reading it very slowly front to back.

Tried the synchro-after-fob-battery-replacement trick, no luck (this requires exposing the hidden key cylinder). Can open the car with that though seems to reacts sluggishly and unlocking doesn't make a sound (which could be normal?) Wife's car... wife now on said supermarket run with my own Octy, with our current lockdown situation I coulnd't just take it and do the run myself, or even drive her ... which annoys the heck out of me because she isn't used to it and forgot her phone).

 

Contact off the battery reads 12.11V across the terminals, which I think is quite normal.

 

I finally figured out you have to put the actual key against/across the start/stop button after hitting that button, and then it will be detected (with a bit of delay, which could also be normal). After that the car started without hesitation, confirming my assessment of the battery.

 

I notice something that looks like a LED blinker on the fob. It doesn't light, should it? The symptoms suggest a dead fob battery, but it reads 2.9V for a rated 3V, which seems OK too. I have no idea where she put her other key so can't check with that one...

Another one of those little details our governments didn't think about before locking us up, or designing their wonderful justification declaration ("attestation de déplacement dérogatoire") here in France. I could put the dog in the car and then claim to be taking her out .... and drive up and down the street for an hour staying within a 1km radius of my front door...

 

Seriously, for those of us who can't just plug the car in, how long would you have to let the engine idle in order to refresh the battery charge?