Electrical drainage Discovery 3 TD5

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S

Shooterian

New Member
Posts
4
Location
South Glos
My Disco is draining power when not being used. If we jump start it and drive for 20 mins or so, turn it off ot will restart but left overnight it wont start. Battery tests as Ok and is charging but frustratingly even a 3 hour drive will not guarantee starting the next morning. Any advice would be welcome.
 
There have been other threads on this on the forum so if you search you will find stuff to help you. But you could start by simply disconnecting the battery overnight as soon as you stop. If, once reconnected, you can start it then you know you have a battery-draining, wrong connection somewhere. First and most obvious step is to make sure that everything that can work with the ignition key removed stops, e.g. engine fan, if it is electric and driven even when the engine is off, no the case in a TD5 I think. Then it is a fairly simple case of using a multi-meter to test everything. You can connect it between live terminal and live lead set to "amps" to see what current it is drawing, there will always be a small current driving the alarm, clock etc, but a bigger current should be obvious. Look for things connected that shouldn't be. Then leave the multi-meter connected and start pulling out fuses to see where the leak is. That ought to narrow it down. Could simply be a wire worn through chafing and shorting to earth. Others will jump on with ideas too, but start where I suggested to eliminate an apparently healthy but actually dodgy battery.
 
Hi

If it is a D3 TDV6 I had the same issue with a residual battery drain

There are roughly 25x ecus in these vehicles and indeed I had to test each and every fuse one by one in the engine bay and also the other fuse box inside the cabin with a multimeter

Please let us know what model and plenty here to help
 
gstuart said:
Hi

If it is a D3 TDV6 I had the same issue with a residual battery drain

There are roughly 25x ecus in these vehicles and indeed I had to test each and every fuse one by one in the engine bay and also the other fuse box inside the cabin with a multimeter

Please let us know what model and plenty here to help
Click to expand...
My son-in-law had a V6 with the same problem, turned out to be an accessory plug in the rear. He got well fed up of having to disconnect and reconnect the battery every night!
 
Stanleysteamer said:
There have been other threads on this on the forum so if you search you will find stuff to help you. But you could start by simply disconnecting the battery overnight as soon as you stop. If, once reconnected, you can start it then you know you have a battery-draining, wrong connection somewhere. First and most obvious step is to make sure that everything that can work with the ignition key removed stops, e.g. engine fan, if it is electric and driven even when the engine is off, no the case in a TD5 I think. Then it is a fairly simple case of using a multi-meter to test everything. You can connect it between live terminal and live lead set to "amps" to see what current it is drawing, there will always be a small current driving the alarm, clock etc, but a bigger current should be obvious. Look for things connected that shouldn't be. Then leave the multi-meter connected and start pulling out fuses to see where the leak is. That ought to narrow it down. Could simply be a wire worn through chafing and shorting to earth. Others will jump on with ideas too, but start where I suggested to eliminate an apparently healthy but actually dodgy battery.
Click to expand...

Hi

Had the same issue if it is indeed a TDV6

Alas u can’t pull the fuses one by one with this system as it will wake up , I used a multimeter set to amps and went across the back of each fuse

Was a right sod to find ,in the end was my memory seat ecu and seeing there’s roughly 25x ecus takes some time

Have to bypass the bonnet catch then wait 30 x mins for the system to go to sleep then start testing

Enclosed a chart for ur interest , lol

Indeed may be a faulty alternator as well, hopefully the op will let us know what model it is, but knownwhen I had to trace mine it took weeks to finally pin it down

Engine off should be 12.6 Vdc , engine running goes up to 15.6vdc

BB993E81-5AD7-4399-A727-F34393D0E2B8.png
 
gstuart said:
Hi

If it is a D3 TDV6 I had the same issue with a residual battery drain

There are roughly 25x ecus in these vehicles and indeed I had to test each and every fuse one by one in the engine bay and also the other fuse box inside the cabin with a multimeter

Please let us know what model and plenty here to help
Click to expand...
25 ecus???!!!!! Feck me it is not a truck it is a mobile computer complex!
 
Yeah, should've mentioned the alternator, duh! but then wouldn't that trigger a fault on the dashboard on such a modern vehicle? If not it BLIDDY WELL SHOULD since it flipping-well tells you when to change your socks, pump up your tyres and make the tea!
 
Stanleysteamer said:
Yeah, should've mentioned the alternator, duh! but then wouldn't that trigger a fault on the dashboard on such a modern vehicle? If not it BLIDDY WELL SHOULD since it flipping-well tells you when to change your socks, pump up your tyres and make the tea!
Click to expand...

