FLAT BATTERY C2

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markh
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FLAT BATTERY C2

Post by markh »

Hi i have a C2 well the wife had it 18 months no problem Saturday went shopping came back flat battery rac jumped it she came home Sunday had a look swap batterys 2 hours later flat battery again do a amp test showing 10.63 draw i have spent the day today disconnecting what ever plug i can find under the bonnet pulled all the fuse in and out the car all i have left is the starter motor but it started raining any one got any ideas please. #-o
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Re: FLAT BATTERY C2

Post by GiveMeABreak »

First I would plug everything back in (fuse and car related) that you disconnected. Next, have you got any aftermarket Carlos Fandango gadgets, radios, USB chargers or the like connected? Take all these out.

Then if you are still getting a drain, you'll need to test each fuse to see where the draw is coming from:

There are plenty of guides on the web of how to measure a parasitic drain - here's one below. You need to be aware that having the doors open will keep the BSI and other equipment live as it prepares the car for starting - so that can give false readings. You'll need to latch the doors so the car thinks they are closed, leave the car for 5 minutes minimum to allow the car systems to power down and sleep before you start testing for drain.

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Re: FLAT BATTERY C2

Post by Peter.N. »

Over 10 amps should be showing up as heat somewhere, have you tried disconnecting the alternator? They can draw a hefty current if the diodes have gone leaky.

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Re: FLAT BATTERY C2

Post by markh »

Peter.N. wrote: 08 May 2019, 18:00 Over 10 amps should be showing up as heat somewhere, have you tried disconnecting the alternator? They can draw a hefty current if the diodes have gone leaky.

Peter

First thing i tested peter disconnected it still putting out 10 amps
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Re: FLAT BATTERY C2

Post by Peter.N. »

Well done! In all the years I have been repairing cars I have only actually had one with a faulty alternator but I always check now. Is the car petrol or diesel? The only other place that I would think would dissipate 10 amps without it being noticed is the glow plug circuit, anything else drawing that sort of current would get hot. No smell of hot plastic from anywhere?

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Re: FLAT BATTERY C2

Post by markh »

Peter.N. wrote: 08 May 2019, 23:23 Well done! In all the years I have been repairing cars I have only actually had one with a faulty alternator but I always check now. Is the car petrol or diesel? The only other place that I would think would dissipate 10 amps without it being noticed is the glow plug circuit, anything else drawing that sort of current would get hot. No smell of hot plastic from anywhere?

Peter
Hi peter i am a plant and agricultural fitter for the last 40 years, i have disconnected the glow plug relay just cant under stand it mate disconnected ever plug i could find yesterday going to start again now try with start motor first and do more testing, O the car is diesel auto .
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Re: FLAT BATTERY C2

Post by Peter.N. »

I can't help you much more, you have exhausted my level of experience, I wish you success, please let us know what it was when you find it. Most of my experience has been in electronics, a TV engineer for 50 years but I have always maintained my own cars - and some others and I used to do diesel conversions, but when I started that they still had dynamo's and virtually no electronics.

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Re: FLAT BATTERY C2

Post by myglaren »

You don't say if you disconnected the alternator.
If as Peter said, this is faulty you would need to disconnect it to confirm.
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Re: FLAT BATTERY C2

Post by markh »

GiveMeABreak wrote: 08 May 2019, 17:48 First I would plug everything back in (fuse and car related) that you disconnected. Next, have you got any aftermarket Carlos Fandango gadgets, radios, USB chargers or the like connected? Take all these out.

Then if you are still getting a drain, you'll need to test each fuse to see where the draw is coming from:

There are plenty of guides on the web of how to measure a parasitic drain - here's one below. You need to be aware that having the doors open will keep the BSI and other equipment live as it prepares the car for starting - so that can give false readings. You'll need to latch the doors so the car thinks they are closed, leave the car for 5 minutes minimum to allow the car systems to power down and sleep before you start testing for drain.


