Discussion
I have a 98 Griffith 500 that has an irritating tendancy for the battery to go flat if the car's left for a week or so. The battery was replaced in February as the original seemed to be faulty, but the problem is still evident. The car's been back to the dealer a number of times, and they report that the drain on the battery when the car is locked is entirely normal. So I can only assume that it's an intermittent fault of some sort. I'd be very grateful for any suggestions!
Simon
Simon
lots of links on this topic - try a few searches with key words like battery/current drain etc, you are definately not alone on this one. 3 suggestions
1 if you have no garage get a trickle charger that uses sunlight from the windscreen and plugs into the ciggie charger to keep battery charged
2 clean all the earth connections (bas***d of a job!)
3 use a multimeter and pull all the fuses one at a time to see if there is a current drain.
1 if you have no garage get a trickle charger that uses sunlight from the windscreen and plugs into the ciggie charger to keep battery charged
2 clean all the earth connections (bas***d of a job!)
3 use a multimeter and pull all the fuses one at a time to see if there is a current drain.
gjm said: ...
1 if you have no garage get a trickle charger that uses sunlight from the windscreen and plugs into the ciggie charger to keep battery charged
It may be treating the symptom rather than the cause, but that's a fine plan! I'd forgotten you could get those. Thanks for the ideas.
OK, fair point, yes, the solar ones can be got from ARD Electronics, www.ardelectronics.com. Even if you find and fix the real cause of the problem, one of these things will be useful.
Prepare though for things to get worse as the weather heads towards freezing...
>> Edited by simpo one on Monday 28th October 16:39
Prepare though for things to get worse as the weather heads towards freezing...
>> Edited by simpo one on Monday 28th October 16:39
are you sure that there is a drain fault?
my car sits in the garage on a permanent charger, and so will easily go a fortnight if required as the battery is in tip top condition.
if, however your car is outside, in the cold (freezing will reduce a batterys strength by around 40%) and is only getting short charges from commuting runs - it will struggle. a new well charged battery will only hold enough go for about 3 weeks, if it then doesn't get a full charge...next time it may only lasy 5-10 days etc. thats assuming you only have ONE alarm, many cars have two or even three!! seperate immobilisers trackers , even the clock adds drain.
so, before you get heavily into earths/drains get a battery RECONDITIONER £50-00 and charge your batery (this will take around 3 DAYS from flat!). then get yourself a solar charger £30-00 to keep it in TOP condition and i would put money on the fact that it will cure the problem. £80's alot, but only the price of a new battery & fit!
PS on your guage 12.5 is full charge less than 12 is no good...so you'll know before you turn the key
good luck
BITTER EXPERIENCE!
my car sits in the garage on a permanent charger, and so will easily go a fortnight if required as the battery is in tip top condition.
if, however your car is outside, in the cold (freezing will reduce a batterys strength by around 40%) and is only getting short charges from commuting runs - it will struggle. a new well charged battery will only hold enough go for about 3 weeks, if it then doesn't get a full charge...next time it may only lasy 5-10 days etc. thats assuming you only have ONE alarm, many cars have two or even three!! seperate immobilisers trackers , even the clock adds drain.
so, before you get heavily into earths/drains get a battery RECONDITIONER £50-00 and charge your batery (this will take around 3 DAYS from flat!). then get yourself a solar charger £30-00 to keep it in TOP condition and i would put money on the fact that it will cure the problem. £80's alot, but only the price of a new battery & fit!
PS on your guage 12.5 is full charge less than 12 is no good...so you'll know before you turn the key
good luck
BITTER EXPERIENCE!
My battery will be flat over night. Its a new battery that is about a month old. Tried the removing fuses and checking the current drain with a multimeter and found it was the ECU that is causing the drain?? So as result for now, every time I park my car I'd remove the ECU fuse. Does the ECU have a relay that is causing the current drain? Any Ideas?
onny said: My battery will be flat over night. Its a new battery that is about a month old. Tried the removing fuses and checking the current drain with a multimeter and found it was the ECU that is causing the drain?? So as result for now, every time I park my car I'd remove the ECU fuse. Does the ECU have a relay that is causing the current drain? Any Ideas?
Fuel pump relay. If it is not the special one, you will flatten the battery overnight and it is powered by the ECU. About £20-30 for the correct electronic one.
Steve
'get a battery RECONDITIONER £50-00 and charge your batery (this will take around 3 DAYS from flat!).'
Conditioner surely? These are very low current devices that are not designed to recharge totally flat batteries, only keep moderately charged ones topped up. (At least that's what it says on mine!) So if the battery is very flat, take it indoors and charge it on a normal battery charger.
