Chuggs1 10 Posted March 20, 2015 OK - cold be I was wrong and the brand new battery is US? Took battery off charge last night showing 13v on meter - checked it this morning and has dropped to 12.78v - does this mean its US - its not on the car so there should be no draw/loss should there? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZpog 10 Posted March 20, 2015 OK - cold be I was wrong and the brand new battery is US? Took battery off charge last night showing 13v on meter - checked it this morning and has dropped to 12.78v - does this mean its US - its not on the car so there should be no draw/loss should there? I'd say no problem with that as it would show more volts went just charged rather than fully rested. Check it again tonight. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 20, 2015 Its also meant to have an indicator to show its fully charged which goes green - its still black? Am charging it for another 10 hrs - see what happens then and see what happens by tomorrow morning Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fla 9 Posted March 20, 2015 the solar panel only really maintains the charge (the one i have) it wont charge a flat battery. Quite good if the car is outside and you give a it a full charge and leave this plugged in. It wont chage from the cigarette lighter socket though - i've hard-wired mine in through the bulkhead so just disconnect it when i drive the car. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 22, 2015 Ok - swapped the car battery. id test when engine running and voltage was at upper 14s so should signify the alternator is charging. Also checked parasitic drain and only showing 0.15 - which seems very low but good! was expecting 0.3-0.6?? So just have to watch now and see if I lose charge again. Hopefully was just the battery and all is well now. I supect that after I had the problem with boot light drain I didn't charge battery up enough! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sean_Jaymo 0 Posted March 22, 2015 Looks healthy from here then. Hopefully a good drive will sort it out :-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 22, 2015 Just been for that nice long country lane drive.... Big smiles Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 24, 2015 (edited) Arghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! Blimin battery is dead again!! OK can only be one of two things. As tested parasitic drain in car with ignition off but not tested with central door locking on or alarm on (not sure how to.) Also tested alternator was working and thats all OK. A showing upper 14vs when engine on. So battery goes on charge tonight when I get home form work and will charge for 24 hrs - then will go for a good run in the car. Will then lock central door locking but not activate the alarm - if battery stays charged then its the alarm - if not its the CD locking. Either way I will know by the end of the week - if its the alarm that's ok as its new and was only installed 3 months ago. Out of interest I have noticed comments about after market alarms doing this - what's the cause - is it wired up to the wrong power source? Edited March 24, 2015 by Chuggs1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne2015 10 Posted March 24, 2015 Answer: Wayne s luck changing coz its rubbing off and onto other members - Sorry Chuggs! :eek: Anyway u can disable the alarm (is it link to an immobiliser)? Does central lock drain battery (sensor to remote key)? Checked all internal lights (boot, glove compart)? Disconnect stereo? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 24, 2015 Lol - na - my luck is always with me ha-ha - this is just one of those things sent to challenge me! hehe! Internal lights and stereo all seem to be ok and no drain So i'm pretty sure i'm left with either CDL or Alarm - im starting to lean towards the alarm - but will know more soon as I didn't have this until after the alarm was fitted. Just not sure what can cause the alarm to drain battery - unless its an internal short??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne2015 10 Posted March 24, 2015 Lol - na - my luck is always with me ha-ha - this is just one of those things sent to challenge me! hehe! Internal lights and stereo all seem to be ok and no drain So i'm pretty sure i'm left with either CDL or Alarm - im starting to lean towards the alarm - but will know more soon as I didn't have this until after the alarm was fitted. Just not sure what can cause the alarm to drain battery - unless its an internal short??? Who install alarm? Get them to fix it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sean_Jaymo 0 Posted March 24, 2015 It may be a bad battery. It's 3 months old but that means nothing if it's been doing it ever since you fitted it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 24, 2015 Not battery - took the other one back on Sunday as thought it could be - and they changed it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne2015 10 Posted March 24, 2015 Not battery - took the other one back on Sunday as thought it could be - and they changed it Could be the owner? :wave: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sean_Jaymo 0 Posted March 24, 2015 In that case, make sure before you check the parasitic drain with the alarm on that you tape the bonnet alarm switch down otherwise you will have the alarm wanting to go off with the bonnet being open causing all sorts of funny readings. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 24, 2015 Cool - will try that! Gotta hate electrical problems! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sean_Jaymo 0 Posted March 24, 2015 What's the make and model of the alarm? You'll need to know what the normal drain is although if you're suddenly drawing 3 or 4 amps, you've found the problem! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Erallus 10 Posted March 24, 2015 I got this charger, a bit more expensive but it has a lot of features and can recondition batteries. http://mccormicktools.co.uk/ctek-mxs-50-smart-battery-charger-conditioner-12v-5a-8-stage-charge.html?gclid=CP6ljNTItMQCFYLItAodHl8ARA I have one of these as well, very good Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 24, 2015 Its a Cobra alarm cant remember the model - but think its fairly standard with movement detectors and entry and central door locking Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sean_Jaymo 0 Posted March 24, 2015 I've got a toad alarm and the specs state that it has 18mA drain when armed with ultrasonics. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 24, 2015 Thanks Sean - reckon they should be similar - but will double check in the manual I have Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuggs1 10 Posted March 24, 2015 As im fairly new to this - just check I have my meter set up correctly -= using the 10amp setting and getting a reading of 0.14 - is that 14 mA Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sean_Jaymo 0 Posted March 24, 2015 Yes that's right. The setting is just the maximum amount of amps that the setting can handle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
