batt drain test..please read my test results

[steveo29 0]

i havebeen having my battery go flat if left for between 5-10 days

i tested again with a amp meter on 10 amp setting between the neg post and wire

here are my results...what do you think

 

int light on 0.75

no int light but everything else conected 0.07

radio fuse pulled 0.05

alarm fuse pulled 0.04

alarm armed 0.07

disconect wire to amps and power cap 0.04

alarm armed with no amps/cap 0.05

 

so what do the reading sound like? to me it looks like i could half my prob by looking into the amp drain

 

is 0.07 enough to drain the batt in around a week or so

[h100vw 0]

Steve, Assuming you have a battery that can supply 65Ah( 65 Amps for 1 Hour). Divide 65 by .07A. That gives you 928 hours. Divide that by 24 to get days. That comes out at over 38 days.

 

If you were to leave the interior light on it shouild flatten the theoretical battery in 3 and half days...

 

What voltage are you getting across the terminals? Could be you have a bad cell in your battery?

 

Gavin

[dr_mat 0]

Haven't check my VR's current drains, but I can tell you that 14 days is the MAX I can leave it without coming back to a flat battery. And then it'll be sluggish turning the engine over..

And mine's got a brand new battery (well 12 months old)..

I was chatting to the RAC man when he jump started it last time and he reckons that most cars these days have trouble with anything over two weeks, so if you have extra current drain (such as your amps) on top of all the usual electronics then you can expect to see even less, IMHO.

 

Don't forget that absolutely correct as the maths above is, car batteries are designed to provide 65 Ah on a high-current basis, the VR requires 150+ amps to start, and it's got to be able to do that on a regular basis. Low current trickle from a car battery will usually drain it sooner than you would otherwise expect...

 

That said, if you've not replaced the battery in the last couple of years it could well be down a cell or two. When I got mine, 4 of 6 cells were completely dry..!! It would only hold 4V under load.. Amazing the car ever started at all, really!

 

Make sure the battery pushes 12.5V constant when the engine is off.

[stevemac 0]

Were also heading into Winter, in case anybody hadn't already noticed. Car batteries are fairly temperature sensative. When it starts to get cold your car's battery power can be reduced by upto 30% just because of the low temperature.

 

Any doubts - replace your battery & have your alternator output checked.

[steveo29 0]

ok guys...its not a fault batt or alt..ive tried several on it inc new uns

 

h100vw..you say 928 hrs to flatten it...is that 0volts?? i mean im assuming it would stuggle to start at 11 volts if at all

 

ive sinse been at the amps..one of em is pulling 0.02 and gives a good spark when i touch the power wire on/off..i might replace that?..ive also slung the power cap,it never did alot anyway

[h100vw 0]

There is a difference between voltage and capacity. Each cell produces 2 volts and if you were to strap a load across a flat battery, it would pull it down to less than 12.

 

Although with a couple of minutes to recover, it may show 12 volts on a voltmeter.

 

Your thinking is right in less than half those 900odd hours the battery would be unable to provide the juice for a start.

 

Stevemac also has a point, the cold reduces the efficiency of a battery no end. Cold oil would make it harder to start too. That's why a lot of new Dubs have battery warmers.

 

 

Gavin

[stevemac 0]

steveo29 - what model Corrado do you have ??

 

If you have a CAT1 alarm fitted to the car then I would always uprate the battery. Although this is not usually necessary - if you intend to leave the car for a few days at a time with the alarm armed it is something which I would strongly advise.

 

For example - if you currently have a 65ah battery then replace it with a 74ah battery instead.

Universal fitment, insulated battery jackets are readily available for most sizes of car battery - this will also help.

 

Just as an example :-

Some Mercedes vehicles have batteries of 100ah capacity and still go flat if left for 2 weeks with the alarm system armed.

[steveo29 0]

i just had a look...its a66ah on there now. are higher ah batterys bigger in size?