Hi

Not always , seen where no lights at all are showing , fit a brand new battery and if the alternator is faulty will destroy the new battery in a short amount of time
 
Stanleysteamer said:
That's why I'll never get one and will probably end up getting rid of my D2 and keeping with my D1s!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Lol, indeed think when someone buys a D3 and wishes to work on it themselves have to get a diagnostic reader and a multimeter as a must

Even a blown rear bulb can light up the dashboard like a xmas tree
 
gstuart said:
Even a blown rear bulb can light up the dashboard like a xmas tree
Click to expand...
And yet STILL it cannot monitor the alternator's performance and indicate it to the driver. This is absolutely stupid.
At least with an old car, if the alternator was not charging then the ignition light came on. With my old Renault 17 (who remembers them?) it came on when the alternator belt went, even though the water pump was driven by a different belt and thus it did not overheat, which would normally warn you if you missed the ignition light. Typical of progress that takes us all backwards. Even if there was just a slight fault in the alternator's brushes or diode pack, the ignition light would flicker faintly.
 
TBH think a multi-meter is a must for both house and car! Any car! I use one all the time and have a special one for all my old cars so I can do timing, contact-breaker gap, read revs etc. And I HATE electrics! Use one to check all soldered joints are good. But agree about the diagnostics. When will they build those into the car? Why does it all have to be a code? Why is the owner denied access to knowledge of the problem on their own car? It could come with safety warnings. This is treating all drivers as if they are idiots. Disgusting!
 
Stanleysteamer said:
And yet STILL it cannot monitor the alternator's performance and indicate it to the driver. This is absolutely stupid.
At least with an old car, if the alternator was not charging then the ignition light came on. With my old Renault 17 (who remembers them?) it came on when the alternator belt went, even though the water pump was driven by a different belt and thus it did not overheat, which would normally warn you if you missed the ignition light. Typical of progress that takes us all backwards. Even if there was just a slight fault in the alternator's brushes or diode pack, the ignition light would flicker faintly.
Click to expand...

Hi

There is a alternator warning light system but reading some threads where some owners have had no warning lights yet the alternator has failed

Where others have seen the battery not being charged correctly and shows a warning light

Seems to have a mind of its own and supposedly part of a smart charging system

As many of the orange warnings don’t provide a fault code but a red light does
 
Stanleysteamer said:
TBH think a multi-meter is a must for both house and car! Any car! I use one all the time and have a special one for all my old cars so I can do timing, contact-breaker gap, read revs etc. And I HATE electrics! Use one to check all soldered joints are good. But agree about the diagnostics. When will they build those into the car? Why does it all have to be a code? Why is the owner denied access to knowledge of the problem on their own car? It could come with safety warnings. This is treating all drivers as if they are idiots. Disgusting!
Click to expand...

Indeed ref the multimeter, such a useful and vital tool to have

Hopefully u won’t nod off, lol found some info ref the alternator on these vehicles

7A20F5E5-AFC7-47A8-9456-AF80EAB6DFBE.png
CA229942-BCF3-4F20-BAA1-CC9FC30DF3E2.png
28116A6B-4449-4E3F-A91C-6BDEBC03EC09.png
13C72160-4116-4EC1-A109-7897B64C78AC.png
B8B1E3BE-E5AD-4C1B-BBA9-953916D16359.png
 
gstuart said:
Hi

Had the same issue if it is indeed a TDV6

Alas u can’t pull the fuses one by one with this system as it will wake up , I used a multimeter set to amps and went across the back of each fuse

Was a right sod to find ,in the end was my memory seat ecu and seeing there’s roughly 25x ecus takes some time

Have to bypass the bonnet catch then wait 30 x mins for the system to go to sleep then start testing

Enclosed a chart for ur interest , lol

Indeed may be a faulty alternator as well, hopefully the op will let us know what model it is, but knownwhen I had to trace mine it took weeks to finally pin it down

Engine off should be 12.6 Vdc , engine running goes up to 15.6vdc

View attachment 182040
Click to expand...
gstuart said:
Hi

If it is a D3 TDV6 I had the same issue with a residual battery drain

There are roughly 25x ecus in these vehicles and indeed I had to test each and every fuse one by one in the engine bay and also the other fuse box inside the cabin with a multimeter

Please let us know what model and plenty here to help
Click to expand...
 
Hi and sorry, yes it is a TDV6 SE.
Some very good advice here already thank you, I will try the battery removal overnight a few times and go through everything with the multi meter. I have already removed the Sat Nav and radio fuses, as they seemed to be enhancing the issue, though this may have been me being parenoid
 
Shooterian said:
Hi and sorry, yes it is a TDV6 SE.
Some very good advice here already thank you, I will try the battery removal overnight a few times and go through everything with the multi meter. I have already removed the Sat Nav and radio fuses, as they seemed to be enhancing the issue, though this may have been me being parenoid
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome

I went through this and indeed more than happy to talk u through it if u get stuck

Have u got anything aftermarket fitted plse,

See what the battery voltage is first and we can then start building some data and point u in the right direction

When u do a battery residual test you have to let the vehicle sleep first and can’t pull any fuses out or ur wake the system up

If ur unsure how to link the bonnet catch out plse let us know , as u have to link the bonnet catch out, alarm the vehicle then wait 30 x mins then see what reading u have in the way of amp residual drain should be under 22Ma , ,then test each and every fuse

Do u have memory seats plse , thks and plenty here to help
 
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