garioch43

garioch43

Active Member
After leaving my 2002 HSE parked up with the alarm on for 10 days the battrey was so flat I couldn't eben open the doors with the key fob.

Got the electrics going again with jump leads to my little MGF, but not man enough to turn the engine.

Got a jump start from my local garage.

Took her to have the battery checked out and tests A1.

Surely you should be able to leave a car like this for at least a couple of weeks and expect it it to start???
 
Sounds like either the battery testers tester is wrong or (more likely), you have voltage imps draining your battery. Can you have the 322 plugged in to find this fault or can you do it with a voltmeter, a clive cussler, a cup of tea and a comfy chair.

Nick.
 
2 weeks sounds about the max for a P38, If I leave mine for longer than a week I put a solar panel on the rear parcel shelf to keep the battery charged.
 
Hi.
I think i was extremley lucky with my 38 as i njust never had these problems with the battery......or it was completely unprotected and nothing did anything once i turned the ignition off....hmmmmmmm.
 
You can use a multimeter and measure the amps coming out of your battery. But you need a friend to tell what another p38 measures to compare values.
 
Both P38 and L322 should drain at 20-30mA when asleep.The P38 takes about 2-3 mins to nod off and the L322 takes 16 - 18 mins.
There are lots of other reasons for either to drain too quickly even when asleep,phone kits,trackers and LPG ecu's are just a few of the causes.
I had a TD6 L322 in last week that was flattening its battery,turned out to be an incorrect relay had been fitted which was constantly energised - took ages to find.
 
Disco71 said:
try this:D:D

12v Volt Solar Panel Power Car Leisure Battery Charger on eBay (end time 14-Nov-09 09:06:12 GMT)
Click to expand...


I reckon 1.5watts is a bit marginal, 5 watts is about the minimum that would be useful:D:D 10 watts with a charge regulator even better.:D:D:D Remember, except in full sun, a solar panel does not reach it's maximum output.

Also it's no good plugging a solar panel into a cigarette lighter socket as they are disconnected when the ignition is off. I modified the connector in the boot by fitting a new (fused) wire direct from the battery so I can leave the solar panel on the parcel shelf.:D
 
How long do people think a decent battery should last? I bought a new heavy duty battery (huge) 2 years ago and now I am in a position of it flattening itself within about a week - as far as I am aware I don't have any gremlins unless it is something else - how can I best check my alternator functionality? Or after 2 years should I be expecting to buy a new battery?
 
Hi Josh

What do you mean by a huge battery??????? It would help if you state what motor it is fitted to???,

Start by doing a check to see if the alternator is working, if not sure then Youtube has lots of vids on how to do it. should be approx 13.8V at the battery.

If that is OK, then do a parasitic drain, again youtube will show you the way.

Or, you can take your battery and get it tested, depending on how honest they are they might give you a true answer.

Cheers
 
Hi Neil yes sorry for vagueness.... it's a 99 4.0 Thor V8. I will have a look at those YT checks.

Can't remember the specifics off the top of my head other than its 1000 cca!
 
I replaced mine after 4 1/2 years - and it was a 1000CCA MF31-1000 from Battery Megastore. It finally died when I was away and the RR was left for 8 weeks without being started.

I replaced the battery with another of the same, and it was left at home, connected, for 6 weeks at the end of last year when I was away working in the US, and it started straight up when I got home, in the middle of winter.

So in short - it should last longer than 2 years, if there are no extra battery drain issues etc.
I bought the 3rd gen RF receiver to stop the interference problems (as in the past few years it's been left for a week or 2 at a time on a regular basis), and I also have LPG ECU which has a permanent feed from the battery, so probably draws a shade more than a normal one.

