Battery Draining Problem

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maerl
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Battery Draining Problem

Post by maerl »

Hello All

(Disclaimer: I don't know anything about vans / electrics but am doing my best to learn - apologies for any obvious mistakes...)

I have a 1989 1.7D van and have been trying to solve a problem with the battery draining. I have followed the advice on the wiki but no luck yet. Thought I would post here to see if anyone has any ideas for what to try next before I give up and take it to the garage...

Symptoms:
- The battery was new when I bought the van (last October; I have seen the receipts for this).
- Previously the van would sometimes fail to start if left for 2 weeks+ but a jump start would solve the problem provided it was driven regularly.
- Recently I had a few problems with the van and had to take it to the garage. One of the problems was a total loss of power, which the garage diagnosed as a problem with the alternator voltage regulator (now replaced).
- A couple of weeks ago the van failed to start. I jump started and everything worked fine that day - started and stopped van several times that day without problem.
- However a day or two later the battery was flat again. Jump started OK but now it seems that the battery drains over the course of a day or even an hour or so (or possibly isn't charging? But being able to re-start suggests it is to me.)

Attempted diagnosis:
- I followed this advice from the wiki:

Disconnect the negative terminal (earth strap) from battery, join (12v bulb and holder from Maplins £1.90) test light between battery -ve post and the now disconnected -ve Earth strap, so the light is in series between the battery and the earth strap. Ff you have a light showing, it means you have a drain. Remove each fuse in the fuse box one by one till the light goes out, this tells you which circuit the problem is on. it is then a case of finding the fault on that circuit. Make sure the interior door light is turned off so its not showing a false reading

- When connected, the light came on (so I have a drain, I assume). I removed each of the fuses in turn but the light stayed on throughout.

A few pictures to show the testing process in case I am doing something obvious wrong:
https://goo.gl/photos/89TFsTK6z89dFBkx9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://goo.gl/photos/cuaNMk9yEXFnungF6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://goo.gl/photos/QfqBwN9y4wAiRzXQ6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Does anyone have any idea where I should go next from here? Would it be worth investing in a multimeter to do some more checks?

Thanks in advance for any help.

R

Jeff J
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Re: Battery Draining Problem

Post by Jeff J »

The permanently connected radio always caused mine to go flat when left for any length of time even if it was switched off. It has a removable facia which prevents it happening once it has been removed.

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AngeloEvs
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Re: Battery Draining Problem

Post by AngeloEvs »

I would reconnect the negative and disconnect the positive. Once disconnected, I would isolate each of the leads connected to the positive terminal and repeat the test but connect the bulb to each of the separated cables and to the battery positive terminal. This will isolate some components such as starter, alternator and main 12 v feed to the fuse box, etc.

Meanwhile, fit a battery isolation switch or disconnect the negative terminal if leaving the van parked for a few days.

A multimeter is highly recommended, I would measure the drain current as this can help with diagnosis.
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Ralf85
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Re: Battery Draining Problem

Post by Ralf85 »

Disconnect the fuses from their connectors one at a time and check the flow across the connectors with the amp meter part of the multimeter. That should soon find the drain.

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DoubleOSeven
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Re: Battery Draining Problem

Post by DoubleOSeven »

As Jeff suggests, probably an accessory that's been added. Is the feed to the stereo on any other accessory fed from permanent live? If so, move them to ignition live. Start with tracing the stereo +12V feed. Find the spade clip it's on, back of fuse box and stick positive of multimeter on this, the black lead onto the earth crown behind fuse box or any other good earth. Set meter to 20V. Should'nt get a reading, if you do get 12V then this is your problem. Go along all the spade clips on back of fuse box and note what the readings are. Then turn ignition on to position 1 and do it again.

You now know all your permanent and ignition lives. Move the offending stereo/accessory to one of the ignition lives.


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clift_d
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Re: Battery Draining Problem

Post by clift_d »

Does the van have a leisure battery / circuit? If so, it might be worth trying to disconnecting the whole leisure circuit by unplugging the split charge relay.
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