Chuggs1 10 Posted March 10, 2015 (edited) Ok cant see an electrical area under the technical thread so putting this here - HELP!! OK car battery is completely dead. Had new brakes fitted all round could anything be draining the battery - ABS? When I picked up from garage they said battery was low so I took it for a very long drive to get battery charged up. Car has now been sitting for three days not used. - The alarm was bleeping four times on unlocking suggesting something was nogt closed - checked all that and everything was closed - has it booked in for tomorrow for alarm to be looked at but im wondering if something the garage did or didn't do may be the cause? Even the alarm is completely dead and central door locking - nothing left in battery at all - cause I have my car on street I cant get a car to it to give it a jump until they all go to work. Can anyone diagnose this - can it be brakes fitting or alarm fault? Thanks Edited March 10, 2015 by Chuggs1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted March 10, 2015 It won't be anything to do with the brakes, its likely to be either just a duff battery, alternator problem, or a large earth causing the battery to drain down. You'll need either an auto sparky, or get yourself a multimeter and test for current draw. Remove fuses one at a time and test again. etc....... until you have next to none. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 10, 2015 Hpefuly not the battery that's brand new - so will have to check other issues you mention - thanks. Could something be earthed when brakes were done just seems strange that it happnedd straight after garage - although could be co-incidence and issue with alarm thinking something is open happening the same time? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 10, 2015 Also - as alarm was set before battery failed - will I be able to start it - of will I have to jump the batteyr for a while then use the alarm fob to turn of immobaliser - sorry if this is sounding thick but i really don't know Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted March 10, 2015 The alarm playing up is likely just because of the battery issues. The ABS system isn't active at all when switched off, so it shouldn't create any problems, and I can't see it being anything else around there that can be disturbed.............. Yeah get a multimeter, and test voltage to the battery when running, then with load (all lights etc on). Should be around 14.2v running, and drop to around 13v minimum with load on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted March 10, 2015 Alarm should de-activate from the fob as soon as you hook it up to another car to jump it. Get the other car running and leave it for five minutes, give it a few revs to get current flowing to the dead battery to charge a little, as if its completely dead it'll take a while to even start. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 10, 2015 Pretty sure its going to be an earthing problem/short as you suggest as don't think its alternator and pretty sure its not battery - are there anyobvious places to start with for this type of problem - any common earth issues known? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted March 10, 2015 Engine bay earths corrode or getting dirty. Follow the neg battery terminal down to the little post. Give it a good wire brush. Also starter motor earth point, and the rear right of the engine block (iirc) have earth points. Worth checking them out and making sure everything looks in good order. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 10, 2015 Superb - thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lesarcsneil 0 Posted March 10, 2015 There are a few interior lights that would drain the battery in 3-4 days. The ones you wouldn't notice are the light staying on in the boot(remove the parcel shelf to check) or the glovebox light. Measure the current drain at the battery, remove the bulbs then measure again. Neil Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 10, 2015 Thanks Neil will look at that too Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sean_Jaymo 0 Posted March 10, 2015 (edited) The central locking pump is notorious for draining batteries when the earth on them goes bad. As Sean says, check for a parasitic drain on the battery and work backwards from there. Most cars when in the off and locked state have no more than 0.3 to 0.4 amps drawing on them. With a lot of batteries having 3/4/5 or even 600 amp hours rating, you should be able to get a good few weeks on most batteries before they die out entirely. To measure parasitic draw, disconnect the earth lead from the battery and with the multimeter set to amps, measure between the earth terminal on the battery and the vehicle earth lead. Anything more than half an amp indicates a problem. Just make sure you have the doors shut when you measure this as will give a reading that is wrong. Keys out of ignition, doors shut. To check if lights are the issue, close the car, remove the parcel shelf and see if you can see if either of the lights are on. They do work of the same switch so should be the same. Edited March 10, 2015 by Sean_Jaymo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 11, 2015 Thanks Sean I did buy a meter but other than the obvious wasn't sure how to do this .... Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Bacon 5 Posted March 11, 2015 Mine used to pull 1.5 amps with everything off. Turned out to be a defective C/L controller, which is behind the driver's side rear 'door' card. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 11, 2015 Thanks for the advice all. Turned out to be the best scenario and it was the boot switch and boot light remaining on. Lucky Me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