There's a good post on the Rangerovers.net forum which has been a 'sticky' there for years about battery charging etc, to help give and idea of the health of the charging system and cables. I've copied/pasted a summary below.. if you check those, and report back it will help diagnose if there is an issue with the charging system, power cables, or ground cables to/from the battery:

  1. Battery voltage, Engine off - before starting:
  2. Battery voltage, Engine started, idling, with no electrical load:
  3. Battery voltage, Engine running at 2000rpm with no electrical load:
  4. Battery voltage, Engine running at 2000rpm with electrical load (headlights/high beams, blowers on full, heated seats/screens on (where fitted)):
  5. Voltage drop from the alternator body to battery NEGATIVE post, Engine running at 2000rpm with electrical load. Use the DC millivolts range on your multimeter:
  6. Voltage drop from the alternator positive terminal to battery POSITIVE post, Engine running at 2000rpm with electrical load. Use the DC millivolts range on your multimeter:
 
josh00mac said:
How long do people think a decent battery should last? I bought a new heavy duty battery (huge) 2 years ago and now I am in a position of it flattening itself within about a week - as far as I am aware I don't have any gremlins unless it is something else - how can I best check my alternator functionality? Or after 2 years should I be expecting to buy a new battery?
Click to expand...

You got the diesel P38? Diesel P38 alternator set point is only 13.8V which isn't enough for modern calcium batteries. 1000CCA sounds like calcium. You can get a voltage regulator to upgrade the alternator output up to 14.5V or stick to old style batteries (getting harder to find). A decent 3 stage charger once a month to pep the battery up would also help.
 
Record for mine, three weeks on Manchester airport car park. Started no trouble. Mind you a starter pack was taken in case of anomalies, but not required.
 
brianp38dse said:
:eek:(three weeks on Manchester airport car park) surprised it was still there in one piece :D:D
Click to expand...

Well not totally unscathed, was reversed into a bay, did notice paint missing from O/S front bumper corner a few days after getting home. That is the only place it could have happened. But could not prove it. :D:D
 
martyuk said:
I replaced mine after 4 1/2 years - and it was a 1000CCA MF31-1000 from Battery Megastore. It finally died when I was away and the RR was left for 8 weeks without being started.

I replaced the battery with another of the same, and it was left at home, connected, for 6 weeks at the end of last year when I was away working in the US, and it started straight up when I got home, in the middle of winter.

So in short - it should last longer than 2 years, if there are no extra battery drain issues etc.
I bought the 3rd gen RF receiver to stop the interference problems (as in the past few years it's been left for a week or 2 at a time on a regular basis), and I also have LPG ECU which has a permanent feed from the battery, so probably draws a shade more than a normal one.

There's a good post on the Rangerovers.net forum which has been a 'sticky' there for years about battery charging etc, to help give and idea of the health of the charging system and cables. I've copied/pasted a summary below.. if you check those, and report back it will help diagnose if there is an issue with the charging system, power cables, or ground cables to/from the battery:

  1. Battery voltage, Engine off - before starting:
  2. Battery voltage, Engine started, idling, with no electrical load:
  3. Battery voltage, Engine running at 2000rpm with no electrical load:
  4. Battery voltage, Engine running at 2000rpm with electrical load (headlights/high beams, blowers on full, heated seats/screens on (where fitted)):
  5. Voltage drop from the alternator body to battery NEGATIVE post, Engine running at 2000rpm with electrical load. Use the DC millivolts range on your multimeter:
  6. Voltage drop from the alternator positive terminal to battery POSITIVE post, Engine running at 2000rpm with electrical load. Use the DC millivolts range on your multimeter:
Click to expand...
Thanks Marty - I will grab a meter from work tomorrow and assess. Could be the RF receiver - I will speak to the previous owner. If buying a new RF receiver - is it simply plug and play or is there syncing etc required?

Marty I'm surprised you don't make your own version of the newest spec receiver....
 
josh00mac said:
Thanks Marty - I will grab a meter from work tomorrow and assess. Could be the RF receiver - I will speak to the previous owner. If buying a new RF receiver - is it simply plug and play or is there syncing etc required?

Marty I'm surprised you don't make your own version of the newest spec receiver....
Click to expand...

Plug and play.
 
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