gstuart · Feb 8, 2015

here u go

sorry it took so long

have just bought a new battery which is due later in the week ,also bought some led error free bulbs for the entire interior, ie, heater controls, instrument panel , centre light, boot, glove box, etc

also a small lcd voltage display unit, just plugs into the cigarette lighter and shows the voltage whilst going along

been trying to find out about my hazard warning switch, as when I turn it on only get the illumination from the dashboard indication and not from the switch itself

new battery

varta F18 silver
85 AH
800 CCa

existing battery

75 AH
600 cca

------------------------

VOLTAGE TEST RESULTS

this is from the existing battery

standing voltage and engine not running 12.18 volts

engine running at idle @ 750 rpm. 14.20 volts

@1500 Rev 14.28 volts

after 15 minutes of engine running and then turned off done another reading of battery

12.50 volts

AMPS DRAWAGE TEST RESULTS, ( disconnected positive lead and put multimeter in series)

0.376amps, then after 5 seconds

drops to 0.080 amps with bonnet open and inside light on

then closed the door, put a small g clamp on the bonnet alarm switch

then once the light went out

0.020 amps draw

don't know if the final reading is minimal or I need to investigate further with regards to the drawage

what do u think plse

thks and hope this may be useful to anyone else

gstuart · Feb 8, 2015

plus just bought an oem hazard light switch for a fiver

via ebay

plus realised I've been a complete doughnut

didn't get the amp DRAWAGE when the vehicle was locked up and alarm set

will do that tommorow if the weathers not to bad and add it here , doh

GrumpyGel · Feb 9, 2015

When I read up on this recently, the guide I found was that anything more than 50 milli-amps is 'considered' a drain - so I suppose that's 0.050 amps.

gstuart · Feb 9, 2015

GrumpyGel said:
When I read up on this recently, the guide I found was that anything more than 50 milli-amps is 'considered' a drain - so I suppose that's 0.050 amps.

am on 0.20 amps but like a complete doughnut and don't know why I forgot to do it with the alarm set

will do it hopefully in the next few days and report back as it may help someone

I've been searching everywhere to see what the drain should and shouldn't be but couldn't find a thing

so hopefully if it doesn't go about 0.50 amps should be ok ,

jamesmartin · Feb 9, 2015

gstuart said:
am on 0.20 amps but like a complete doughnut and don't know why I forgot to do it with the alarm set

will do it hopefully in the next few days and report back as it may help someone

I've been searching everywhere to see what the drain should and shouldn't be but couldn't find a thing

so hopefully if it doesn't go about 0.50 amps should be ok ,

try unplugging alt

gstuart · Feb 9, 2015

jamesmartin said:
try unplugging alt

bloody forgot to do that as well, lol

may I ask is it easy to do and get to

would it ever be possible to get a zero draw or is that impossible due to the ecus etc

never even looked to see where it is, but must of course be near the left hand side where the belts are

will also be nice to get all the readings as a comparrison so we all know what they should be and at what stage

so will unplug the alternator , then take a reading

then set the alarm and take a reading again

did set my multimeter on ampsm have got miliamps on it but was worried that there could be too much for the meter to handle so just left it on amps

can u think of anything else I need to test for please

plus does it ever help to do the DRAWAGE test in volts along side amperage as I can relate to volts better

thks again

gstuart · Feb 9, 2015

have been working on the hippo this afternoon

I couldn't unplugged the alternator so pulled the fuse F19

the amp reading didn't change abit

they also advise in the owners handbook not to pull out the links and fuses from under the bonnet as this controls the engine management ecus and assume this can cause problems

what i done first with the battery connected is got my multimeter , set onto volts and went through each and every fuse, under the bonnet , including the 3 x 30 amp ptc heater ones and the fuse box inside the car

I could test each fuse from the back of any voltage so didn't have to pull everyone out

pulled fuse F14 as this was the interior clock, lights, mirrors as I found a voltage usage of
5.3 volts

the. connected the meter in series

with the fuse F14 pulled the amp reading dropped to 0.013 amps

with the alarm set it was 0.026 amps , this was with the fuse F14 in and out , so didn't make a difference once the alarm was set

