Home
Hi all, hopefully someone can help. My battery drains when not in use, no alarm on nothing on i can find, this is common problem i belive. Thanks for any help given Keith
5 posters
Battery Drain
keith- Posts : 12
Join date : 2009-06-19
Location : Ramsgate, Kent
phil smeeton- Posts : 2
Join date : 2009-06-13
all i can suggest is to disconnect the battery when not in use, i know this will not be much help but could mean less time recharging.i was having the same problem before she dropped a gasket and would only start after fully recharged plus a jump off another car, so i would also like to hear of any common fault.
mike- Admin
- Posts : 9
Join date : 2009-05-20
battery drain is a very difficult problem to find ,
you can find it using a multi-meter , but you will have to examin each fuse in the fusebox and check if it there is current running or not , onc you find which one has current running when the car is off , then you got the problem !
can you tell if this has happenned after a certain situtaion ? repair ? this would make it much easier !
mike
you can find it using a multi-meter , but you will have to examin each fuse in the fusebox and check if it there is current running or not , onc you find which one has current running when the car is off , then you got the problem !
can you tell if this has happenned after a certain situtaion ? repair ? this would make it much easier !
mike
TonyB- Posts : 71
Join date : 2009-06-22
Age : 65
Location : surrey
how about fitting a kill switch in the posative cable. then its just a case of flipping a switch to isolate the battery.
mine drains very slowly over a couple of weeks, but if i were actualy using the car it would stay fully charged.
mine drains very slowly over a couple of weeks, but if i were actualy using the car it would stay fully charged.
jaybee- Posts : 11
Join date : 2010-10-03
A current drain test isn't that difficult to do but, before testing, check the obvious (boot lamp, interior lamp, under-bonnet lamp, does the radio switch off completely, has the problem started since you fitted an electrical accessory).
You need a multimeter (D.C. amps function) with a fused amps range (usually a few amps). You can test on the higher (usually 10 amps)range, but you will destroy the multimeter if something goes wrong. It may be possible to use a low wattage bulb (e.g. 2 watt front parking lamp bulb) instead of an ammeter. The procedure is as follows:
Remove ignition key, close doors. If the battery is in the boot, remove the boot lamp bulb (or bonnet lamp bulb if the battery is under the bonnet). If they go out on their own, it's not necessary to remove the bulb. Slacken, but do not remove, the battery earth (negative) lead. Wait around ten minutes for all electronic systems to go to sleep.
Set up the multimeter, put the negative probe directly on top of the negative battery post, and the positive probe on the negative battery clamp. Carefully twist and lift the clamp upwards. It is important to maintain the electrical connections whilst carrying out this operation. Use assistance if necessary. Lift the battery clamp far enough for it to clear the metal portion of the probe (i.e. the clamp is now around the plastic insulated portion of the negative probe). Note that if you slip and break the circuit, you have effectively disconnected the battery (you may need to re-code the radio and re-programme the electric windows).
This procedure puts the ammeter in series with the electrical circuit between the battery post and the vehicle battery cable (you can replace the battery clamp and then remove the test probes at any time). Take a reading at the ammeter. A good reading would be around 50mA (milliamps) or 0.050 amps. The lower the figure, the less drain. Anything over around 100mA (0.1 amps) is starting to get excessive.
If drain is excessive,you need to test different circuits. Familiarise yourself (or an assistant) with the fuses. Have the assistant carefully pull individual fuses (it helps to use a proper fuse puller)and re-check current draw each time. Replace the fuse before pulling the next one. Try to stay away from sensitive (electronic) circuits, test them only if all else fails. Pulling maxi-fuses isn't a good test, because they usually protect many individual circuits. If current draw falls significantly when a fuse is pulled, you have found the circuit with the problem.
Testing with a bulb is similar. The excessive current draw will make the bulb light up when put in circuit. The bulb should go out when current draw drops.
Hope this helps!
You need a multimeter (D.C. amps function) with a fused amps range (usually a few amps). You can test on the higher (usually 10 amps)range, but you will destroy the multimeter if something goes wrong. It may be possible to use a low wattage bulb (e.g. 2 watt front parking lamp bulb) instead of an ammeter. The procedure is as follows:
Remove ignition key, close doors. If the battery is in the boot, remove the boot lamp bulb (or bonnet lamp bulb if the battery is under the bonnet). If they go out on their own, it's not necessary to remove the bulb. Slacken, but do not remove, the battery earth (negative) lead. Wait around ten minutes for all electronic systems to go to sleep.
Set up the multimeter, put the negative probe directly on top of the negative battery post, and the positive probe on the negative battery clamp. Carefully twist and lift the clamp upwards. It is important to maintain the electrical connections whilst carrying out this operation. Use assistance if necessary. Lift the battery clamp far enough for it to clear the metal portion of the probe (i.e. the clamp is now around the plastic insulated portion of the negative probe). Note that if you slip and break the circuit, you have effectively disconnected the battery (you may need to re-code the radio and re-programme the electric windows).
This procedure puts the ammeter in series with the electrical circuit between the battery post and the vehicle battery cable (you can replace the battery clamp and then remove the test probes at any time). Take a reading at the ammeter. A good reading would be around 50mA (milliamps) or 0.050 amps. The lower the figure, the less drain. Anything over around 100mA (0.1 amps) is starting to get excessive.
If drain is excessive,you need to test different circuits. Familiarise yourself (or an assistant) with the fuses. Have the assistant carefully pull individual fuses (it helps to use a proper fuse puller)and re-check current draw each time. Replace the fuse before pulling the next one. Try to stay away from sensitive (electronic) circuits, test them only if all else fails. Pulling maxi-fuses isn't a good test, because they usually protect many individual circuits. If current draw falls significantly when a fuse is pulled, you have found the circuit with the problem.
Testing with a bulb is similar. The excessive current draw will make the bulb light up when put in circuit. The bulb should go out when current draw drops.
Hope this helps!
|
|
|