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Help With Constantly Draining Battery?


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#1 M0U5EY

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Posted 11 June 2018 - 10:38 AM

Hi guys
Recently my pain in the ass but absolutely lovely mini is deciding to drain its battery constantly, the lights etc are left off and there appears to be nothing on but yet every time i go to start it the signiature starter motor crunch rears its head! Im studying engineering at uni so have some basic electric knowledge and a multimeter! Are there any go to spots to check before taking it to a specialist?
Thanks!
Alex

#2 M0U5EY

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Posted 11 June 2018 - 10:39 AM

Forgot to mention the battery is around 2 years old.

#3 Swift_General

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Posted 11 June 2018 - 10:41 AM

Do you know for sure that the battery is being drained, and not that you have a duff battery? Have to connected your multimeter set to measure current in series with the battery?

#4 M0U5EY

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Posted 11 June 2018 - 10:49 AM

I havent yet but I wouldnt have thought that a 2 year old battery would go bad? Also wouldn't it completely die instead of not quite being able to turn the starter motor if it were done for?

#5 ukcooper

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Posted 11 June 2018 - 10:55 AM

sitting there listen to music , stereo to loud, headlights on , heater on , charging phones , short tips less than 15 miles I think it was are all problems for a start ..

wrong type of battery , alternator ******* , wiring problem , bad earths, bad connections , poor maintenance, fan belt loose , water pump knackered .


and 100 n 1 things on top ????

Edited by ukcooper, 11 June 2018 - 10:56 AM.


#6 Swift_General

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Posted 11 June 2018 - 11:15 AM

I havent yet but I wouldnt have thought that a 2 year old battery would go bad? Also wouldn't it completely die instead of not quite being able to turn the starter motor if it were done for?


It may well be okay, although wouldn't be unheard of for a battery to die so soon, particularly if the car isn't getting used much. It's worth checking only so you don't go trying to track down a problem that doesn't exist.

#7 kyle_1275

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Posted 11 June 2018 - 11:51 AM

Any additional things wired up? Stereo/sound system, spots, 12v plugs, aftermarket alarms/immobilisers, trackers etc.

Start with the simple checks first. Multimeter across both terminals and stick on the headlights, it should read anywhere between 12.2 - 12.5 volts. If all ok start checking your earthing strap, the one in the boot is typically the culprit. Give the terminal a good sanding/wire brush scrubbing and replace any corroded bolt/washer. Make sure it has clean contact with the body of the car.

#8 ings

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Posted 11 June 2018 - 12:04 PM

how does your earth strap look like in the engine bay? the one next to the engine stabiliser?

 

This short cable is verry important!



#9 nicklouse

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Posted 11 June 2018 - 02:12 PM

check the battery.

 

check the battery

 

then charge the battery, that means about 24 hours on the mains.



#10 M0U5EY

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Posted 11 June 2018 - 03:41 PM

Hi guys,
Thanks for the reply, all the earths looks great and the terminals are fine and well connected, as for charging, I tried doing that and the charger just jumped of the scale and came back to perfect and repeated, broken battery?

Then tried jumping it, oddly while the leads were connected nothing happened, no lights no turn over or anything. Think my dad is fed up and its going to an electrical specialist, will keep you updated!

#11 kyle_1275

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Posted 11 June 2018 - 04:05 PM

If the battery is holding a charge just fine but you’re getting nothing with jump cables then that means that there’s either something at fault in the starter circuit supplying the starter motor so... could be the wiring, relay, fuse, ignition switch itself etc. If it’s none of those then it has to be that the starter motor or solenoid is knackered!

Edited by kyle_1275, 11 June 2018 - 04:06 PM.


#12 M0U5EY

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Posted 11 June 2018 - 04:13 PM

Nah the battery isn't holding a charge at all, has been draining constantly over the past few days, used to start fine with a jumper pack and now won't even accept that, seemingly takes all the charge instantly as it reads dead, sounding like another dodgy earth somewhere behind it! Starter motor was working fine, attempts to turn, just not enough voltage!



#13 kyle_1275

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Posted 11 June 2018 - 04:19 PM

Nah the battery isn't holding a charge at all, has been draining constantly over the past few days, used to start fine with a jumper pack and now won't even accept that, seemingly takes all the charge instantly as it reads dead, sounding like another dodgy earth somewhere behind it! Starter motor was working fine, attempts to turn, just not enough voltage!


So the battery does hold a charge but uses it all up on starting attempt? Sounds like the alternator isn’t feeding the charge back. When you turn the ignition to the on position does the red light come on for a couple of seconds and turn off? Or the better question... does your ignition light work at all when turning the key? If the bulb is blown the charge won’t feed back to the battery from the alternator, your battery will just blow its full charge and then have nothing left.

#14 M0U5EY

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Posted 12 June 2018 - 09:56 AM

Have an updated, managed to get it charging and it now will start and run etc, just most likely will not hold charge, out of the house for the next few days so will have to re-visit!



#15 Gerbil367

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Posted 15 June 2018 - 09:56 AM

Hi - I had a similar problem a couple of years back (2015) where battery kept draining while everything was off and it was parked up.  Turned out that the Dip/dim resistor seemed to have power running through it constantly (gold coloured in nearside of engine compartment) - got advice from here and bypassed it on the pink relay under the dash and had no issues since (cant remember exactly how I did it, but pretty sure a search will pull the detail up). 

 

A quick check once your battery is charged - just put your hand close to the resistor and if it is hot (and generally the bulkhead around it is too) that will be the problem - if not, follow some of the other advice :-)






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