I assume the remaining 0.026 amps can't be lowered anymore as the rest is being used by the ecus etc, as maybe it drops more as I've read ecus can still use power for hours at a time

gstuart · Feb 9, 2015

would be intersting if possible if anyone else could do a amp draw test please on their TD4

to see what others get

trax · Feb 9, 2015

that's fine. pretty good infact. 30-50 ma is the usual.

why the concern btw? something happen?

is it that 12.18 battery reading on your old one that's making you worry?

the battery probably just went bad. btw, you should leave the battery an hour or two after having the alt on to allow it to stabilise. that's why it probably showed 12.50 15 mins later.

gstuart · Feb 9, 2015

trax said:
that's fine. pretty good infact. 30-50 ma is the usual.

why the concern btw? something happen?

is it that 12.18 battery reading on your old one that's making you worry?

the battery probably just went bad. btw, you should leave the battery an hour or two after having the alt on to allow it to stabilise. that's why it probably showed 12.50 15 mins later.

my concern is if I leave my hippo stand for a few days the battery goes flat so tried to find out why

have since order the varta battery which instead of getting the 096 i bought the 110 instead and has far better cca and ah

so hopefully once it's fitted should not drain so quick

that's why I was trying to find what the battery drain was

also waiting for LED bulbs which i got to replace every single interior bulb

will buy some osram headlight bulbs next

trax · Feb 9, 2015

gstuart said:
my concern is if I leave my hippo stand for a few days the battery goes flat so tried to find out why

have since order the varta battery which instead of getting the 096 i bought the 110 instead and has far better cca and ah

so hopefully once it's fitted should not drain so quick

that's why I was trying to find what the battery drain was

also waiting for LED bulbs which i got to replace every single interior bulb

will buy some osram headlight bulbs next

with your readings, it sounds like it's just a bad battery.

even so, the ah are quite small so if you are leaving it sitting for over a week or just do short journeys then i'd consider sticking a solar trickle or a smartcharger on it.

gstuart · Feb 9, 2015

trax said:
with your readings, it sounds like it's just a bad battery.

even so, the ah are quite small so if you are leaving it sitting for over a week or just do short journeys then i'd consider sticking a solar trickle or a smartcharger on it.

u must have a crystal ball as I've been looking the solar chargers

but been trying to read through reviews and what size amperage I would need to get

was actually thinking of placing it on the inside of the sunroof so it's fairly hidden , as I can hide the wires under the roof lining, down the pillar and into the cig lighter , but of course the sunroof is tinted , instead of leaving it on the dashboard or rear parcel shelf , but know the more I hide it the more ineffective it will be

my reason of wishing to try and put it out of the way , is in car parks etc , little scroats want to smash the window and Nick anything that's on display

funny how batteries must have changed on my old series 3 the battery would last a month with no problem

trax · Feb 9, 2015

gstuart said:
u must have a crystal ball as I've been looking the solar chargers

but been trying to read through reviews and what size amperage I would need to get

was actually thinking of placing it on the inside of the sunroof so it's fairly hidden , as I can hide the wires under the roof lining, down the pillar and into the cig lighter , but of course the sunroof is tinted , instead of leaving it on the dashboard or rear parcel shelf , but know the more I hide it the more ineffective it will be

my reason of wishing to try and put it out of the way , is in car parks etc , little scroats want to smash the window and Nick anything that's on display

funny how batteries must have changed on my old series 3 the battery would last a month with no problem

well my daft noggin figures that from a fresh battery 12.7 it'll take 4 days to drop to 12.4 which is when sulfation. i may be wrong! it can still start, just that's when the battery can start the process to go bad. but meh, it might last for a lot over a week and sulfation maybe cuts it's life to 3-4 years.. that's not bad.

for your solar topup, you just need to have it producing more than you consume. so 0.1 or 0.2 amps would be ace. so 1 or 2 watts if it really does produce that much. some lie

series 3 didn't have electrickery using the juice

if you need to store it longer and don't want the solar option or a charger, then get a battery with larger ah or stick another battery somewhere and hook it up in parallel.

or your measurements may be wrong..

