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        General >> Problems >> battery drain
        
(Message started by: smudgefood on Jun 18^th, 2006, 9:06pm)

Title: battery drain
Post by smudgefood on Jun 18^th, 2006, 9:06pm

have had problems with battery draining on and off for a while now. Has just started again I drive home from work and go back to the car afater 1 - 1.1/2 hours and it will not start completely dead. Will do this for a few days and then be o.k. for up to 6 - 8 week or even longer and then start all over again. Have new battery but it did not make any difference so now I alwayscarry a spare charged battery with me. any suggestions.

Title: Re: battery drain
Post by Snoopy on Jun 19^th, 2006, 7:25am

Get the alternator checked out, they can go open circuit and drain current when the engine is NOT running, Worth checking out with a meter on the battery leads to see what sort of current drain you have. But the alternator is the place I would be looking first.

Title: Re: battery drain
Post by Spannerdemon on Jun 19^th, 2006, 8:42am

These 'drain' problems are a pain to find. Had the same thing on my last car, a Volvo 940 GLE Turbo. Almost every time we left it for more than about 4 hours, it went flat. Brand new battery, like yours, didn't cure the problem. Neither did a brand new alternator.

In desperation, and after about six weeks of this, I took it to an auto-electrician, and he spent 2 hours checking the car out. He was honest enough to say that he couldn't find anything wrong (Allens Auto-Electrics of Brixham), but since that day it never did it again, so whatever he didn't do.....it worked!!
If you are ever in the Torquay area and need an Auto Electrician, Mr Allen is THE BEST auto-electrician. An old guy, and what he doesn't know about Auto Electrics isn't worth knowing. I've dealt with him for years, and as proved here, he's HONEST.

Try this site, which just might be helpful, and also check ALL your battery connections for cleanliness, and tightness. Check down near the starter, and the earth points. Also check the cables to the solenoid on your starter. It's a Land Rover site, but same principle.

http://www.landroverclub.net/Club/HTML/Electrics_battery_drain.htm

Hope you find it. :)

Title: Re: battery drain
Post by Octavian_P on Jun 19^th, 2006, 8:44am

Also it's worth checking if anny of the puddle, kerb and footwels lights remain on, also check the gloveboxes, it has a switch that fails and the light remains on. Measure the drawn current of the car with a mili-amp-metre it shoud have a maximumum of 200mA when stationary (stand-by)

Title: Re: battery drain
Post by sector-9 on Jun 19^th, 2006, 11:00pm

Have you checked that the 'battery' warning light works on the dash? If it doesn't come on then the alternator won't start generating as it needs the bulb to be present and working to complete the circuit!

Darren

P.S.

What engine is it? If it's the diesel then it could be the glowplug relay is staying on (they take around 50-60A total so will flatten a fully charged battery in a few hours)

Title: Re: battery drain
Post by mr._floppy on Jun 20^th, 2006, 7:14pm

Same trouble ( or similar ), after a fortnight in a airport car park the old girl refused to start, after a jump start all was OK.

I'm hoping it's just the long toothedness of the battery rather than the dreaded " battery draining when the ignition is off Syndrome ".

I got a new battery anyway (£60 from Halfords ).