11 replies to this topic

[a2lt16v]

why does my battery drain flat within about 6 hours

nothing is on i dont have a stereo or any other gadgets its just a mini

tried another battery that is fine and its just the same its getting annoying now charging battery every day in doors

[Jammy]

Sounds like it may be shorting somewhere?!

[a2lt16v]

any ideas to find out where

i have a multimeter but im not into car electrics but
if i put it on the power lead and the car body it is connected

so this i think is telling me the positve is connected to the body some where

i think this is wrong but not sure

[Teapot]

Start by checking that there's a rubber grommet to protect the cable where it goes through the boot floor

[Bungle]

buy a ammeter and connect between the battery + and the battery + leed so that the power has to go through it DONT START THE ENGINE WITH IT HERE !!!

then see how much power it is showing going through it with every thing off , this will tell you if its a power dran of battery fault

if its a power drain try dissconecting some of the live cables at the starter motor to work out what circuit it might be on.

if after dissconecting all the cables the power drain is still there it must be the main battery leed

[vasi]

If you tackle the problem logically you should be able to diagnose the problem easily.

ALWAYS Disconnect your battery earth terminal before doing any tests. Never play with live electrics.

First remove the battery lead from the starter solenoid on the O/S inner wing and insulate the end, then do that continuity test again. If it shows a link, you need to find where the battery cable (that runs the length of the underside of the car) is making contact with the bodywork.

If the continuity test shows no link, reconnect the solenoid and remove the feed connections on the fuse box. Do the test again, if it shows a link, it is likely your solenoid is up the spout, or one of your ignition wires is shorting.

If it shows no link, reconnect, one by one, the fuse box feed conections doing the test inbetween. Whichever one you connect that shows a link is the circuit you need to delve into.

[Jordie]

was bad earth in boot that caused this with mine. replace and bolt it somewhere else

[GigaDave]

I had a similar problem, and sorted it by working through some of the many possible causes. Is your fan belt slipping or is the alternator damaged? I replaced all the links on the ignition wires (they can get a bit wet and corrode) and cleaned up all the earth points and contacts and everything seems to be fine now.

[a2lt16v]

cheers vasi you have just ordered my mind into some sort of method

i think i will sort it

thank you

[1275MIN]

No No No! I cant see it being a short circuit. Sounds like your Alternator
to me. Check that when the Min is running that the alternator is charging
the battery. You do this my puuting a volt meter across the battery when she
is running, your volt meter should read about 13.5 to 14 volts DC. If its reading
a low voltage than you have a dodgy alternator!
Let us know how you get on!

[buzz]

i had same problem if it was a short you prob wouldnt have a battery left as it would have court fire! a direct short will only take seconds before you get smoke or a fuse will blow and as a battery doesnt have a fuse. when you say it goes flat within 6 hours is that useing the car or it just sat still? if its just sat still then it will take a bulb to drain it that quickly it will be drawing near to 1 amp check silly things like light switch may be stuck or interio light on on a relay may be charged.
if the bat goes falt when you use the car it will be the alternater when you check for voltage check it when the care is just idle then turns lots of stuff on lights, sterio any thin that draws lots of power. what happened with mine i checked the alternater it put out 13.8 volts but asa soon as i turned something on it just diedand started drawing current not given me any!

[rtidbdtr]

Mine did the same and was a problem with the alternator. Put a new one on and fixed a wire and it's ok now