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        General >> Problems >> sometimes battery sucked low very fast
        
(Message started by: achim.buenting on Dec 29^th, 2004, 9:42pm)

Title: sometimes battery sucked low very fast
Post by achim.buenting on Dec 29^th, 2004, 9:42pm

Hi there, i just bought an 96 tdi and have a mysterious problem: Sometimes the battery is discharged after only half an hour if the engine isn´t running. Measuring the electric power does not bring any result (all systems are quite like they have to be). But once I catched the electric system by sucking my battery to death. It was the glowing system. Now I got some questions: Is it possible that the glowing relay starts by itself? Wich relay is steering the glowing relay? In Germany it´s called: "PCM Modulrelais" where is this relais and how is it functuring? any experiances with this problem? If the reason is to find in the fusebox, how can i verify this? Greetings from Achim/ Germany

Title: Re: sometimes battery sucked low very fast
Post by Geoff_W on Dec 29^th, 2004, 10:35pm

Hi Achim and welcome.

Sounds like a new problem on the forum, you will hopefully get some ideas from one of our other diesel owners shortly. However if that does not work, consider joining the mailing list, the tab after the forum on the front page. That will allow you to post your problem out to a broader group including a number of our people who seem to have special knowledge of the electrics side of things.

You talk about your glow system, presumably the preheat glow plugs that diesels use at start up.

It could be that you have a relay problem.

Have a look at http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/fuseboxes.htm

I note that there is a glow plug relay shown amongst the Auxilliary sections, if you can get to it easily it may be worth trying to test your idea by either removing the Glow Plug fuse shown as IV in the Battery side Fusebox or by unplugging the relay black R32 and leaving the vehicle over night, replacing it and seeing if the power has dropped.

Are you sure that the problem is not just linked to a weak battery and the cold weather that we are having?

Good luck and please let us know how you solve your problem.

Geoff

Title: Re: sometimes battery sucked low very fast
Post by achim.buenting on Dec 30^th, 2004, 8:18pm

Hi Geoff, many thanks for your answer. The Problem is definetely not generated by a week battery or the cold weather, cause it happens just sometimes and then very fast. After half an hour the battery is absolutely empty. As I told I discovered once, that the Problem is laying in the glow plug system. Cause I was measuring the amperes during the time where anybody sucked very strong at the battery. I disconnected the centrall fusebox whith no result, than i disconnected all fuses in the fusebox of the battery side exept the big ones (no. I, II, III and IV) no result. But than I disconnected the Relay R32 and the horror was over. Which means that the measuring of Amperes was going down from over 10 Amperes to 0.09 Amperes. (My Measuring Instrument scale is going just to 10 Amperes, so i can say that it was over 10 Amperes). Now I got some more little Problems which make me feel as if the problem is to search in the (probably) corrodated fusebox. The warning light of water in the watercooler is sometimes burning (whith no real reason) and today the ABS warning light was burning. And once the hazard flasher was out of functure. If I compare these Problems whith the fusebox layout I can Imagine where the corrosion is eating my valuable copperlines in my fusebox. Oh no! Not again. In my ancient Scorpio I had to let change both fuseboxes which was no cheap fun.
I think I´ll try it whith this wonder spray which was posted in this forum. Any better Ideas?

Greetings from Germany, Achim

Title: Re: sometimes battery sucked low very fast
Post by Geoff_W on Dec 30^th, 2004, 11:19pm

Achim,

I guess you will have seen the link on the front page of the website, but do you have a battery cover? If not you need to get one because we have found that fusebox by the battery needs the extra protection that the cover brings.

From what you say, it does sound like water has damaged your fuse box, you can try to dry it out under cover using a hairdryer then one by one removing and replacing fuses and relays and spraying with a water displacement spray such as WD40. But if you are getting regular and varied electrical faults for items protected by that box you may have to look at a replacement box.

Pooley who posted the miracle post also has a diesel Scorpio with similar symptoms, so it may be worth a try.

http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=Problems;action=display;num=1102987793

Let us know how things go for you.

Good Luck ;)

Geoff

Title: Re: sometimes battery sucked low very fast
Post by achim.buenting on Dec 31^st, 2004, 3:06pm

Hi Geoff,

thanks for your answer, yes I got a battery cover. Meanwhile I found a lokal dealer who sells this anti-corosion-spray. Next week I´ll try it.

Wich you all a happy new year.

Achim

Title: Re: sometimes battery sucked low very fast
Post by achim.buenting on Feb 11^th, 2005, 9:32pm

the story is going on. meanwhile i made a switch to the glow system, which makes it possible to disconnect the connection between pcm modulrelais and the glowrelais. furthermore i have now a controllamp in the car. the lamp is on, when the glowing system is glowing. and what shall i say? it is sometimes glowing (for a second) if the engine is still running for a long time.
so far so good.
now there is a new problem. no electrical energy is reaching the glowing relais (where should be always energy, even if ignition is not on). where is it gone? the 50 ampere fuse is ok and has got 12 Volts on both connectors (feets).
in germany it was 7 degrees celsius minus these days. how to start the car? I directly connected the glowsparks with the battery plus, jumped in the car and started.
greetings achim

Title: Re: sometimes battery sucked low very fast
Post by achim.buenting on Feb 23^rd, 2005, 5:46pm

next chapter:
Now I got a new cable to feed the glow relais. It´s 6 squaremillimeter thick and I built in this circle a new fuse
My dealer just had a 60 ampere- one, so i took this.
and what is now? at two times yet the glow relais didnt stop to glow. even not if i switch it of whith my new switch. i can see the system glowing cause my selfbuilt controllamp shows me the malefunction. First solution? removing the glow relais from its connector. I will get this glowsystem to work normal. I will. you will see. i will let you know, when i´m successfull or if the glow system has won.
achim

Title: Re: sometimes battery sucked low very fast
Post by ren on Feb 23^rd, 2005, 6:20pm

achim
Good luck

Ren