VR6 Battery/Power Problem

[PeteL 0]

Guys

 

I've recently had a new alternator fitted as the old one was knackered, i discovered this when my battery had run flat one morning.

 

Since then the battery is now being charged but is flat again if left connected overnight. The battery looks like quite an old one and the previous owner only only did a few thousand miles in around 2 years. Im thinking it could be dead as it was fully drained and ive charged it a few times and jumped it, which I believe doesnt do it much good! I have had it checked at Halfords any they said its ok. I think Im planning to replace the battery anyway, especially with winter approaching.

 

However I wanted to see if there is anything else that could be draining the battery before i replace it. Ive done a search on this already. so Ive checked the boot light and thats ok. I have a laserline 996v3 alarm and a Sony headunit fitted, could one of these be draining the power in such a sort amount of time? I know there is a live feed from the alarm but what about the headunit?

 

I also have a uprated headlight loom fitted, i use the car daily but I do mostly short journeys (under 15miles) if thats any help. Sorry for the long winded explanation, im bit of a novice when it comes to electrics.

 

Cheers

[delfinis38 1]

what have halfords actually done... just put a volt metre across the terminals... ?

 

it really needs a load test to see the exact amp/h. is it a sealed unit or can you visually check the cells, may also need a top up of water

 

It's worth investing in a new battery anyway.

[dr_mat 0]

They usually do a load test. Corrados are notorious for draining batteries, don't assume the battery is at fault just yet. Get a multimeter and measure the current drain when the car is off and the alarm is alarmed (assuming you can get to the battery while this is the case). Anything over 2A will drain the battery overnight, easy.

[matt-the-mussel 0]

Try to find out if the car ever had a 'tracker' fitted, mine did and although its not in use, it still had a battery attached behind the glovebox which was knackerd and draining the main battery. Might be worth a look!

[PeteL 0]

Im getting the battery hooked up to a multimeter tonight so will post up the results tomorrow and take it from there.

 

matt-the-mussel - is there any register to check or is it just a case of checking paperwork and with previous owners?

[gogsboy 0]

Try to find out if the car ever had a 'tracker' fitted, mine did and although its not in use, it still had a battery attached behind the glovebox which was knackerd and draining the main battery. Might be worth a look!

 

I think you mentioned this before, I have had few issues with my Corrado and found paperwork relating to tracker.

 

Does anyone know if they always put the battery behind the glovebox? Is that standard practice and if so is it easy to take out or like most things...a ball ache :gag:

 

I got a new Bosch silver...calcium technology I think, however still think its draining quicker than it should but then I'm far from an expert.

 

I know the Samson that was on it is shot after about 2yr, perhaps not even that, that doesn't seem right.

[matt-the-mussel 0]

The hardest thing was getting the glovebox out! I disconected the small battery, about the size of a pack of butter, and the power drain dropped from well over 300ma to about 30! I just insulated the leads and its been fine ever since. I've just dug out the paper work and the phone number for Tracker is: 01895 234567. That number is 10 years old thou.....

[PeteL 0]

Results of multimeter showed

 

Engine running 11.2

Engine off 12.0

Engine off, car alarmed 11.8

 

Clearly the readings were too low but the alarm was not drawing enough power to cause a problem.

 

On further investigation we found a thin blue wire resting on the connection to the starter motor, this was getting very hot and shorting out. We repaired this and cable tied it back. As a result the reading went up to 14.1!

 

Im hoping this has sorted the problem.

 

Any thoughts guys?

[dr_mat 0]

Yes.

[Jonny_L 0]

Hi Pete, Sorry to hear you've been having some bother. Don't come on here much any more but I just found this.

 

Sounds like you've got it cleared up now anyway, but just thought I'd help out to save you any expense (provided you're talking about my old car, that is!).

 

Firstly, the battery was only about 2 months old when you got the car, so it shouldn't be giving you problems, the one in there previously was pretty old, and I assume died of natural causes. It should actually still be under warranty otherwise, got it from Chessington tyres in Guildford (probably a bit of a mission for you though).

 

I personally never had a tracker fitted, I'm not sure if someone else did, though I never had a problem with charging/battery problems before so I wouldn't of thought that would be a problem.

 

Anyway sounds like you found your problem now, just thought I'd try and help to clear things up a bit :)