 

i just want to know if my drain is normal? i dont want to waste money and time trying to fix something that aint broke

 

http://uk.transportation.exide.com/index03.asp have a look at these maxximas..the cca is huge but then im not sure if the capacity is worded differant?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Were also heading into Winter, in case anybody hadn't already noticed. Car batteries are fairly temperature sensative. When it starts to get cold your car's battery power can be reduced by upto 30% just because of the low temperature.

 

Any doubts - replace your battery & have your alternator output checked.

 

Aye, that's why batteries quote a cold crank current, something like 360 amps for a couple of seconds, or something like that!

 

My advice is to fit the biggest battery you can fit in the car and be done with it. An AC Delco sealed job from Vauxhall always gets my vote.

 

Might be an idea to re-terminate the grounding points as resistance here increases current draw significantly.

 

Kev

[steveo29 0]

ive done the wires..your right the standard ones are poor..AND seems vauhall dont do the ac delco ones now, i work at a dealer :oops: and they have differant ones now

[G60Jet 1]

Bosch Silver top

[Kevin Bacon 5]

ive done the wires..your right the standard ones are poor..AND seems vauhall dont do the ac delco ones now, i work at a dealer :oops: and they have differant ones now

 

Ah but they do my friend. Don't be fooled by the Vauxhall sticker. If they're still black with a green/amber indicator (they were last year at least), it's an AC Delco :wink:

 

If Vauxhall do no longer use AC Delco, then my sincerest apologies for leading you up the garden path.

 

Kev

[steveo29 0]

i know they were ac delco...a few months back they started coming through badged " go" or something...black with a green sticker

 

i'll have a closer look..id heard elsewhere that theyre good un's..need to be for a shi**y vauxhall huh

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Bummer if they are no more :(

 

AC Delco are the best of the lead acid batteries, by far. Voted "ICE battery of the year" a while back. Only the dry cell Oddysey batteries come close, but then you're looking at a LOT of wedge for those big yellow beasties.

 

Kev

[Supercharged 2]

AC Delco may have been Voted "ICE battery of the year"...

 

But who were voted to be "RICE battery of the year!"?? LOL

[jims corrado 0]

Draper tools do a battery saver that you plug into the wall and attach leads to your battery terminals. They look like a mobile phone charger and can be had for about £20 from halfords. My 16v stands for weeks on end with this connected and always starts first time in any weather. If i recall correctly it supplies about 0.2 amps at 12v, just enough to keep the battery topped up.

 

Worth a try

 

 

Jim

[steveo29 0]

mines outside :( so i cant trickle charge it.....ive some more finding today

 

i tested all 3 of our cars( the other 2 sit and start in all weather) all 3 had approx 12.4 accross the batt which i guess is about right for winter ..the bently says its 75% charged?

 

i tested the polo for drain..0.03 with an analog clock and radio memory

 

g60 golf..0.05/6 armed

 

so by that if i can get rid of the amplifier drain mine is about right...so it makes me think is the 16v may just be harder on starts????i.e wont start on 11v where the others will?

i cant think why :? it has a good recent vag starter(which the electrician checked) big fat 4 gauge cables replacing the std ones...all i can think of is maybe an extra earth from the starter mount bolt to the front cross member??

[Henny 0]

mines outside so i cant trickle charge it.....

 

As daft as it sounds, Halfords and Maplins both sell a solar re-charger... All you need to do is plug it into your cigarette lighter socket and leave it on your dash to keep your battery topped up... 8) It's perfect for cars that are left outside for longish periods of time as it only has to produce 12V at about 0.5A for a few hours a day to stop the battery from going flat over time, which it should easily be able to do, even in the UK with our pants weather! 8) :lol:

[stevemac 0]

i just had a look...its a66ah on there now. are higher ah batterys bigger in size?

 

Usually higher Ah batteries are bigger in size, however there is not always very much difference.

 

I tend to use Varta as they also manufacture a lot of the original VW batteries. There is a very good Varta battery specialist here in Leeds. I would measure your battery tray and see what the biggest dimensions for your new battery could be. Then phone the battery specialist. You will need to tell them which side the positive & negative terminals are and also wether the posts are flat or round.