Battery drain

[b3lha]

I think I have a problem with my latest SVX. It's been parked up since October when I acquired it and I recently decided to start tidying it up. The previous owner had told me that the battery was useless and sure enough, it was dead. So I junked it and installed a fairly new battery from one of my other SVXes.

A few days later I came back to it and my new battery was completely dead. It wouldn't even charge, no continuity at all. I opened the caps and found that it was DRY inside. WTF So I added some water and put it on charge. I hope it recovers.

So I'm wondering, what did this car do to my battery? I measured the current flow with everything off and it's pulling 0.3 amps. My other SVX is only pulling 0.02 amps. So something is definitely amiss. But is 0.3 amps enough drain to cause this problem? That's only 3.6 watts.

I started pulling the fuses and found number 25 is the one pulling the current. From looking at the diagrams, pretty much everything inside the cabin works off that fuse: Clock, Radio, Illumination etc. I guess the only thing to do is to start unplugging connectors until I narrow down the location of the fault. What a pain in the ass.

[svxistentialist]

Phil

I took the dash of Black Betty to bits trying to find a similar current drain with mine. It also killed a new calcium battery on me. As of yet I am no nearer finding the causes. What I suspected most was a possible short to earth behind the radio cage, but did not [yet] find one.

Recently I have seen a post where somebody mentioned that a sticking solenoid in one of the door locks had been causing them to have a current drain. The lock was powered up all the time, with a subsequent power drain even with the ignition off. I have not looked at Betty in a while with the other two silver cars getting all the attention, so I never followed this one up.

Any chance this could be an issue for you?

Joe

[Trevor]

Greetings PHil,

Assuming that nothing was left switched on, first check items which normally involve a standing current without illumination being visible, i.e. power steering unit, an air conditioning control circuit, the clock and radio.

Checking the diagram I have, indicates that fuse No. 25 appears to be confined to these four items, as well as courtesy light and keyhole systems, misc., room lights, including the vanity lights. This latter wiring has been reported as troublesome. All of these circuits involve illumination, but some may be hard to discern unless in darkness. The current involved does make one suspect a small lamp.

The door lock, and key warning systems as mentioned by Joe, are not covered by fuse No. 25, so can be eliminated from your search.

Best of luck with an awkward problem.

Regards, Trevor.

[svxistentialist]

Thanks Trevor. That's interesting.

You mention vanity lights. I would assume this includes the lamp that illuminates the mirror on the sun visor. These skinny wires can abrade from wear and tear of the visor moving up and down. It would be worth checking up there for a possible short, if nothing more obvious comes to attention.

Joe

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by svxistentialist

Thanks Trevor. That's interesting.

You mention vanity lights. I would assume this includes the lamp that illuminates the mirror on the sun visor. These skinny wires can abrade from wear and tear of the visor moving up and down. It would be worth checking up there for a possible short, if nothing more obvious comes to attention.

Joe

Joe,

I drew particular attention to vanity light wiring for this reason.

Have you checked your power steering unit, as well as a single circuit to the air conditioning system? There are individual diagrams which include these two items. They are otherwise rather obscure.

Trevor.

[kwren]

Originally Posted by b3lha

I opened the caps and found that it was DRY inside. WTF So I added some water and put it on charge. I hope it recovers.

So I'm wondering, what did this car do to my battery? .

Or anyone? I assume that you had some indication that the battery was charged up and functioning when you put it on the car? I cannot fathom that a slow drain on a good battery that had the proper level of electrolyte would become dry from a slow voltage drainage. real
Keith

[michael]

A shot in the dark but worth a 2 min. check. Is the plastic post on top of your alternator cracked, allowing the pos. wire to touch the casing of the alt?

[ensteele]

Originally Posted by kwren

Or anyone? I assume that you had some indication that the battery was charged up and functioning when you put it on the car? I cannot fathom that a slow drain on a good battery that had the proper level of electrolyte would become dry from a slow voltage drainage. real
Keith

I have always had problems with these cars having a slow drain over time which will drain the battery over time. I don't know that it is the security system or not, but I have put battery conditioners on mine.

[kwren]

Originally Posted by ensteele

I have always had problems with these cars having a slow drain over time which will drain the battery over time. I don't know that it is the security system or not, but I have put battery conditioners on mine.

that eventually the drain will happen but am confused about all the battery acid going away.

(You might have too many cars Earl, to keep up with which ones you run, and which ones you don't run. Maybe you inadvertently skip one for too long once in a while

Take care,
Keith

[b3lha]

The battery seems to be bad. It will charge, but it doesn't stay charged.

The 0.3 amp leak seems to have gone away all by itself, so I can't investigate it any further.

Now I have to buy a new battery and wait for the problem to come back and kill that one too.

[b3lha]

As if it wasn't bad enough that I need to buy a new battery, as I was about the leave for work, I found my green "daily driver" SVX had two flat tyres. The front right and rear left both had big nails in them. So I had to swap over two wheels from my black SVX in the rain. So now I need a new battery and two new tyres.

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by b3lha

As if it wasn't bad enough that I need to buy a new battery, as I was about the leave for work, I found my green "daily driver" SVX had two flat tyres. The front right and rear left both had big nails in them. So I had to swap over two wheels from my black SVX in the rain. So now I need a new battery and two new tyres.

Bad, bad news Phil,

But we all know you have the intestinal fortitude to win out. Bugger the nails an god save the Queen.

Sincerely Trevor.

[Dessertrunner]

I have had two things kill the batteries the first was the wire in the sunvisior vanity light and the second was on our 92 and it has a after market door lock system. As mentioned the door lock was powered up all the time. Any other problem has kill the fuse when it occured.
Tony