Hi thanks for reply done ever thing you said just done this parasitic drain test some fuse give me a reading to start some don't and then dropped to zero i have over 40 years experience on plant and agricultural machines and have never seen anything like this before , you can touch the relays and plugs nothing is hot or warm no smell of burning, all she done was filled it up with diesel drove to the shop came back 2 hours later and the battery's flat change the battery Sunday new one flat 2 hours later now i don't know what else to try any help is appreciated.
regards mark
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Re: FLAT BATTERY C2

Post by Gibbo2286 »

Any aftermarket stuff on the car? Aftermarket alarms were notorious for flattening batteries also tow bar wiring.

I suppose that the new battery wasn't fitted wrong i.e. pos neg reversed. :shock:
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Re: FLAT BATTERY C2

Post by markh »

myglaren wrote: 09 May 2019, 10:20 You don't say if you disconnected the alternator.
If as Peter said, this is faulty you would need to disconnect it to confirm.

Hi yes first thing i done !!!!
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Re: FLAT BATTERY C2

Post by markh »

Gibbo2286 wrote: 09 May 2019, 10:56 Any aftermarket stuff on the car? Aftermarket alarms were notorious for flattening batteries also tow bar wiring.

I suppose that the new battery wasn't fitted wrong i.e. pos neg reversed. :shock:

Hi i have over 40 years experience on plant and agricultural machines so i don't thing so
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Re: FLAT BATTERY C2

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Ok, so are you absolutely sure the car battery isn't shot? How old is it? If it is at end off duty cycle it won't hold its charge and that could be your problem for it draining.

Modern cars need a battery replacement more often that older cars simply because of the additional electronics used and because of the active systems on the car when it is not being used. 5 years is not unusual for a replacement and a flat battery or one that can't hold its charge will also cause electrical glitches on the car.

As for the fuse testing - did you manually latch the car doors as I suggested and wait for 5-10 minutes? If not the car data networks will not sleep. This will show as a power draw on a fuse. The power will cease and the reading will zero when the networks are sleeping. In this example, if you did manually close the door latch with a screwdriver to fool the car into thinking the doors are shut (as you'll need to test the fuses in the passenger glovebox too and need the door open), but are still getting a draw on one or more fuses, this may also identify the drain. So it could be that there is a fault on the door circuit that is keeping the circuit live all the time.

If you can confirm this and the fuse number and where the fuse is located (engine bay fuse box, passenger glovebox fusebox etc.) then that would help identify the equipment. On the passenger glovebox fuse box, there may be a bottom row and top row of fuses and possibly a bank at the right side too. So important to let us know.

Check you earth straps and condition of body earths / battery wires too.

Just a few more pointers.

And one I forgot: do you have an aftermarket radio fitted? If so, disconnect that too. If you don't have the correct electrical harness the cars electrical data network will be searching for the Head Unit that is no longer there and that can also cause a drain.
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Re: FLAT BATTERY C2

Post by myglaren »

markh wrote: 09 May 2019, 11:03
myglaren wrote: 09 May 2019, 10:20 You don't say if you disconnected the alternator.
If as Peter said, this is faulty you would need to disconnect it to confirm.

Hi yes first thing i done !!!!

Fair enough :)
Have you tried disconnecting the battery, giving it a full charge then measuring the voltage after 24 hours, after dissipating the surface charge?
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Re: FLAT BATTERY C2

Post by Gibbo2286 »

markh wrote: 09 May 2019, 11:04
Gibbo2286 wrote: 09 May 2019, 10:56 Any aftermarket stuff on the car? Aftermarket alarms were notorious for flattening batteries also tow bar wiring.

I suppose that the new battery wasn't fitted wrong i.e. pos neg reversed. :shock:

Hi i have over 40 years experience on plant and agricultural machines so i don't thing so



Ah but. :-D you wouldn't be the first to have a 'senior moment' :-D
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