Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega Electrical and Audio Help => Topic started by: andy4775 on 10 November 2009, 09:31:43
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I have a omega 2.2dti when left for a few days, flattens the battery, I have changed the battery so its not that. But I have noticed that the fan is running all the time and even runs on for a few minutes after the engine is switched off. I don't think it should do that but would it cause the flat battery? Thanks
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Try measuring the current drain when the vehicle is at rest, and if anything shows, try unplugging the power sounder first.
Don`t see the point of the "Poll" though ?
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hello, and welcome, removed the poll, looked to be set up in error :y
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Sorry about the poll (dont know what I did), just new to this forum. Have tried to measure the drain by putting the multimeter in series but get no reading. May be using the meter wrong as I have just bought it. What do think of the fan running all the time is that right?
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Not uncommon for a fan to run for a good few minutes after a drive and the engine warm - if it does it from cold, then you may have a faulty sensor somewhere.
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What do think of the fan running all the time is that right?
At least one fan will run all the time the A/C compressor is operating.
On my facelift car there is a delay after starting the engine before the A/C compressor starts, I can stop it by pressing the ECO button.
I think the mini facelifts also have an ECO button.
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Mine is a 2.2dti and only has one fan, will try the eco button though. But would the fan being on all the time have a hand in the flat battery?
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If the fan is running 24/7 then yes, but if it shuts down after a few minutes, then your problems lie elsewhere.
You will need to take some accurate current readings using a clamp meter, a multimeter would not be good enough to perform this sort of diagnosis
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I have a 2.2 Dti and had the same problem a couple of years ago and I changed the battery and the problem continued until I got fed up jump starting it every other day - I had the "new" battery checked and it had a faulty cell - I put a new battery in and it is starting properly. One thing though I had put electric leather seats in and there was a constant drain when I checked the poer on fuse 5 - remove the fuse no drain
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Mines the gls model and no heated seats, tried pressing the eco button and fan doesn't stop. It is on from starting the car till I switch the engine off, will this drain the battery?
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What are the things that are most likely to be the cause of the fan staying on when the ignition is on??
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if the engine is running the alternator will put out more than enough power to run the fans etc without draining the battery - if everything is off when the key is out and the battery goes flat when the car is NOT running then there is either a drain on the battery or there is a fault with the battery. I soldered a blown fuse onto a couple of wires and connected it to a multimeter, then plugged the fuse into all fuse sockets till I found the drain. But seriously check the battery and the alternator first - it is normally the simplest solution that is the right one.
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Do the simple things first ....
With the battery fully charged, leave it disconnecetd from the car for the same number of days. If it goes flat again it is a battery fault, if it is OK then it is a car fault... you can then start looking for the car fault ... not a lot of point if its a battery problem !!!!
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Just a small thought I had a vectra 2.0dti same thing batt drain turned out to be the black ignition switch behind barrel was nacked.I tested this with batt from my senny which has sat 4 months it started.(senny started after 4 months)
after 3 days vectra wouldn't.
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I have already disconnected battery from car and tested it for a few days and its ok. So its the car somewere but where? Over the next few days will check the car over. If I have a scale on my multimeter of 200mA that should pick up the drain??
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I have already disconnected battery from car and tested it for a few days and its ok. So its the car somewere but where? Over the next few days will check the car over. If I have a scale on my multimeter of 200mA that should pick up the drain??
Wouldn't have thought a current drain less than 200mA would flaten the battery, hopefully your meter go's higher than 200mA otherwise its not going to be much good to you, you may need up to 10A or a Clamp meter.
No nothing about the 2.2Dti, but just a thought, an issue on the 2.5TD's is the Glow Plug Relay gets sticky / arch's itself causing total flat battery, does the inlet manifold stay warm long after your switched off.
Chris.
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I have already disconnected battery from car and tested it for a few days and its ok. So its the car somewere but where? Over the next few days will check the car over. If I have a scale on my multimeter of 200mA that should pick up the drain??
Your multimeter should have a fuse to protect it from overcurrent on the Amp/milliAmp settings. I have wasted hours looking for a current drain using a multimeter because the first circuit I tried blew the fuse (and I didn't notice). The multimeter worked fine on the voltage and resistance ranges which is why I didn't realise that the current ranges weren't registering :-[
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You will need to take some accurate current readings using a clamp meter, a multimeter would not be good enough to perform this sort of diagnosis
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Just to say, most clamp meters only work with AC current and we're talking DC here. Affordable clamp meters that do support DC current measurement usually have pretty poor resolution at low currents so if the quiescent current is very low, you may not be able to see it with a clamp meter.
Normal multimeters have their own problems in that they need to be put in series with the load, so the battery terminal needs to be disconnected and the meter connected in series. The battery will be capable of delivering several hundred amps and the fuse in the meter won't blow in time to save it in all circumstances. So, if you want to measure it using a conventional meter switch everything off, disconnect the battery, close all doors, connect the meter in series on a high (10 Amp) current range and immediately disconnect it if it goes overrange.
Let the current settle for a while (it can take 15 mins for the accessory timer to cut the supply to some parts of the car) and back down the ranges on the multimeter until you get a sensible reading. It'll probably settle to a value in the region of 50-80 mA. Much more than 100 mA and you're going to have a problem with the battery draining.
Disconnect the multimeter as soon as you've taken the reading.
There's some more detailed info here: http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1225724099
Kevin
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Some really good points here lads, will work on the car over the week end. I will check that the fuse hasn't blown in my multimeter first tho. Thanks. Will let you know what the outcome is.
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With all your help and advice I have finally found the drain on my battery it was in the relay and fuse box in the engine compartment, when I removed the 10A fuse the reading fell from 0.26A to 0.03A. The fuse was along side two blue relays and the handbook says that in this box the relays and fuses are for the preheating system and fuel filter heating as well as others. Left the fuse out and everything seems to be working but the test will be in the morning when I start from cold. Any idea what is wrong, now that I have narrowed it down a bit, is it just just a case of changing the relays. I suppose I could do with a diagram of the electrics?
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I have already disconnected battery from car and tested it for a few days and its ok. So its the car somewere but where? Over the next few days will check the car over. If I have a scale on my multimeter of 200mA that should pick up the drain??
Set your meter to the 10A range, and plug the red test lead in to the socket that is marked up for measuring current.