Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13563
Heelllllp battery drain FIXED
hi guys am currently outside trying to work out this battery drain i’m getting , ive disconnected the dual battery positive lead to ensure an accurate test
following robbies fantastic guide
but how do i test the ,alternator again plse with the engine off, can’t find it and if anyone could tell me i would be very grateful as i can then do a test now whilst the vehicle is in sleep mode plse
know i’ve got an issue , as this is the readings after an hour with the bonnet linked out and slowly going through it
can i just pull the large fuses on the right hand side as there’s no way of testing them or will i have to make up leads for each one as per robbies guide
cheers
PS fantastic guide robbie and many thks
Last edited by gstuart on 3rd Sep 2018 3:22 pm. Edited 3 times in total
19th Jan 2018 4:13 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13563
hi
just locked and unlocked it, as i’ve been pulling relays
will just wait until it goes to sleep again
out of curiosity i just looked to see what the amps were after 10 x mins ,
just got to wait
19th Jan 2018 4:28 pm
Pete K
Member Since: 15 Jan 2016
Location: GL
Posts: 10335
The big wire that exits the battery box and goes to the bottom of the engine is the alternator.
Stick clamp roundthat. Shouldn't need to wait.
19th Jan 2018 5:12 pm
Pete K
Member Since: 15 Jan 2016
Location: GL
Posts: 10335
Regarding the big J? Fuses. You may want to make a loop of wire with 2 terminals.
Replace the fuse with that and put the clamp round the loop
19th Jan 2018 5:19 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13563
Pete K wrote:
The big wire that exits the battery box and goes to the bottom of the engine is the alternator.
Stick clamp roundthat. Shouldn't need to wait.
hi Pete
thk, really appreciate it , is zero with the clamp meter ,
plus i couldnt understand why the dual battery wasn’t working , pressed the link button and it lit up with the red , pressed display , aux battery full,
used a multimeter to test the aux battery ,was 12 volts , 12v on one side of the relay , but no 12 volts the other side of the relay , so by the looks of it the new t max relay i just put in doesn’t work
so going to disconnect it for now , got to find he instructions first , whistle:
never mind at least it progress and really pleased at least found out why the aux battery wasn’t feeding the main one
19th Jan 2018 6:41 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13563
Pete K wrote:
Regarding the big J? Fuses. You may want to make a loop of wire with 2 terminals.
Replace the fuse with that and put the clamp round the loop
Hi pete
great info, assume i will have to make up 16x of them in order i can plug each back in , before i wait for the system to sleep , so that i don’t have to pull the j fuses them i don’t wake the system up again
with residual drains , are there any common fuses , relays , plse that keep coming up from previous experience of other owners , as i’ve got to somehow get to the bottom of this residual drain
if for example u was going to fit a quick disconnect connection onto the main battery terminal , can u fit it to the positive post plse and then allow the aux battery to take over, if that makes sense
thks once again and really appreciate it
19th Jan 2018 11:17 pm
Pete K
Member Since: 15 Jan 2016
Location: GL
Posts: 10335
I guess I was thinking of making 2 loops up and see how things went.
You might not need to wait on some of them. Visually check the fuse isn't blown before fitting loop.
How long have you been having to wait ?
I'm not aware of where drains happen on these.
I don't think there is physical room or flexibility to fit cut off to + terminal.
May be room on negative.
So you are looking for a 0.4A drain ?
Tip. Ensure center dash display is off.
Turning ignition to pos 1 and off will speed this up.
