At the others have said, you need to measure the current drain from the
battery by removing one battery lead and connecting the meter between
that and the removed wire.
Do not even turn on the ignition.
A typical current drain with a car radio and alarm will be below 20ma
(0.02a), anything over 50ma indicates a problem and will flatten the
battery.
Isolate the problem circuit by removing fuses until the current drain
disappears.
Jim
On 24/05/2010 21:53, Susan and Martin Scott wrote:
Sorry I forgot to say both were new batteries. The first battery was
new last year, when the car was finished. The battery was flat after
being left 2 weeks, and I thought it was a faulty battery. It was
replaced, and I kept the battery on charge in the garage on a smart
charger over Winter.
The car drove to Stoneleigh and home no problem (left overnight with
alarm on as well during weekend). The week after (having been used off
and on I started and moved it on the Friday, on the Sunday I went to
open the boot and the battery was dead flat. It was replaced again (a
good supplier!), but I can't expect to rely on their generosity again,
and I need to be able to have confidence that all will be ok.
----- Original Message -----
*From:* Derek Clews <mailto:[email protected]>
*To:* [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
*Sent:* Monday, May 24, 2010 9:03 PM
*Subject:* Re: [Quantum Owners] Battery drain
Hi. If you have a possible problem with the battery, try
disconnecting the battery (and remove from the car if convenient)
just charge via a mains charger and then check the voltage after a
good charge and over a period of time after. If it goes down to
below 12V sitting over a day or two it is shot. You cannot get a
real view of the battery while connected it may be a drain from
the car. This has worked for me with cars and the canal boat.
(four batteries in two banks!)
Alternatively, try and see what AMPs are flowing out of the
battery when everything is switched off. You may need to read the
manual with your meter to see how to connect this or even if your
meter is suitable. But would be in line between one terminal and
the lead, not across the two battery terminals. There may be
legitimate drains on the battery. e.g. a car alarm or an interior
light on. I have had a failed light switch before so the boot
light was on all the time. I traced it that way.
If you are checking the battery the first way is really the
business. That way you can really confirm it's OK. Alternatively
your can take it to a specialist who will test it under load and
see if it is weak. The second way is more for car fault finding.
Derek
On 24 May 2010, at 20:39, Susan and Martin Scott wrote:
I've now had a second battery replacement, and have therefore
come to the conclusion that it may not be a fault with the
battery. The last time it drained to nothing in 2 days (and it
was absolutely nothing, not even enough to light an LED!). I
immediately detached the terminals and found there was no
resistance - indicating nothing in circuit?
Although I'm confident with simple circuits, I'm the first to
admit that electronics is beyond my brain power.................
I set about some detective work today
Findings 1. With meter set on ohms, I get no reading across the
battery terminals when disconnected from the battery and nothing
in circuit.
2. With the battery terminals connected and the engine
running the voltage across the terminals is 13.7V
3. Without the engine running the voltage across the battery
is 12.6V
4. With the battery terminals disconnected and the meter set
to 2V, I found there was a voltage of 0.048V when the meter was
connected, which reduced to level out at 0.015V. It didn't seem
to matter when the meter was connected ie If I measured across
the terminals 3 Sec after disconnecting from the battery it was
the same as if I waited 2 minutes, and also the drop once the
meter was put across was delayed if interrupted eg . 0.048 then
watch it drop to 0.030, remove meter for 5 seconds, reconnect
meter and the reading was 0.030, then dropped further.
5. Having removed all the fuses, the same occurs.
The alarm fuses have been disconnected as well, but I don't
think it has a battery in it.
6. Connecting the meter between the engine block and the
positive battery terminal measures a lower voltage 0.028V, which
drops to the same 0.015V
Is it maybe electrolytic reaction within the block? As I say I'm
not into electronics.
Why is there no measured resistance, but the battery drains?
Any ideas gratefully received.
Martin
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