P38A Flat battery, the problems have started...

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tomcat59alan said:
With a cold beer.;) Did you seal the patio? My friend has just had a new one laid and had a barbecue the other weekend he's now got lots of grease stains on it:eek:
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Not yet i am waiting for a dry spell to do the infill sand and i am going to relay some of the old stuff.
i have about two full pack of blocks to hand for and maintenance work:D
 
Flossie said:
So if you unplug the RF receiver then the car has to be locked/unlocked with the key in the door? I can live with that.
I don't have the EKA code and although the battery has been on and off multiple times the radio has never needed a code inputting and the alarm has never gone off and it just starts, like cars of old.
Just been looking at parasitic draw videos and learnt some more, 50ma draw max once everything's gone to sleep (how long does that take on these?) Connect meter between battery neg not positive, set meter to 10 or 20 amps, disconnect meter when opening doors, don't crank etc or the meter will toast itself.
Nipping out to see if my meter does DC amps, never looked:rolleyes:.
Click to expand...
Confused as my meter has only two probe ports, the YouTube guy had more. However, I have a position on the rotary dial, far right setting, see pic that brings up what I think is amps? DC also comes up in the LCD screen which isn't clear in the 2nd pic.
IMG_20210805_162324_600.jpg
IMG_20210805_162435_625.jpg
 
Depends what full scale deflection is but most digital meters have overload protection so should be ok and will give you an accurate reading
 
Also, correct me if I am wrong - the Diesels (espeacially early ones) would have a drain caused by the OBD port....later ones where fitted with a diode...trouble is can't remember which wire....but it was soldered in pretty close to the socket on the loom. It should cause a drain overnight, but is something else to check for....to drain a healthy battery overnight is most likely a knacked diode in the alternator.
 
Saint.V8 said:
Also, correct me if I am wrong - the Diesels (espeacially early ones) would have a drain caused by the OBD port....later ones where fitted with a diode...trouble is can't remember which wire....but it was soldered in pretty close to the socket on the loom. It should cause a drain overnight, but is something else to check for....to drain a healthy battery overnight is most likely a knacked diode in the alternator.
Click to expand...
Pin 16 is the positive on the OBD port.;):D
 
oakey said:
Crikey Hiya Saint long time no see
You OK?
And I agree
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We are well, after having to move house twice in the last year or so - first time moving out to the west country for work, and then again when the MoD wanted their house back (review of their married quarter estate and our house was one due to be handed back) we have hopefully settled for a long while now where we are in North Dorset....hoping to get online more often when I can between work and kids....hopefully!
 
Flossie said:
Just been looking at parasitic draw videos and learnt some more, 50ma draw max once everything's gone to sleep (how long does that take on these?) Connect meter between battery neg not positive, set meter to 10 or 20 amps, disconnect meter when opening doors, don't crank etc or the meter will toast itself.
Click to expand...

All that faff can be avoided* by measuring the voltage drop across fuses / using a DC clamp meter like the Uni-T 210E :-

I tried putting a link in here - but it didn't work - search on the zone for B00O1Q2HOQ

There are other Uni-T models which are better ( and more expensive ) ... I've had one of these for a few years now, and found it better than my Fluke kit from a repeatability point of view :confused: ( fecking scary given the price difference :eek: ) :rolleyes: :mad: ....

* = make sure any bonnet switch is held in the closed position, so the car thinks the bonnet is shut, and you can watch the various modules go to sleep - write the times down for future reference ! ( it's exciting this troubleshooting electronics init ?!?!!? :D )

I agree that the most likely cause of overnight battery drain is a knackered diode in the alternator - guess you get to upgrade your alternator sooner rather than later :rolleyes::)
 
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Saint.V8 said:
We are well, after having to move house twice in the last year or so - first time moving out to the west country for work, and then again when the MoD wanted their house back (review of their married quarter estate and our house was one due to be handed back) we have hopefully settled for a long while now where we are in North Dorset....hoping to get online more often when I can between work and kids....hopefully!
Click to expand...
Top tip try paying the rent!! :eek::oops::oops::D
 
Disco1BFG said:
All that faff can be avoided* by measuring the voltage drop across fuses / using a DC clamp meter like the Uni-T 210E :-

I tried putting a link in here - but it didn't work - search on the zone for B00O1Q2HOQ

There are other Uni-T models which are better ( and more expensive ) ... I've had one of these for a few years now, and found it better than my Fluke kit from a repeatability point of view :confused: ( fecking scary given the price difference :eek: ) :rolleyes: :mad: ....

* = make sure any bonnet switch is held in the closed position, so the car thinks the bonnet is shut, and you can watch the various modules go to sleep - write the times down for future reference ! ( it's exciting this troubleshooting electronics init ?!?!!? :D )

I agree that the most likely cause of overnight battery drain is a knackered diode in the alternator - guess you get to upgrade your alternator sooner rather than later :rolleyes::)
Click to expand...
Cheers Sim:)
Found it off the number:D
All the eBay sellers are China based so I've got the missus to get it for me off Amazon £41 +£5 to get it tomorrow.
:):):)
 
Flossie said:
Battery was taken off charge last night and voltage an hour or so later was 12.4v. checked again this morning and still 12.4v. battery is off the vehicle btw.
Does that sound ok? Battery has survived it's practically complete discharge?
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if you ask halfords, they will likely say the battery is perfectly good.
battery sulphation begins at 12.4v and under so its not an ideal voltage to rest at and suggests it is holding only 80% capacity
a better test is to measure voltage drop while cranking, ideally a new battery would be 11v or slightly over with 10.5 or less showing a poorly battery (generalising)
if your battery charger has a reconditioning or desulphation setting, now might be a good time to use it
 
kermit_rr said:
if you ask halfords, they will likely say the battery is perfectly good.
battery sulphation begins at 12.4v and under so its not an ideal voltage to rest at and suggests it is holding only 80% capacity
a better test is to measure voltage drop while cranking, ideally a new battery would be 11v or slightly over with 10.5 or less showing a poorly battery (generalising)
if your battery charger has a reconditioning or desulphation setting, now might be a good time to use it
Click to expand...
Unfortunately not. I've had it since the early 90's. I've been googling but some descriptions are vague...Screwfix do a maypole one for £45 iirc , good reviews and cheaper elsewhere but I'm unsure if reconditioning and desulfering are the same thing:oops:.
They all seem to vary wildly in price too. Minefield:p
 
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