barriesheene Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Hi all newbie p38 owner.I've just bought a P38 after previously being a classic owner and I've bought a bad un Seller wont answer the phone or return answer phone messages so I guess I'm stuck The first problem that I have, ( of which there are many ), is a severe battery drain. This did not appear for 3 or 4 days but now the battery is dead within a couple of hours from full charge. I've read the posts concerning the remote aerial but this seems to take a few days, mine is flat within hours. I've checked the current drain and it's 0.56A. Could someone check theirs for me to see how excessive this is. I've left the battery overnight disconnected and it remained charged. Any help appreciated cos untill I sort this I cant start on the other problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete The Biker Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I don't have a P38, but on my Subaru Impreza a faulty Tracker resulted in a drain of 330mA which would flatten the battery in 7 days. Normal drain on most cars should be <50mA. 560mA shouldn't flatten a healthy battery in hours, so it could be that the cells have been damaged. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuck Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 ^^^^ as above, 560mA wouldn't drain your battery in hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sparkes Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Never mind how long a battery 'should' or 'should not' last with a constant drain of over 500mA, the fact is that the drain should not be anything like that high, so find out why it's high, and then worry about if a new battery is required. However, do check the electrolyte levels and top up if they are low. Does the car have an automatic gearbox? If so, are you leaving the gearbox in Park? Leaving it in any other gear will cause excessive current drain. Have you got an Owners Manual, where it tells you about such things? Have you downloaded RAVE via the Tech Section on this forum, or somewhere else? If not, do so, immediately. The RAVE CD includes the Electrical and Mechanical workshop manuals, and the Owners manual. Is the gear position indicator remaining lit after you leave the car?* It may take a couple of minutes to extinguish, but by 5 minutes it should not be lit. * I'm relying on memory here, and have never owned an Auto boxed car, so this might not be exactly right. If the 'sleep test' is passed OK try disconnecting the alternator, just in case there is a drain through a faulty diode pack / regulator. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barriesheene Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 Hi,guys. There is a bit of a delay at the moment on my posts as I'm a newbie and they are going thru the mods,( as it should be ) Ok, sleep test , was permenately awake, now sleeping for about 1 min before waking back up after disconnecting every wire from the rf amplifier. The dash was showing an alternator fault before the drains began. Didnt think anything of it as I had no battery light and no signs of any problems. Alternator is putting out 14+ Volts UNTIL you put a load on it. It's then dropping down to just about 12v ? Diodes ? I'm going to disconnect the alternator and see if the car will stay asleep. I'll let you all know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barriesheene Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 Oh, and Mr Sparks, Thanks for the heads up on the RAVE files. Been looking everywhere for a workshop manual. Thinking of sending an e-mail to Haynes and asking why they dont have a manual for a car as common and unreliable as a P38. They could double their profits overnight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barriesheene Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 Hope the mods get these posts in order Update. Rf amplifier disconnected Alternator disconnected. Still wont go to sleep. Anyone know what the main sensors are that are monitored so I can start pulling fuses to try and narrow it down. Oh and the 0.56A drain killed my battery within the hour so although it'll hold charge without a load on it I'm guessing it's goosed HHmmmmmmmm, Just a thought, would the voltage dropping cause the car to keep waking up ??????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barriesheene Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Quick update. I bought a new calcium battery ££££££ which lasted a week but I'm back to square one again. Advised by Richard, ( ebay willyoutakecash )to check the fuse box. I've removed the fusebox and found scorch marks on the circuit boards and plugs so this is being replaced with a new box from Bearmach. I'll let you know how I get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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