C15 Battery drain

[Ben*17]

Hi all, I have a 55 plate C15 1.9 deisel as a little project. It came to me with a few issues with the electric. I have limited knowledge when it comes to fixing these problems so have maybe created more problem with my tinkering. The latest issue is that something seems to be draining the battery. Part of the problem with diagnosing the problem is that when I put my multimeter between the earth lead and the negative terminal it flashes up to around 2.66A and then goes down to about 0.09A but never gives me an accurate figure. I have tried this with 2 different multimeter and both behave in the same way. I have replaced the alternator because when I disconnect the main lead to the alternator the amps drop and I get a stable reading on the meter. The same happens if I disconnect the gearbox earth lead. Having changed the alternator with one from a scrap yard the problem is still the same. If anyone has any ideas of what the problem could be I would really appreciate some suggestions. I have also replaced the ignition barrel, glow plugs, glow plug relay and starter motor.

Thanks

[Peter.N.]

Certainly seems that the alternator is leaking but 0.09 amps shouldn't cause a problem, that would take 100 hours to discharge 1ah. If you disconnect the earth lead you are still disconnecting the alternator only from the other end. Leave the meter in circuit for a while and check it occasionally to make sure the current is not rising again.

The high current demand you are experiencing initially is probably not relevant as the ECU takes a while to shut down but something may be causing it to start up again.

Peter