Is there any way to disable the bleeping bleep? Wife likes to be able to carry on listening to the stereo whilst I am filling up - but has to suffer the constant bleep which is presumably reminding me I've left the car with the key docked. Freelander 2 SD4 HSE - Ipanema Sand - MD co-pilot - Springer Spaniel in boot - Swift Challenger on the back!

Undock the keys and press the radio on button Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Hi NPinks. If I'm correct, you only need to remove the keyfob thingie and everything still works? So, if I'm camping and I would like the local radio on for weather forecasts (eg: to see if a cyclone is coming!) whilst I set up camp I don't have to suffer the intrusive bleep bleep????

In warm to hot climates like we endure down under, keeping the doors open is often the only way to keep the inside temperatures reasonable whilst parked so having the doors open and the radio on is quite common.
Does this also apply to the 12volt cig adaptor(s)? We often have 12v fridges plugged in to keep the beer cold while we set up camp. There are both advantages and dangers of the 12V adapators working whilst parked (eg: draining the battery!).
The whole point about a Freelander 2 is getting out of the cities into the open air where "bleep bleeping" is a pain in the proverbial. My MY11 ship hasn't docked yet (due April) but I'd consider sacrificing my deposit if the bleep bleep bleep thing can't be 'controlled'. It may seem extreme but my current 4WD has a bleep bleep problem that is near impossible to overcome without repercussions.
I hope you can clarify?

rear cig lighter is on all the time front one is with ignition, boot one not sure - only fitted on newer models.

radio works without the key but will turn off every hour or so to protect the battery At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

With the key undocked and the window open, press the radio button and the radio works - no beeping.
There is a time limit at which point the radio turns off - 30 min?, just press the button again.

In the centre consul the forward cig lighter is on the ignition, the rear cig lighter is permenantly fed.
No standard boot power socket for the 2008 model so I can't help on that score. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

Many thanks Chicken George and Andy131. It sounds like there has been some thought that's gone into the electronics. 30 mins for the radio is fair in most circumstances, saving the battery thereafter is better. Having the rear 12V socket on all the time is great if you are travelling & only stopping briefly (eg: toilet breaks, anxiety attacks, refuelling) but it might be dangerous for longer stops (shopping, meals, sleeps etc) if there's a 12v fridge plugged in and it's hot outside.
I currently use a 2nd battery to avoid potential starter-battery probs and it might pay to use the same system in the FL2.

To overcome possible problems in my current rig, I have a 600W inverter plugged into a rear 12V Aux plug. The Inverter powers the 240v battery charger which is connected to the second (sealed) battery. The 2nd battery can be removed whenever necessary - eg: normal day to day driving. However, when on longer trips or camping expeditions, the charger (via inverter) "charges" the battery only when the vehicle is driving but the 2nd battery runs the fridge at all times; including when the car is stopped. If the rear 12V plug in the FL2 is always on, the load would soon drain the main battery when I stop so your advice will ensure I only use the front connection (which turns off).
Many thanks.
PS: I always carry a solar panel so worst-case means a wait until daylight before a battery can be re-charged enough to get the vehicle going again.
PSS: Very happy to be able to avoid bleep bleep!

I really don't understand the 12->220 and then 220->12 setup for charging the second battery...
Just plug the second battery in the cigarete lighter socket which is ON only when the engine is working!
At the cigarete lighter terminals you have the 13.8V to 14.4V voltage of the car's generator, right?
The second battery will be charged together with the main battery by the car generator.
When the car is OFF, the cigarete lighter socket -- and therefore the second battery and its loads -- will be separated/cut off from the rest of the car's electronics by the cigarete lighter relay.

that wont charge it fully alex or could overcharge it and fill the car with hydrogen  At work
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"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

Sealed battery, he said, remember?
As for the fully charge.... for sure it will work for the job, like the main battery....
And he could fully charge it from time to time, in house.

The battery in socket setup is like -- in fact it is -- you have two batteries in parallel, charged by the same generator. You can't overcharge one over another, because the generator won't allow a voltage over 14.4V...

Last edited by alex_pescaru on 6th Feb 2011 5:34 pm. Edited 1 time in total

I know he said sealed but its still a point to be aware of , hydrogen and sparks get on a little too well At work
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"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

Don't worry...
The VW Touareg has the secondary battery bellow the driver's seat.
And the main one below the luggage compartment.
So both inside.
And they are charged by the same car's generator.
If it is like you said, it means that you sit on a hidrogen bomb...

Hello again chaps. It does sound a bit strange, but it is a very simple, inexpensive and flexible 2nd battery set-up.
Alex - you can't just plug a 120amp hour battery into the cigarette lighter socket. It would try to "equalise" with the starter battery and would most likely cause a fire by melting the wires. I will therefore upgrade, or at least check the wiring to the front socket to ensure it handles loads in the vicinity of 20amps.
The inverter converts 12v into 240v. My home 240v 7-stage battery charger is then plugged into the inverter and it charges the battery at approx 14.4volts (min req'd to charge most deep-cycle batteries commonly used for camping etc). NB: some other batteries such as Calcium, need different charge settings again!

This system is an ALTERNATIVE to the often expensive "Duel Battery Charging systems" you may have heard of. They are hard wired into the vehicle; normally when there is enough room in the engine bay to fit a 2nd battery.

The reason I used an inverter & 240v charger is that I already had both. Being the same brand, I contacted the manufacturer & asked if it were feasible to run such a setup. They said they didn't know but would check it in the lab and get back to me - which they did 2 hours later. Brilliant. Not long after I started using this set-up, a number of companies launched 12v-12v battery chargers, thus avoiding the need for an inverter. Expensive deep cycle batteries require intelligent multi-stage chargers to yield optimum performance. Another advantage is that there is no voltage drop if I decide to run a 240v extension cord through the back window into my camper trailer where the battery charger and battery may be sitting

Sorry Chicken Goerge. Forgot to mention that the sealed batteries don't emit any gasses and never require any topping up. I was sceptical at first and had spent 2 years on a yacht constantly worrying about explosions due to gases from lead-aci batteries, but these "sealed" ones make life much easier. If you were unlucky enought to get a spark, perhaps from something touching both terminals at once, it would merely spark briefly and blow the fuse - but no boom boom freelander 2 ! Best to store it in a battery box so no spark at all.

Ooops... I didn't know that was a 120A battery...
Then, indeed, you can't just plug in into a cigarete lighter because of the current draw.
The most discharged one, therefore the one with lower internal resistance, will draw more current.
Still, because of the (in)efficiency of the converters (which sums up), you loose a lot of usefull energy...
For sure the whole setup is no more than 60% efficient. Meaning for a 20A current draw from main battery, no more than 12A reach the secondary battery.

I'm not sure about efficiency in terms of charging the 2nd battery so the beer's cold later that night! It all means didly squat if the beer's warm. I would love to know what it actually costs to have the alternator running a bit longer or working harder whilst you are driving to your destimation. Does it change the fuel economy from 7ltr/100K to 8 or 9 or 7.2???? On the other hand, if you run a stationary FL2 at camp just to charge the battery, it will no doubt be very inefficient and therefore expensive. If you can get something like 12amps thru to the battery whilst driving along, it is doing a great job, even on a 120Ah box. I use the 4Amp solar panel at camp to be "efficient" but the in-car charging system to be "effective" and on rare occasions when the sun doesn't shine or snow covers the solar panel and the battery's running low!
At least it doesn't bleep bleep to let me know it's charging!

One of the benefits of the inverter/charger system is that the inverter can be turned around at camp and plugged into the 2nd battery to run TV's, DVD players, radios etc - thus the flexibility