Skoda Fabia 2013 Electronic issues
Discussion
Wife's car, I don't get out of bed for less than 6 cylinders!
Her brilliantness left the car for two weeks (due to lockdown) with the dashcam plugged in. The battery went flat (surprise) and I disconnected it before charging it up again.
Since then, the electronics seem to have succumbed to covid -19. First,the alarm sounding repeatedly, then the rear window wiper would not stop working. Both of those problems have now (finger's crossed) resolved themselves but the battery is still being drained over a couple of days.
Current draw, doors closed and ignition off is around 1.7 amp - 2.0 amp between the battery negative terminal and the earth lead - this from a cheap, un-calibrated amp meter, but there is a strong spark when I touch lead to terminal.
Something, somewhere in the digital gubbins, was left in an activated state when the battery discharged - but what? and how can I isolate it? I have read that pulling fuses can leave canbus loads in an active state and my usual MO of taking a big hammer to it is best avoided, given the problems obtaining replacements at the mo.
Any suggestions, short of calling in a close thermonuclear strike, would be most welcome!
Her brilliantness left the car for two weeks (due to lockdown) with the dashcam plugged in. The battery went flat (surprise) and I disconnected it before charging it up again.
Since then, the electronics seem to have succumbed to covid -19. First,the alarm sounding repeatedly, then the rear window wiper would not stop working. Both of those problems have now (finger's crossed) resolved themselves but the battery is still being drained over a couple of days.
Current draw, doors closed and ignition off is around 1.7 amp - 2.0 amp between the battery negative terminal and the earth lead - this from a cheap, un-calibrated amp meter, but there is a strong spark when I touch lead to terminal.
Something, somewhere in the digital gubbins, was left in an activated state when the battery discharged - but what? and how can I isolate it? I have read that pulling fuses can leave canbus loads in an active state and my usual MO of taking a big hammer to it is best avoided, given the problems obtaining replacements at the mo.
Any suggestions, short of calling in a close thermonuclear strike, would be most welcome!
Stick a fully charged battery on and let it run for around 30 mins, shut the car down ( lock it up) and put your meter in parallel with the negative (between the terminal of the battery and the lead) and measure the amps drawn. The BCM takes a while to shut down and as you hadn’t locked it up the BCM stays awake for a lot longer.
Failing this, it’s relay and fuse pull time.
Failing this, it’s relay and fuse pull time.
[quote=DennisTheMenace]Stick a fully charged battery on and let it run for around 30 mins, shut the car down ( lock it up) and put your meter in parallel with the negative (between the terminal of the battery and the lead) and measure the amps drawn. The BCM takes a while to shut down and as you hadn’t locked it up the BCM stays awake for a lot longer.
Failing this, it’s relay and fuse pull time. [/quote
Thank you, I'll give that a go.
Failing this, it’s relay and fuse pull time. [/quote
Thank you, I'll give that a go.
You don't need to pull fuses to find the circuit with the current drain. With the standard automotive blade fuses you can simply measure the voltage across the terminals exposed in the front of the fuse and use the known resistance characteristics to calculate the current. A typical modern digital volt meter has enough resolution to detect the sort of current you're looking for.
Cobalt Blue said:
Current draw, doors closed and ignition off is around 1.7 amp - 2.0 amp between the battery negative terminal and the earth lead - this from a cheap, un-calibrated amp meter, but there is a strong spark when I touch lead to terminal.
Do you mean it varies from 1.7 to 2 amps as you look at the meter?As mentioned by E-bmw, 2 Amps is very high
Connect meter, close and lock boot, bonnet and all doors, leave for half an hour to an hour and take a look at the meter reading
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