20th Jan 2018 9:04 am
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13563
thank u Pete
some great info there , shame it’s raining today
as i progress will ensure i update this thread so it will be of use to others
had to wait around the 30 x mins for it to sleep and didn’t think of turning the key on and off, will help a lot on time seeing there’s 16 x of them
funny i noticed that ref the clock on the radio but goes off after roughly 10 x mins but will keep an eye on it
i did buy a ctek and what a great bit of kit, had to buy one extension lead and it’s not long enough , is it ok to link 2 x extension CTEK leads together plse , as that will then give me 5xmetres total and long enough to reach
couldn’t see anything in the owners manual ref this
thks so much once again and nothing like a challenge finding this fault
20th Jan 2018 9:26 am
Pete K
Member Since: 15 Jan 2016
Location: GL
Posts: 10335
Yes turning ign to 1 and off should shut radio off quicker and turn off optical network where fitted.
Would putting the ctek connector in the boot help?
Yeah 2 extensions should be ok.
20th Jan 2018 9:48 am
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13563
did buy the ctek comfort M8 connector that goes onto the battery terminals , just got to secure the indicator better under the bonnet and thks, will get another extension lead for now
am indeed thinking of updating the towing socket from 12n to 12s which would make life easier , just got to see what’s involved , i can at least then plug the ctek in once a week until i find out what this drain is
once i’ve checked all the fuses i hope it’s not a relay sticking ???
there was me thinking fitting the tmax split charge system was the end of my worries, lol , well it would have been better if the relay had worked ,
mines the base model and haven’t got any aftermarket radios etc and will remember the on/off tip
never mind though , all about learning and many thks Pete , just so grateful for the fantastic help
20th Jan 2018 10:15 am
Pete K
Member Since: 15 Jan 2016
Location: GL
Posts: 10335
I connected my ctek lead up in the boot, behind the left rear panel. (to where towbar wires connect).
Left the ctek in the boot. But it depends how easy it is to trap a mains extension cable into the disco tailgate.
If you reverse onto your drive, its worth considering.
You can ignore these large fuses on the first pass, as I think them unlikely.
Sadly it could also be the small fuses too. But good to look at the large ones first.
Probably a tip for others as this probably doesn't apply to your "small" drain, but you could have a play while waiting for the car to shut down.
Note the small fuses have a metal contact at the top for each terminal.
Get a volt meter, set on a very low range. 2V or less.
Put the black wire on one fuse contact and the red on the other.
This is all while the fuse is still fitted to the car without distribing anything.
It should read about 0.
If you start to see some reading more, that means current is flowing thru that fuse, and is a potential one to come back and check once the car has shut down.
And if still suspicious, while the current clamp is round the battery lead, pull the fuse out and see if the problem goes.
EDIT: Just started looking at Robbies guide, and he is showing the same thing:
Robbie wrote:
Click image to enlarge
Robbie wrote:
c. For those that like maths rather than the table the current calculation on this circuit (fuel pump) was:
25 Amp Fuse = 2.36 mOhm or 0.00236 Ohms
Measured @ 0.0235 V or 23.5 mV
= 9.95763 Amps
I don't think that trick will work on the large value fuses (with your small drain). But if you don't have the parts to make a testing loop you could try.
Remove a large fuse, and unclip the clear widow on the top. Store the clear windows away.
Do this for each fuse in turn.
Now contacts are exposed, and you can probe away. Again experimenting while waiting for the car to sleep and then coming back to them.
You should be able to refit the clear window in a couple of weeks without needing to remove the fuses
Last edited by Pete K on 20th Jan 2018 12:03 pm. Edited 2 times in total
20th Jan 2018 11:09 am
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13563
Hi Pete
indeed i was also thinking about that , but as u also mention ref shutting the boot
am think of making a letter box style box outside that is locked on the front of the house to store the ctek extension leads ,
drill through the wall , using some sleeving so the extension lead can then plug into the ctek charger in the hallway and is all tucked out of the way , can then simply unlock the box, plug the extension lead into the landy , easier to monitor the charger from the hallway then
have indeed checked the small fuses, all zero
also made sure all my software is up to date , compressors relay was replaced when i fitted a new one
funny enough i used the clamp on the glow plug fuse but know that’s not how to test them, as per pic , lol
this is what i’ve done so far , ref the pics , using different settings for the test on the alternator
plus when the engine is running and everything switched on i get 15.5 vdc, will then drop 14.5-14 after a while
main battery which is 100a/h will be flat after 2 1/2 weeks if i don’t use it , which by the sounds of reading other threads isn’t normal
also haven’t checked if any fuses are plugged in that don’t need to be, as mines the base so haven’t got all the extra toys
looking at those J fuses i see there’s a small removable plastic cover, shame i couldn’t remove the cover on all of them , then waiting 30 x mins and test them left plugged in with a multimeter
just searching for that white connector in robbies great write up
20th Jan 2018 11:37 am
Pete K
Member Since: 15 Jan 2016
Location: GL
Posts: 10335
On my house I just have an MK outside socket, and a 13A switched spur inside (good to isolate if water gets in or stopping neighbors using your leccy)
The white fuse adaptor is belt a braces should a fault happen while you are testing, which is unlikely.
