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[mc9]

For some time the battery has been going flat after two days. Battery voltage drops steadily until no longer able to start car. Autoelectrician can't find parasitic drain. AA man says get a new battery. Battery supplier says battery is good. 

I've checked: courtesy lights, vanity mirror lights, boot light, glove box light etc. Bought and fitted a new cheap battery online. Now THAT battery is losing voltage. 

The older removed battery (Varta 90AH) is now holding at around 13 volts (after a full charge off car). So problem is with car not battery.

Troubleshooting is finding some odd things (Ignition is off during all testing):

-- Disconnecting / reconnecting battery causes a curious "groaning" noise at the moment of connection. Noise coming from somewhere in left side of dashboard / bulkhead. DVM shows big current drain (meter overloads) at that moment. Current drain settles to 30mA.

-- Removing fuse 12 causes heater blower to start and run intermittently (9A drain)!! 

-- Removing fuse 33 shuts down blower.

Will replace fuse 12, pull fuse 33, charge battery and leave car for a while to see what happens.

Do I have a problem with the electronic climate control?

Any ideas anyone?

Cheers

[BiodieselOmega]

Rectumfrier in alternater playing up?

[TheBoy]

Firstly, if you haven't already, remove Power Sounder.

[Andy H]

Firstly, if you haven't already, remove Power Sounder.

and while you are rooting around under the scuttle check that the scuttle drain is clear (and that water hasn't flooded the heater fan speed controller)

Scuttle Drain Cleaning

[mc9]

Power sounder was removed three years ago.

Alternator output 13.1V @ 2000rpm with lights on -- that's a bit low so bad alternator is possible.

Andy H -- nice tip, cleaned out drains but don't know if heater motor has ever been flooded.

I've pulled fuse 33 and will check battery voltage tomorrow evening. Still wondering about curious blower motor behaviour.

Cheers

mc9

[zirk]

Also worth checking that the Glow Plug Relay is not intermittently arcing across on its own, that problem can kill a fully charged Battery in less than an hour with the keys out and car locked up.

Chris.

[Shackeng]

Also worth checking that the Glow Plug Relay is not intermittently arcing across on its own, that problem can kill a fully charged Battery in less than an hour with the keys out and car locked up.

Chris.

Mmmmm, that sounds an odd one, is it likely?

[Martian]

Alternator output 13.1V @ 2000rpm with lights on -- that's a bit low so bad alternator is possible

Way too low, 13.8v - 14.4v is what you need to see.

[zirk]

Also worth checking that the Glow Plug Relay is not intermittently arcing across on its own, that problem can kill a fully charged Battery in less than an hour with the keys out and car locked up.

Chris.

Mmmmm, that sounds an odd one, is it likely?

Yep, was driving me round the bend for a month or two and a few others on here since, the relay contacts start to pit and build up on themselves over time, meaning there almost touching each other to the extent that the last vibration before switching the ing. off can cause the them to arc / temporarily weld themselves killing a perfectly good battery in a very short time.

If its doing it whilst driving around the alternator seems to cope with it, but you end up with a very hot inlet manifold and some short lived glow plugs.

Chris.   

[Shackeng]

Also worth checking that the Glow Plug Relay is not intermittently arcing across on its own, that problem can kill a fully charged Battery in less than an hour with the keys out and car locked up.

Chris.

Mmmmm, that sounds an odd one, is it likely?

Yep, was driving me round the bend for a month or two and a few others on here since, the relay contacts start to pit and build up on themselves over time, meaning there almost touching each other to the extent that the last vibration before switching the ing. off can cause the them to arc / temporarily weld themselves killing a perfectly good battery in a very short time.

If its doing it whilst driving around the alternator seems to cope with it, but you end up with a very hot inlet manifold and some short lived glow plugs.

Chris.

Useful info, so worth putting a new relay in mine at 13years old.

[zirk]

Also worth checking that the Glow Plug Relay is not intermittently arcing across on its own, that problem can kill a fully charged Battery in less than an hour with the keys out and car locked up.

Chris.

Mmmmm, that sounds an odd one, is it likely?

Yep, was driving me round the bend for a month or two and a few others on here since, the relay contacts start to pit and build up on themselves over time, meaning there almost touching each other to the extent that the last vibration before switching the ing. off can cause the them to arc / temporarily weld themselves killing a perfectly good battery in a very short time.

If its doing it whilst driving around the alternator seems to cope with it, but you end up with a very hot inlet manifold and some short lived glow plugs.

Chris.

Useful info, so worth putting a new relay in mine at 13years old.

Might be worth taking the relay apart and heaving a look at least, there's 2 sets of contacts inside, see if there clean, pic below shows the first contact with a pitted pyramid almost touching its partner, second contact is fairly clean.

[Shackeng]

Takes me back, looks like a set of points from a car I owned 50 years ago. Only trouble is, I can't remember which one.