trax · Feb 9, 2015

wonder if you could put a strip of solar on the top of the rear wheel cover or on the roof

if it gets nicked or damaged, it wouldn't be much to replace

gstuart · Feb 9, 2015

thks trax

the new battery I have coming is better than the old one

85 AH and 800 cca and with it being a bigger 110 instead of the 096 should retain it charge better , fingers crossed

the solar strips sounds like a good idea , as mines a 3 door could put it round my side quarter light windows , as they don't go down won't have a problem sticking things on or near them , could then run the wires down to the rear cig lighter socket

have bought a cheap cig lighter lcd volt display u it that shows what the volts are as u are driving so will interesting to see what it reads , was only a fiver so didn't break the bank

u mention putting another battery in parallel wouldn't that need a proper split charge installation kit , cause surely it would overload the electrical system

am in the process also of looking for tent etc and also been looking around for a little trailer , my parents have kindly offered to help me with the costs

looked at the halfords ones as i only need a small one

got my tow bar bracket and ball already , which is being fitted soon by the garage as i belive they have to be certified as it goes in for its mot at the same time

can put a leisure battery in a split charge system,as I know there not designed for cranking power but storage , as that would be good to have a system like that for camping and hooking up to the leisure battery for lights etc in the tent

thought about a 12-240 volt invertor,

been sitting down and working out what I wish to do and what I want to achieve so that I won't have to back peddle and a,ways like to do a thorough plan

thks again

Hippo · Feb 10, 2015

My v6 uses 24mA when locked with the alarm on. Different vehicle electronics etc but they all use a similar amount of current.

Normally it takes about 2 weeks for the battery in mine to drop to a level where it won't start. That's on a reasonably healthy battery. As the battery gets older the time will reduce. Same for colder conditions.

trax · Feb 10, 2015

ah awesome, 2 weeks is enough.

2 batteries in parallel (preferably the same type) just increases the capacity (storage amount), think more ah. you don't need a split charge setup. but i doubt you need it.

second hand trailers come up a fair bit. if you can weld to patch it up, then it could be worth it.

always fun having a tinker

gstuart · Feb 10, 2015

Hippo said:
My v6 uses 24mA when locked with the alarm on. Different vehicle electronics etc but they all use a similar amount of current.

Normally it takes about 2 weeks for the battery in mine to drop to a level where it won't start. That's on a reasonably healthy battery. As the battery gets older the time will reduce. Same for colder conditions.

thks mate at least I know I'm on the right track with regards to the amperage draw

hopefully once this new battery comes will make a lot of difference

will have to get my neighbour to lift the bloody thing though , lol

gstuart · Feb 10, 2015

trax said:
ah awesome, 2 weeks is enough.

2 batteries in parallel (preferably the same type) just increases the capacity (storage amount), think more ah. you don't need a split charge setup. but i doubt you need it.

second hand trailers come up a fair bit. if you can weld to patch it up, then it could be worth it.

always fun having a tinker

do try and keep the old grey matter going

thks about the batteries , just pondering about when I go camping etc, to see how much hassle etc it would be, could use the existing battery I've got to save some money , only a year old , might be worth a punt

only remembered the other day I bought a brand new dewalt 1/2 inch router , with 12 x trend router bits, got the extra depth gauge adjuster to adjust it by the mm , never used any of it , paid about 300 quid and is only a year old, never seen the light of day, lol maybe one day I will use it , but doubt it, seems such a shame, even got a fox , double mitre sliding saw , that's only been used once

must get round to selling them to be honest, so can go to a good home , but it's all the hassle with ebay etc

my son was going to build some units but moved out instead, lol ,

sorry going off tanchent again, lol

trax · Feb 10, 2015

gstuart said:
do try and keep the old grey matter going

thks about the batteries , just pondering about when I go camping etc, to see how much hassle etc it would be, could use the existing battery I've got to save some money , only a year old , might be worth a punt

only remembered the other day I bought a brand new dewalt 1/2 inch router , with 12 x trend router bits, got the extra depth gauge adjuster to adjust it by the mm , never used any of it , paid about 300 quid and is only a year old, never seen the light of day, lol maybe one day I will use it , but doubt it, seems such a shame, even got a fox , double mitre sliding saw , that's only been used once

must get round to selling them to be honest, so can go to a good home , but it's all the hassle with ebay etc

my son was going to build some units but moved out instead, lol ,

sorry going off tanchent again, lol

your old battery was only a year old? might still be under warranty. or maybe you aren't driving around enough top top it up. it takes a while for the alt to recharge the energy used by starting.

keep an eye on it with that new voltmeter

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