It sounds to me as if you haven't set your volt meter to a low enough range. 200mV I think is required.
They can't all be reading zero.
Test/practice on the 20A suspension one.
20th Jan 2018 11:58 am
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13563
Pete K wrote:
I connected my ctek lead up in the boot, behind the left rear panel. (to where towbar wires connect).
Left the ctek in the boot. But it depends how easy it is to trap a mains extension cable into the disco tailgate.
If you reverse onto your drive, its worth considering.
You can ignore these large fuses on the first pass, as I think them unlikely.
Sadly it could also be the small fuses too. But good to look at the large ones first.
Probably a tip for others as this probably doesn't apply to your "small" drain, but you could have a play while waiting for the car to shut down.
Note the small fuses have a metal contact at the top for each terminal.
Get a volt meter, set on a very low range. 2V or less.
Put the black wire on one fuse contact and the red on the other.
This is all while the fuse is still fitted to the car without distribing anything.
It should read about 0.
If you start to see some reading more, that means current is flowing thru that fuse, and is a potential one to come back and check once the car has shut down.
And if still suspicious, while the current clamp is round the battery lead, pull the fuse out and see if the problem goes.
EDIT: Just started looking at Robbies guide, and he is showing the same thing:
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Quote:
c. For those that like maths rather than the table the current calculation on this circuit (fuel pump) was:
25 Amp Fuse = 2.36 mOhm or 0.00236 Ohms
Measured @ 0.0235 V or 23.5 mV
= 9.95763 Amps
I don't think that trick will work on the large value fuses (with your small drain). But if you don't have the parts to make a testing loop you could try.
Remove a large fuse, and unclip the clear widow on the top. Store the clear windows away.
Do this for each fuse in turn.
Now contacts are exposed, and you can probe away. Again experimenting while waiting for the car to sleep and then coming back to them.
You should be able to refit the clear window in a couple of weeks without needing to remove the fuses
that’s great ref the small clear windows and will indeed allow me to go through them all
i did on one occasion after it went into sleep mode, pull a large fuse, clamp meter spiked to around 80 then had to wait 30 x mins for it to go back down, so thought , ah, that didn’t work
if i removed the large fuses one by one and then reinstall them after removing the covers i won’t get them messed up then
that’s fantastic being able to do that and will save me a lot of time, can then feed back my findings ref each fuse
sounds daft , yeh i know, lol , what is the best way to test a relay plse, in order it’s not sticking inside the relay
thks ref the chart , that should cook my brain abit more
this has been such a help and soooooooo grateful
20th Jan 2018 12:00 pm
Pete K
Member Since: 15 Jan 2016
Location: GL
Posts: 10335
Pete K wrote:
It sounds to me as if you haven't set your volt meter to a low enough range. 200mV I think is required.
They can't all be reading zero.
Test/practice on the 20A suspension one.
Have another play on the small fuses, as I don't think you are doing it correctly.
All the info is from RObbies guide.
I wouldn't worry about the relays, its usually obvious if they are stuck closed, and would cause much more than the drain you have
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