986 Battery drain
Discussion
My mum has a 60,000 mile 986 3.2 S, 2003 I believe, and it seems something is drawing power when the car is in standby as it the battery will run flat even after a day of not being driven. I have ordered a clamp on ammeter so I can start doing some DIY diagnostics but honestly I'm not sure what sort of process to follow with this and I'm looking for suggestions.
I don't believe it's the alternator not charging the battery as I drove the car 40 miles on the motorway and the car started immediately after turning the car off, but the next day it wouldn't.
Any suggestions of know issues would be really appreciated. Mum is getting pretty close to just scrapping it, which I think would be a bloody shame.
I don't believe it's the alternator not charging the battery as I drove the car 40 miles on the motorway and the car started immediately after turning the car off, but the next day it wouldn't.
Any suggestions of know issues would be really appreciated. Mum is getting pretty close to just scrapping it, which I think would be a bloody shame.
I have the same issue on ours at the moment. I'm going to try and find out the issue over the Christmas break.
Things to look at:
Boot and frunk lights - Shut small child in (preferably one who's afraid of the dark) if they scream you know the light goes out. If no child available phone on video record should do the trick.
Alternator - unlikely as a run seems to help, but have heard that the charging capability can drop off at higher revs so need to have a meter on the battery and check there's a consistent charge across the rev range.
It then becomes a process of elimination. Have a meter on the battery and systematically pulling fuses to see if current draw reduces/stops. Good description at this link http://testmeterpro.com/parasitic-draw-test-with-a...
My money is on the radio, but only because I want it to be that as it's easy to change!
Good luck!
Things to look at:
Boot and frunk lights - Shut small child in (preferably one who's afraid of the dark) if they scream you know the light goes out. If no child available phone on video record should do the trick.
Alternator - unlikely as a run seems to help, but have heard that the charging capability can drop off at higher revs so need to have a meter on the battery and check there's a consistent charge across the rev range.
It then becomes a process of elimination. Have a meter on the battery and systematically pulling fuses to see if current draw reduces/stops. Good description at this link http://testmeterpro.com/parasitic-draw-test-with-a...
My money is on the radio, but only because I want it to be that as it's easy to change!
Good luck!
I have had one for 3 years with the same issue (2002 986 2.7), as I don’t use it much I replaced the battery with whatever one Eurocarparts had on offer and the problem continued. I eventually switched to a Bosch S4 battery around a year ago and have never had an issue since despite it only getting started maybe once a week.
Not being funny but you haven’t got one of those Bluetooth adaptors plugged into your AC socket have you?
I used to use one in my S and left it plugged in not realising they stay on and eventually it drained the battery…remembered to pull it out each time after using the car and never had another issue…
I used to use one in my S and left it plugged in not realising they stay on and eventually it drained the battery…remembered to pull it out each time after using the car and never had another issue…
I think I fixed mine over the Christmas break.
I did the test with a multi meter where I removed the battery negative cable, put the positive lead from the meter on the battery and the negative meter lead on the disconnected lead and the meter on Amps.
with everything off and key removed this shows the draw on the battery. Make sure you close the frunk latch with a screw driver or remove the bulb and same with drivers door so you don't get a false reading from those lights.
I then systematically removed the fuses in the footwell one by one to see if the draw dropped. Mine dropped significantly when fuse C7 (I think it was that location) was removed. This fuse is for "terminal X" which is the ignition switch.
As mentioned above, this is a pain to get too. you need to get on your back in the footwell and remove the air vent pipe that runs along just below the steering column. It also helps to remove the drivers side air vent, light switch and the trunking behind it.
With those removed, its a simple case of pulling the multi plug off the back of the switch from underneath, then removing the little grub screws on the switch by going through the hole you now have in the dash. Fit new one and put back together. After that, my current draw was almost zero.
Yours may not be that, but going through all the fuses is a good start. It will identify if it's radio related as well. Mine wasn't!
I did the test with a multi meter where I removed the battery negative cable, put the positive lead from the meter on the battery and the negative meter lead on the disconnected lead and the meter on Amps.
with everything off and key removed this shows the draw on the battery. Make sure you close the frunk latch with a screw driver or remove the bulb and same with drivers door so you don't get a false reading from those lights.
I then systematically removed the fuses in the footwell one by one to see if the draw dropped. Mine dropped significantly when fuse C7 (I think it was that location) was removed. This fuse is for "terminal X" which is the ignition switch.
As mentioned above, this is a pain to get too. you need to get on your back in the footwell and remove the air vent pipe that runs along just below the steering column. It also helps to remove the drivers side air vent, light switch and the trunking behind it.
With those removed, its a simple case of pulling the multi plug off the back of the switch from underneath, then removing the little grub screws on the switch by going through the hole you now have in the dash. Fit new one and put back together. After that, my current draw was almost zero.
Yours may not be that, but going through all the fuses is a good start. It will identify if it's radio related as well. Mine wasn't!
...and this is the switch replacement. As r.g. says its a contortionists dream to get to.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006QY2LG0?ref_=pe_270...
I removed the driver's side air vent and used a very cut down small flat-head screwdriver to access the grub screws. If they have never been removed previously, they will have a small amount of red-enamel painted on them, which you will need to scrape off with the cut-down screwdriver before you can get to the slots (2 grub screws).
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006QY2LG0?ref_=pe_270...
I removed the driver's side air vent and used a very cut down small flat-head screwdriver to access the grub screws. If they have never been removed previously, they will have a small amount of red-enamel painted on them, which you will need to scrape off with the cut-down screwdriver before you can get to the slots (2 grub screws).
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