M005 Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 About 6 weeks ago I went out to the 90 and the battery was dead after it had stood unused for several days. RAC could find no noticable drain on the battery and the alternator was charging fine. Went and got a brand new battery; heavy duty one from Halfrauds. 'Kin thing has gone again....sat unused for 6 days....just waiting for RAC again.... I have a flashing LED (suggested security... ) , the CB is plugged in (but obviously not on) and the radio has a feed to maintain presets (again not on & no noticable drain) Any ideas? If it keeps happening might look into a dual battery system, whereby I can switch between batteries if one is dead. But don't really want to have to spend loads of £££'s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 If you do go down the dual battery set up in the future, you won't have to spend to spend loads of £££'s if you go for Big Si's solution..X-Eng X-Charge Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diesel_jim Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 The only other thing to check is the alternator itself. sometimes the diode packs go a bit sad and start shorting to earth. Get yerself an amp-meter (up to, umm, about 10a i'd have thought, maybe slightly more) and wire it in series with the +ve terminal of your battery, and see what it being drawn from the battery when the vehicle is sat with engine and ignition off (don't try and start the engine or the meter will melt!) then, disconnect the big wire from the back of the alternator. see if the current draw drops. if not, then the drain is somewhere else, in which case, try removing the fuses one at a time on various circuits to see whats causing it, but if there is nothing else apart from the stereo memory and alarm, then it can't be much else apart from the alternator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Agree with Jim! My 110 behaved similarly - but it turned out to be water & muck in connectors in the wiring loom causing a discharge by electrolysis. Ruinated the connectors in the process. I found it by pulling fuses with a meter in series with the battery until the current drain dropped. Found the circuit it was in, started unplugging things in that circuit until I had narrowed it down to a single connector. Took a fair bit of finding - but worth it! Prior to that, I just fitted an isolator switch and completly disconnected the battery overnight. The radio was wired directly to the battery so it didn't forget. Lazy but effective. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M005 Posted September 27, 2005 Author Share Posted September 27, 2005 Thanks guys. RAC called to say they were delayed last night, so put them off until this morning Any recommendations on isolator switches? PS: Si, your site appears to have done a monica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 Mark, I had this problem too. On mine it was the cb. It was always turned off but must be using some power as one evening I noticed the red power button had a very dull glow despite being off. I disconnected the power wires from the back and hey presto ! no more flat batteries since. Result And I'll second that about the X-Charge from Si HTH Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M005 Posted September 27, 2005 Author Share Posted September 27, 2005 Well, results from RAC visit as follows: * Battery had a 10 volt reading, despite not even trying to turn the starter when prompted, 'normal' level should be ~12-13, so not too much down. * ~ 1/3 - 1/2 amp drain from battery from items listed above, and as Mo says the CB does make a slight difference * Alternator not draining at all and is working as intended, i.e. is putting in a good charge and regulates the charge depending on what electrical kit is switched on. * Good charge going to battery when engine running RAC suggested it might be a faulty battery (although strange as it is the same symptoms as last time) and thought one of the cells may be duff?? Will try the new battery option (assuming still within warranty) and will look at Si's system when his site is back up. Also had a suggestion of getting hold of an agricultural battery to put in as these are both cheap and powerful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
02GF74 Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 I'll second most of what has been said but add this lil table (assuming html tagswork ok): BCI standard for SoC estimation of a 12V flooded lead acid car battery. Open circuit voltage State-of-Charge in % 12.65V 100% 12.45V 75% 12.24V 50% 12.06V 25% 11.89V or less Discharged (Edited so table appears properly), you will see your batter is discharged Exchanging it for another may help but it would be surprising if the one you have is dud but ...... You can by digital DVM from maplins, details of which I keep posting so peeps must be sick of it - now it is a mere £3!!! you can buy a battery isolator switch from VWP and I think Maplins may sell this too now - you will need fat battery wires plus the connectors and crip them propery - not by squeezing in a vice. IF you want instructions on how to DIY it wihtout forking out £70 for the tool let me know. I need to check this but the alternator connects to the +ve of the battery at the starter motor/solenoid and I think this connection is full time i.e. not made when the ignition is on. You have another connection for the charge lamp from alternator to the +ve of the battery thaqt is switch via ignition - there may be something wrong there. The way to trace the prob. is to put the DVM - switched to amps - and unplug fuses + add-ons, like the CB, radio cassette, 'alarm' etc. in a methodical fashion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon White Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 Mark, I had this problem too. On mine it was the cb. It was always turned off but must be using some power as one evening I noticed the red power button had a very dull glow despite being off. I disconnected the power wires from the back and hey presto ! no more flat batteries since. Result And I'll second that about the X-Charge from Si HTH Mo 1/3 to 1/2 and amp discharge is too high! You need to sort out whats causeing the drain and fix it. A flashing led should draw about 20 mA and a CB when turned off should draw bugger all......... You've got a problem! Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M005 Posted September 27, 2005 Author Share Posted September 27, 2005 You've got a problem!Jon No sh*t Sherlock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
02GF74 Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 1/3 to 1/2 and amp discharge is too high! You need to sort out whats causeing the drain and fix it.A flashing led should draw about 20 mA and a CB when turned off should draw bugger all......... [pedant mode]Most LEDs are driven at somewhere between 20-25 mA. A flashing LED would draw less than this due to not being on all the time! [/pedant off] Doing quick sums, a 0.5 A drain on a 60 AmpHr battery will run for 5 days. Isolator or split charge will mask the problem not solve it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellow Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 Had the same on a friend's Corsa. He fitted a 'security' flickering LED, and Hey Presto, 5 guys pushing the vehicle 5 days later... Not knowing what caused the leak, he then fitted a battery charge indicator, which drew even more power from the battery, and the pushing event repeated itself after 3 days... :lol: Just for the record: It was actually a friend of mine that had the Corsa, not 'a "friend" of mine'. He now has come to his senses and has since upgraded to a nice mountain bike. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M005 Posted September 27, 2005 Author Share Posted September 27, 2005 Had the same on a friend's Corsa. Just for the record: It was actually a friend of mine that had the Corsa, not 'a "friend" of mine'. Keep diggin'.....keep diggin' On a serious note: RAc bloke had a wizzy little tester to see what the drain on the battery was, the 'jaws' opened up to go around the -ve battery wire and then closed around it (not tightly). Can the same (i.e. measurement of drain) be achieved with a standard voltmeter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 That's a clamp meter, they're excellent and can measure 1000's of amps without touching the cable! Disconnecting the lead and running it through a £3 maplins multimeter will show you exactly the same thing, except the maplins one will blow a fuse if you draw more than 10A (EG try to start it / turn the lights on). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diesel_jim Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 You can by digital DVM from maplins, details of which I keep posting so peeps must be sick of it - now it is a mere £3!!! you can buy a battery isolator switch from VWP and I think Maplins may sell this too now - you will need fat battery wires plus the connectors and crip them propery - not by squeezing in a vice. IF you want instructions on how to DIY it wihtout forking out £70 for the tool let me know. mark... i've got a set of the pukka crimping tools here at work, i use them all the time, so if you need a cable made up, give me a shout (35mm2 welding type multi core cable is ideal for starters and winch power leads!), it can go from 10mm up to 50mm2 crimps. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M005 Posted September 27, 2005 Author Share Posted September 27, 2005 Cheers Jamie, will let you know. Might be a few weeks though as have quite a bit going on at the moment Hope you're thinking of us all slaving away back in Blighty on your spanish sea, sun & s*x tour B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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