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        General >> Problems >> BATTERY GOING FLAT!
        
(Message started by: REDRDLC on Jun 10^th, 2008, 7:40pm)

Title: BATTERY GOING FLAT!
Post by REDRDLC on Jun 10^th, 2008, 7:40pm

Hi all.
I seem to have a problem somewhere in my cossie electrical system.Went to start the car after work a few days ago and the battery was dead flat.Took the battery home,charged it up and refitted to car and it started fine.Tried it again next morning and flat as ever again.Took battery home again and charged it up, left it off for a couple of days to see if it was broken but it worked just fine.Turned ignition off but dash lights stayed on??Since tried leaving battery connected again and it also went flat again.
No lights etc have been left on etc...but i did have to disconnect the bonnet alarm trip switch a few days before it started playing up as the alarm started going off when it felt like it .
Could both problems be linked?
Any advice would be gratefully received as the car is stuck at work 6 miles away and i havent a clue what to look at next.
Regards,
Paul.

Title: Re: BATTERY GOING FLAT!
Post by Simmo on Jun 11^th, 2008, 7:11am

Have you got a battery cover fitted ? Is there any sign of damp in the passenger footwell or around the base of the auxillary (battery side) fusebox?. Damp in the footwell means water has leaked through the large grommet carrrying the loom through the bulkhead to the CCM behind the glovebox. :)

Title: Re: BATTERY GOING FLAT!
Post by REDRDLC on Jun 11^th, 2008, 8:02am

Thanks for the reply,
Yes it has a battery cover fitted,i will have to check the footwell for dampness tomorrow as i am off work today and the car is stuck at work 6 miles away :(

Title: Re: BATTERY GOING FLAT!
Post by Jonnycab on Jun 11^th, 2008, 10:11am

Have you read this page ?.....not sure, but it might help :)

http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/electsystemtest.htm

Title: Re: BATTERY GOING FLAT!
Post by REDRDLC on Jun 11^th, 2008, 7:41pm

Hi JC,

Title: Re: BATTERY GOING FLAT!
Post by REDRDLC on Jun 11^th, 2008, 7:42pm

Hi JC,
Just read the page and printed it all out so i will look into it this week.Thanks for the info.
Paul.

Title: Re: BATTERY GOING FLAT!
Post by juan on Jun 20^th, 2008, 2:27pm

Hello,
I´m new on this site and my first time on a forum so please be patient with me.
I´m dutch and living in spain for 10 years.
Got a scorpio sinds 5 months and have the same problem with starting the car.
The battery just goes out in a few hours or days.

Sometimes it´s just oke and starts.
My last solucion was to make a cable from the battery to an inside shalter in the car so i can take the main power of the battery wenn i not use the car.
But then i found this site on the internet and maby someone can help me.

In the garage they don´t want to look at the car, they say it will be beter to sell and that´s it.
But how do i sell the car in this way, besides i would like to keep it if it works.

Thank´s, hope to hear something.
Juan.

Title: Re: BATTERY GOING FLAT!
Post by REDRDLC on Jun 20^th, 2008, 6:18pm

I have since discovered that when i turn the ingition right off the battery, and when the oil pressures dropped,the oil light stay on.If i take the key out the wipers still work but the indicators just make a screeching sound?Just like the ignition is still turned on just a bit.
I took the ignition barrel out and used a screwdriver to turn the innerds on and off and had the same result most of the time.At the moment the dash lights are off so i shall see if it has flattened the battery again in the morning.
Is there anything in the steering column part that can be making the electrical connections stay on a bit when the ignition is turned off??
At the moment i dont know what else to try.

Title: Re: BATTERY GOING FLAT!
Post by ChrisF on Jun 20^th, 2008, 7:15pm

You could try tracing the wiring back from the ignition switch to a plug then separating it, this will isolate switch thus taking it out of the equation, it is possible that it is making a partial contact even when it is turned off. By taking the barrel out you still leave the switch in there.

But I think your problem lies in a damp fuse box.

Title: Re: BATTERY GOING FLAT!
Post by Snoopy on Jun 21^st, 2008, 7:32am

Check the ashtray .. It can short out at the back and give all sorts of problems because the cigar lighter is LIVE even with the ignition OFF>

Title: Re: BATTERY GOING FLAT!
Post by peteHull on Jun 21^st, 2008, 10:40am

Once you have charged the battery up at home, put it on the car and then drive the car home. ;) this way it will make working on it a lot easier. ;D

Or if you're like me and spend more time at work... take the battery charger to work.... ;D

Have you checked the power saver relay and the boot/ glovebox lights etc.

hth
Pete

Title: Re: BATTERY GOING FLAT!
Post by juan on Jun 21^st, 2008, 11:50am

Checked all the fuses with the ignition off, half of all them still have power on it. A short circuit is posible everywhere. Could be a wire, sensor, plug or electric part. If you toutch the cables they
fall a part. It´s a shame that a brand like Ford made a car with this quality of electrics.

Title: Re: BATTERY GOING FLAT!
Post by REDRDLC on Jun 21^st, 2008, 5:25pm

Thanks for all the replies guys it gives me more things to look in to.
Unfortunately no room for car at home as we have room for 3 and have 3(my Estima,the missus Micra and the mother in laws Daewoo),cant put one on the lawn again as the missus done her nut last time i had a "spare" car.
I was going to put the Cossie up for sale just before it started to play up,at this rate it will be going on here in bits!

Title: Re: BATTERY GOING FLAT!
Post by Cosray - The Hague - Holland on Jul 2^nd, 2008, 8:30pm

Hi all, my suggestion may sound a tad silly but in my case it was the cause of all misery: the glovecompartment lightswitch...
I had comparable symptoms, alarm going off at midnight, instrumement cluster needles flicking at contact... all due to overnight powerloss of a not-new battery due to the glove compartment lightswitch, satying ON.
Check the dash/footwell area at night for light emission - make sure the switch is well depressed the lid; I just added 3 layers of black tape to increase pressure on the pin - worked!
Good luck,
Ray

Title: Re: BATTERY GOING FLAT!
Post by hopper on Jul 10^th, 2008, 6:59pm

Hi Paul,

I had a very similar preoblem recently and it was the altenator which needed replacing and also the battery. A 2nd hand 100amp altenator was £20 and a new Battery was £75. Because the battery was not charging properly and needed continual charging and thus was also damaged over time. Check the charge that the altenator is giving by holding in the mile reset button when the car is running. If you hold it in for 10sec or so it will show a diagnostics screen on the milometer display there are 12 settings or so the altenator charging at 14.2v should be the 6th or so option.

Regards Hopper