Battery drain... BeCM drawing 0.2 amps while asleep...

[turbogti]

Hello to all.

I am new here but have had quite a few annoying problems with my RR.

It is a 1996 2.5 DSE Automatic. The thing that I cannot figure out right now is the BeCM consumption while asleep.

The messurements are:

When locking the car current draw is about 1.1 AMPS. Let's say 20 seconds later dropping down to about 0.78 AMPS and anothe 20-30 seconds later drop again to about 0.57 AMPS. So far so good, because the BeCM is not asleep yet. The problem is that after another 2 minutes the miltimeter showed current draw of 0.2 AMPS and it stays that way. Using my fiends key to his car (2000 BMW 320d) I am waking up the BeCM and the miltimeter shows 0.57 AMPS again and after 2 minutes or so dropping down to 0.2 AMPS and stays that way until the next waking up.

Now from all the things I have read I know that the BeCM should draw 0.02 AMPS while asleep which is 10 times less than what I have. What should I do? Go to a Land Rover garage and have the BeCM reprogrammed maybe?

Thank you.

[Ally V8]

Try disconnecting the the RF receiver,its under the panel behind the RHR seat that the loadspace cover clips into.If the current drain then goes down to 20-30mA then you ought to consider the new receiver,part # ywy500170 - this does the trick.

[David Sparkes]

I would normally say that the Receiver change is to stop the BECM being triggered by the wrong signals, like your mates key fob. I'd say change the receiver anyway for the latter type, to get rid of a known problem.

Note that someone (even a neighbour) fitting a piece of domestic wireless hardware can also cause false triggering. 'Domestic Wireless' EXCLUDES wireless networking for PCs, that works on a totally separate frequency. I mean a weather station, door bell, baby monitor, garage door remote, that sort of thing.

I wouldn't normally blame the Receiver for the high standing current drain, but it has to be said that AllyV8 has more vehicles through his hands than I do through mine.

Pursuing the high current drain (200mA instead of 20mA) or 0.2A instead of 0.020A.

Have you any additional of non-standard electrical equipment on the vehicle (phone, better radio, DVD plaver, etc)?

Did this problem come to light suddenly, or has it always happened while ever you have had the car?

Do you always leave the gearbox in Park when you leave it? (As stipulated in the Workshop Manual).

HTH.

[turbogti]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I have had the car for arround a year now and the problem is from day one. I live in Bulgaria and the RR was imported from Austria. As I mentioned I had some rather annoying problems some of which were caused by the previous owners obviously. Like the right heater fan that was not working and after disassebling it, testing the electronics and the motor itself I then decided to make some tests in place of the working (left) one and finally removed a relay that was not only faulty but also non factory equiped and the fan worked just fine being controlled by the AC ecu just like it should be.

So having this in mind I thought of problems with some additional electrical equipment. The one thing there is I can see is the AUX Heater which seems to be working just fine. And the other day when I was doing all the messuring I disconnected its ECU (which ironically lies just over the BeCM) and the current drain remained absolutely the same. The other thing is the radio with the CD-changer (they came with the car) as I have read that sometimes the CD-changer might draw a few hundred mA trying to store the exact possition of the heads over the current CD. But this is not the case with me because when I take out fuse 1 from the BeCM all the power to the radio goes off and the 0.2A drain remains.

I will surely try disconnecting the remote receiver and will write here if anything changes this way.