HELP!!discharging battery grief!
Discussion
Hello everone,
Please help me if you can, i have a 4.0 chim called trevor(original) who is poorly.being a fair weathered driver i left trev in thr garage over xmas for about a month, when i came back to him the bat was dead and wouldn't take any charge. after buying new bat, replaced old, trev started. next day not even interior light would come on, bugger
. removed, charged, replaced. 12 hours later dead.bugger.no lights on, no radio on, no alarm on.
talked to local "auto electrician" He ran a mile.
HELP
Please help me if you can, i have a 4.0 chim called trevor(original) who is poorly.being a fair weathered driver i left trev in thr garage over xmas for about a month, when i came back to him the bat was dead and wouldn't take any charge. after buying new bat, replaced old, trev started. next day not even interior light would come on, bugger
. removed, charged, replaced. 12 hours later dead.bugger.no lights on, no radio on, no alarm on. talked to local "auto electrician" He ran a mile.
HELP
no idea why they drain, my griff is the same.
options are
a cut off switch to disconnect the battery when its parked
keep it on a battery conditioner in the garage
theres some sort of automatic cut of thing as well which resets when you press the brake (cant remember where i saw this one)
options are
a cut off switch to disconnect the battery when its parked
keep it on a battery conditioner in the garage
theres some sort of automatic cut of thing as well which resets when you press the brake (cant remember where i saw this one)
Hi, I have a 99 - 400 and after a spell in the garage (with a battery conditioner on all the time) took it for a spin and returned. Cleaned it, came to put it away, nothing! The AA man said the battery was shot and not to charge them all the time. I know the conditioner cuts in and out but still the best advice is to use the car. simon818 said:
That's odd, I use a battery conditioner (Oxford Oximiser) now I dont use the car everyday which I used to. The battery is 5 years old as well, so its probably a bit long in the tooth and everything is fine.
In fact, it might be just psychological but I'm sure it runs better and pulls better now its connected to the conditioner all the time. Compared to when it wasn't used for a week or two and only just started on the battery its seems to run better.
The battery conditioners that I've seen, the Accumate Optimate and the Oxford Oximiser, have a feature that tells you if the battery is shot and not holding its charge.
>> Edited by speedeight on Friday 20th February 19:39
perthshiregriff said:
no idea why they drain, my griff is the same.
options are
a cut off switch to disconnect the battery when its parked
keep it on a battery conditioner in the garage
theres some sort of automatic cut of thing as well which resets when you press the brake (cant remember where i saw this one)
Ta for the reply!
at least someone else has the same problem!!
the pain with automatically disconnecting the battery is you cant lock the bloody thing!
I use an Oxford Oximiser too which i have used for 2 years on my motorbike without any problems, i just rememberd too, when i tried charging the battery when it was in place the smart charger said it was kaputt!!
when i took it out it charged fine even though it was VERY DEAD. strange.
Sounds as if you may have an electrical fault causing a current drain. If you have basic electrical equipment you can measure the current drain and see how it varies as you pull relays and fuses out of the system. It may also be the alarm or a duff rectifier pack on the alternator.
I've got a Priority Start battery isolator installed on the V8S, it monitors the voltage and isolates tha battery before it goes completely flat. It reconnects the battery as soon as the load changes, for example if the interior light comes on when you open the door this will trigger it. I guess it could get a bit tricky if you only have an electrical door release, but you could always 'break in' by one of the usual methods and then open the door from the inside. This doesn't cure the underlying problem of the electrical leak, but does at least mean you can be confident that whatever happens there will be enough charge left in the battery to start it.
I've got a Priority Start battery isolator installed on the V8S, it monitors the voltage and isolates tha battery before it goes completely flat. It reconnects the battery as soon as the load changes, for example if the interior light comes on when you open the door this will trigger it. I guess it could get a bit tricky if you only have an electrical door release, but you could always 'break in' by one of the usual methods and then open the door from the inside. This doesn't cure the underlying problem of the electrical leak, but does at least mean you can be confident that whatever happens there will be enough charge left in the battery to start it.
greenv8s said:
Sounds as if you may have an electrical fault causing a current drain. If you have basic electrical equipment you can measure the current drain and see how it varies as you pull relays and fuses out of the system. It may also be the alarm or a duff rectifier pack on the alternator.
