Battery Drain - A few ideas

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The Mad Hat Man

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LZIR Despatch Agent
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Test for battery Current Drain

0-0.1Amp
System OK
0.11-0.2Amp
High Spec Vehicle – OK
Not High Spec – suspect Fail
Aftermarket Alarms/Accessories
0.3-0.6Amp
Glove Box light, Interior light, Boot light, vanity light, etc (single bulb)
0.7-1.0Amp
Interior Light(s)
2.0-4.0Amps
Alternator Diode Fault
Stuck Relay(s)
5.0-10Amps
Headlights, Rear lights
10+ Amps
Heating Elements ie
Rear Screen, Heated Mirrors, Heated Seats, Glow Plugs etc.
 
Last edited:
I read on another forum about how a guys battery kept draining and he couldn't figure it out. Turns out his missus had left the vanity mirror light switched on under the sun visor. It stays on when the ignition is turned off.
 
Further to the above - thgis might also help....
How to find the cause for an slow draining battery

Many Land Rovers are plagued by the 'flat battery' syndrome, especially the newer ones. After some days of not being driven the battery is dead flat. Under normal everyday driving those sympthoms do not appear.

The problem is in most cases a slow drain somewhere. It does not take that much to empty even a large battery over 3 or 4 days. An simple underhood or interior light is more than enough. But how to find it?

First make sure your battery is ok and fully loaden. Even a new battery is sometimes faulty. Drive to your local parts store and have them check your battery with an load tester.

If this is ok make sure your electronics don't mind being disconnected. Ask your dealer or have a look in your owners manual. Elder petrol engines (except new shape RRs) and all diesels except the TD5 are no problem.

Disconnect the positive clamp on your battery but take care not to touch the body metal with the spanner when doing this.

20220d1292330241-battery-drain-few-ideas-short1.gif


Now connect an small light between the + terminal and the clamp. Put the clamp on a rag so it can't touch the sheet metal. If any drain is present the light will glow. Or you can check the amount of drain with an small ammeter. An drain of 300mA (0.3A) can be tolerated. Next pull the fuse for the clock and the radio. Still any current flowing (light on)? More details on current drain figures can be found here - Battery Drain - A few ideas

Ok, so you really have a problem. Now start pulling the fuses in the fuse box one by one until the light goes off. This is the circuit in which the problem lies. Check your manual or the indications in the cover of the fuse box to see which systems are connected to that fuse.

The next steps depend on the systems concerned. Try disconnecting each one of the parts connected in the circuit. Again it's the same - when the light goes out you've found the problem.

Even better than a light bulb is an buzzer. Many people have one of those annoying little rascals lying around. Use it.

In very new vehicles there are so many electric and electronic gadgets that problems are very common. Especially the immobiliser / alarm is known to be a can of worms. Those have best been left to an qualified auto electrician - not necessarily your Land Rover dealer.
 

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1, Current drain on an L322 is 20-30mA,same as a P38.
2,They take 16-18 mins to shut down to sleep,during which time there are several surges as different ECU's do their thing.
3,taking out fuses one by one and replacing them with a plug in will just take forever as plugging the unit in will in most cases wake it all up again.
4,An ordinary current clamp cant measure accurately down low enough,for this kind of measurement you need something like this; K Clamp Series AC/DC, 3.9mm ID, Cat. II 300V - Chauvin Arnoux | Chauvin Arnoux But the only problem,(Besides its cost) is that the clamp will only go around a small wire.I get areound this by using a suitable lead with a croc clip on either end and carefully connecting it into the circuit without losing contact - helps on L322's and is even more help on P38's as you dont have to set windows/sunroof etc.
5, Common drain issues on L322's are the final stage resistor for the fan motors keeping the HEVAC ecu awake,headlight lowering ecu's being full of water,LPG ecu's,old phone kits,dead tracker batteries and water in just about any loom or other ecu.

Filched from eightinavee :)
 
Test for battery Current Drain

0-0.1Amp
System OK
0.11-0.2Amp
High Spec Vehicle – OK
Not High Spec – suspect Fail
Aftermarket Alarms/Accessories
0.3-0.6Amp
Glove Box light, Interior light, Boot light, vanity light, etc (single bulb)
0.7-1.0Amp
Interior Light(s)
2.0-4.0Amps
Alternator Diode Fault
Stuck Relay(s)
5.0-10Amps
Headlights, Rear lights
10+ Amps
Heating Elements ie
Rear Screen, Heated Mirrors, Heated Seats, Glow Plugs etc.

Also - from LR
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