What have you done to your DeLorean today?

[Helirich]

After 30 years I found a rubber care product I LOVE. Recently acquired a bottle of this and it is great. Holds up better than any other rubber/vinyl protectant I have used before. I never use tire specific shine products for the mess they cause, dirty wheels, etc...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CRNKGQB...sin_title&th=1

This is 2 weeks of driving:
Attachment 72090

I ordered some of this. It seems to work pretty good. My results are not as good as yours because I live on a dirt road.

[mike123]

4-28-26 Hella mirror relay markup.jpg

My Rydeen Tombo 360 aftermarket backup camera draws something like 25mA with occasional spikes to 100mA while the car is off and it is in "power off" mode. I think this is from the g-force sensor and maybe the proximity sensor, both of which use constant 12V to trigger the 360 camera to record for 30 seconds when the car gets bumped or it detects someone nearby. While I love this feature when parked in public, there's really no need for it in my garage. And after a week without driving, the battery is noticeably drained and I feel like there is a difference in cold starting speed between 12.4V and 12.6V.

A simple cutoff switch would look out of place in the car, and I probably wouldn't remember it. But I have the 8-channel Wings-a-Loft kit and I'm only using 4 right now (Lock, Unlock, Driver Door popper, Passenger Door popper), and when you have a hammer everything looks like a nail.

I found a HELLA 933364027 "bistable relay". The relay has magnets in it and essentially only requires current when it is switching open or closed. Once in a position, the magnets keep it there with no current needed. So the plan is to wire it up so that I can control it with Channels 5 and 6 on the Wings-A-Loft key fob. This doesn't require any additional current other than a half-second of around 100mA to flip the relay on (when I lock the car in public) or off (when I get out of the car in my garage). There is a way to do this a bit more robustly with two additional standard auto relays, but space is at a premium in the relay compartment and this is a one-micro-relay solution that seems to get the job done in bench testing.

Essentially the Wings-a-Loft gives a one-second-duration ground connection when the key fob is pressed. That is enough to make the current from the 12V yellow wire pass through the resistor and pull current through the relay coil to that pin. Grounding the other wire does it for the other pin. So essentially by triggering the ground connection, it momentarily allows a rush of current to energize the relay coil and toggle it to the magnet on the other side. At least that's my understanding!

[Useight]

I gave my DeLorean its first bath. It's been under a car cover 100% of the time that I'm not driving it, so it never gets much of a chance to get dirty. But I wanted to clean it before a photoshoot.

I was looking for a high-quality and very soft sponge to use, but every sponge says, "Do not use on stainless steel". So I didn't go that route. Instead, I used microfiber towels to carefully and slowly wipe with the grain. Took awhile, but the car looks good and now I own a handful of microfiber towels.

[Bitsyncmaster]

13 years on a battery is truly insane

Installed the new battery today. Same WalMart low cost battery ($79). I like the WalMart batteries not only for the low cost but they are sealed (no caps). It's an effort to pull the battery and check acid level. I have it charging so I can get 100 % charge into it. I always find new batteries are not 100% charged. My same 14.50 volt power supply ran over one amp for an hour. Now it's 477 ma. after 4 hours charging. It may take another 12 to 24 hours to see when the charge current stops falling. Most of the time that is around 100 ma.

I could speed that up by charging at 15 volts but car is just sitting there anyway.

[Timeless]

Anyone utilizing a AGM battery? Work well?

[Helirich]

Anyone utilizing a AGM battery? Work well?

Have been for along time.

[dn010]

Anyone utilizing a AGM battery? Work well?

I have been using one as well for a long time, got mine at Sam?s for a good price.

[mike123]

I bought a Legend AGM in the fall from NAPA. During the winter, the car was garaged and I tried to run it every couple of weeks. I probably had a little too much standby draw but by springtime the battery would rest at around 12.45V when pulled out of the car. I got it replaced under warranty (3 yrs) and the new one sits at 12.65V after being disconnected for 36 hours.

I have no idea what is normal or expected for these, but I have noticed that my car seems to start much better at 12.6V than 12.3V. At 12.3, it takes another second or two for the engine to start.

I will plan to use the cutoff switch all the time this winter and see if I can have a healthier battery next spring.

[Timeless]

I bought a Legend AGM in the fall from NAPA. During the winter, the car was garaged and I tried to run it every couple of weeks. I probably had a little too much standby draw but by springtime the battery would rest at around 12.45V when pulled out of the car. I got it replaced under warranty (3 yrs) and the new one sits at 12.65V after being disconnected for 36 hours.

I have no idea what is normal or expected for these, but I have noticed that my car seems to start much better at 12.6V than 12.3V. At 12.3, it takes another second or two for the engine to start.

I will plan to use the cutoff switch all the time this winter and see if I can have a healthier battery next spring.

You ever use a tender? My vehicles all sit on Deltran battery tenders when not in use.

[mike123]

You ever use a tender? My vehicles all sit on Deltran battery tenders when not in use.

Never looked into it until your mention here. It does seem like there's some benefit to it, maybe even moreso with an AGM battery. Thanks for the recommendation!