Agree with the rest though!
Conditioner surely? These are very low current devices that are not designed to recharge totally flat batteries, only keep moderately charged ones topped up. (At least that's what it says on mine!) So if the battery is very flat, take it indoors and charge it on a normal battery charger.
Agree with the rest though!
simpo one said: 'get a battery RECONDITIONER £50-00 and charge your batery (this will take around 3 DAYS from flat!).'
Conditioner surely? These are very low current devices that are not designed to recharge totally flat batteries, only keep moderately charged ones topped up. (At least that's what it says on mine!) So if the battery is very flat, take it indoors and charge it on a normal battery charger.
Agree with the rest though!
It depends on the make/model. The one I've got claims it can recover from almost any level of charge. So can recover batteries that a normal charger can't.
>> Edited by icamm on Tuesday 29th October 18:19
conditioner will recondition as said from flat over three days. have done so for mine and others.
they have intelligent circiutry that detects battery condition and charges as required, so will top up/ trickle charge or recover, etc etc.
peninsula do them, plug into the ciggy lighter or have croc clips or permanent wire.
course they are more expensive than standard unit unfitted.
some are just permanent trickle chargers, but these are cheaper less spec'd units
cheers
they have intelligent circiutry that detects battery condition and charges as required, so will top up/ trickle charge or recover, etc etc.
peninsula do them, plug into the ciggy lighter or have croc clips or permanent wire.
course they are more expensive than standard unit unfitted.
some are just permanent trickle chargers, but these are cheaper less spec'd units
cheers
After spending nearly a year in Sydney I came back eight weeks ago to pick up my car from a midlands based TVR body shop where it had been in for light respray work and a few seals (they had it for 10 months which was convenient!). They said that they had put four batteries on it and had to re-sync the alarm when I picked it up. Besides it running like a complete dog (cuts out at every stop, pulls back etc) which can only be because of it standing for so long, it now flattens the battery over night. I notice also that all the lights below the heater controls come on with the ignition, now I know its been a year but don’t they not normally come on with the side/main lights only? Anyhoo, I have put a meter across the battery and find that if I pull out fuse 13 (the ninth from the right) the drain reduces quite dramatically. I have no manual - anyone know what this fuse powers?
As their are around 11 different fuse layouts, I think that a bit more info like year of the car could be helpful.
What else doesn't work when you remove the fuse? What value is it?
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
What else doesn't work when you remove the fuse? What value is it?
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
shpub said: As their are around 11 different fuse layouts, I think that a bit more info like year of the car could be helpful.
What else doesn't work when you remove the fuse? What value is it?
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
Ah, year is December '94, the fuse I took out was a 20 amp, I didn't get around to seeing what no longer worked as rain stopped play! I am going to couple up the battery today (weather permitting!) and leave it overnight to see if the battery runs flat again. Another thing, maybe nothing but there seems to be a knocking noise comming from the top of the engine which may be the alternator going - could this lead to a power drain if it is on its way out?
icamm said:
simpo one said: 'get a battery RECONDITIONER £50-00 and charge your batery (this will take around 3 DAYS from flat!).'
Conditioner surely? These are very low current devices that are not designed to recharge totally flat batteries, only keep moderately charged ones topped up. (At least that's what it says on mine!) So if the battery is very flat, take it indoors and charge it on a normal battery charger.
Agree with the rest though!
It depends on the make/model. The one I've got claims it can recover from almost any level of charge. So can recover batteries that a normal charger can't.
>> Edited by icamm on Tuesday 29th October 18:19
I agree I have recharged a battery with my £20 draper conditioner from Halfords that an ordinary charger would not touch
leehodges said: update: Rain held off long enough me to take out the offending fuse and reconnect the battery. All signs of ignition come on apart from the immobiliser LED, subsequently no life in the fuel pump.
I would chcek that the fuel pump relay is the correct electronic version and not a standard one that will flatten the battery overnight. Other than that it is delve in the wiring time.
Any one any suggestions on a related problem. Did get flat batteries when I brought about 6 months ago, 1999 500, so had battery changed, still had flats, so bought a charger and it was ok. Also found turning off the alarm improved matters, quite snug in my garage so no real risk. Only tends to get weekend use. Saturday had not had the charger on for 3 months, flat battery and cannot get it to charge. The charger has a light to indicate it is charging and this will not come on. Checked the charger on my other car and it is working, so why is the battery not charging?? Any ideas welcome.
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