I've got a Priority Start battery isolator installed on the V8S, it monitors the voltage and isolates tha battery before it goes completely flat. It reconnects the battery as soon as the load changes, for example if the interior light comes on when you open the door this will trigger it. I guess it could get a bit tricky if you only have an electrical door release, but you could always 'break in' by one of the usual methods and then open the door from the inside. This doesn't cure the underlying problem of the electrical leak, but does at least mean you can be confident that whatever happens there will be enough charge left in the battery to start it.
ta, do you think it could be the alarm even though it is disengaged?? Also, does leaving the battery disconected for long (days) periods of time upset anything?? ta for your help
chimjim said:
no idea why they drain, my griff is the same.
options are
a cut off switch to disconnect the battery when its parked
keep it on a battery conditioner in the garage
theres some sort of automatic cut of thing as well which resets when you press the brake (cant remember where i saw this one)
Ta for the reply!
at least someone else has the same problem!!
the pain with automatically disconnecting the battery is you cant lock the bloody thing!
i think the central locking would be wired direct to the battery so that it still works
12 hours is not normal. either you have a a fault that is causing excessive drain (interior light is a classic such as the one in the footwell) or the battery and charging circuit is not working correctly.
A conditioner is the way to go BTW. Using the car is also another but not always practical.
More info in the battery chapter/FAQ on my website.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
A conditioner is the way to go BTW. Using the car is also another but not always practical.
More info in the battery chapter/FAQ on my website.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
shpub said:
12 hours is not normal. either you have a a fault that is causing excessive drain (interior light is a classic such as the one in the footwell) or the battery and charging circuit is not working correctly.
A conditioner is the way to go BTW. Using the car is also another but not always practical.
More info in the battery chapter/FAQ on my website.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
ta, i dont think it is down to the charging circuit as i have installed a new fully charged battery which has died 12 hours later without the engine even turned over!! i will wheel trev out today and check as much as i can. i really am stumped, still, you gotta love em!
I would start by disconnecting the alternator and leaving it for longer than your 12 hours and see what happens. If it solves your problem this will prove you have a faulty rectifier which is not an uncommon fault on alternators.
If it comes to it you could always fit a battery cut out but it would be best to find out what is wrong. The alarm/central locking side of things can be got round by running direct supplies to the battery for both. If you go this route make sure you cut the original supplies or life will get complicated. Although this is a very small chance, have you considered the fact that you may have a faulty battery?
Ivan
>> Edited by ribol on Saturday 21st February 10:43
If it comes to it you could always fit a battery cut out but it would be best to find out what is wrong. The alarm/central locking side of things can be got round by running direct supplies to the battery for both. If you go this route make sure you cut the original supplies or life will get complicated. Although this is a very small chance, have you considered the fact that you may have a faulty battery?
Ivan
>> Edited by ribol on Saturday 21st February 10:43
ribol said:
I would start by disconnecting the alternator and leaving it for longer than your 12 hours and see what happens. If it solves your problem this will prove you have a faulty rectifier which is not an uncommon fault on alternators.
If it comes to it you could always fit a battery cut out but it would be best to find out what is wrong. The alarm/central locking side of things can be got round by running direct supplies to the battery for both. If you go this route make sure you cut the original supplies or life will get complicated. Although this is a very small chance, have you considered the fact that you may have a faulty battery?
Ivan
>> Edited by ribol on Saturday 21st February 10:43
thanks for that, i will try disconnecting the alt. the battery is a brand new one.could be right though!
I bought a conditioner from Leven as I was having probs if I left the car for more than 10 days. I was told that the alarm and clock could do this. Anyway the conditioner did the trick. However the battery did evetually give up and I had to buy a new one.
The nice thing about the conditioner is that it plugs into the Cig lighter so no installing just plug in when putting the car away. Think it was around £55, and they delivered next day.
The nice thing about the conditioner is that it plugs into the Cig lighter so no installing just plug in when putting the car away. Think it was around £55, and they delivered next day.
m142 yum said:
I bought a conditioner from Leven as I was having probs if I left the car for more than 10 days. I was told that the alarm and clock could do this. Anyway the conditioner did the trick. However the battery did evetually give up and I had to buy a new one.
The nice thing about the conditioner is that it plugs into the Cig lighter so no installing just plug in when putting the car away. Think it was around £55, and they delivered next day.
I'd try www.accumate.co.uk/it010003.html. Could be at least £10 to £15 cheaper than Leven. It comes with cig lighter adapter and Accumate adaptor (waterproofed).
Works for my Chim and 3-bikes...!!
ta, but as i said earlier i have the oxford equivalent "oximiser"....................................................................................... now you mention it i tried to charge the new battery in situe the first time it died and the charger said it was irrecoverable. took the bat out and it charged fine, which i suppose indicates a direct short somewhere!!?!? cant wait to get home and rip trevs guts out!(well, have a look anyway)
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