[Westy]

OK, This is waaay beyond annoying!   I’ve had this car 7-8 months.  Lots of hidden issues.  Right now there’s a drain on the battery.



 

A few months ago we took it out for a 35-45 minute drive.  The battery went dead.  I got it home and put the battery on a charger.  No go, even thought it was only about 2 years old.  So I got a new battery.  If the car sits, it goes dead.  OK, I figured maybe the analog clock and the stereo slowly drained it (What??).  Put on a Battery Tender and it stays charged.  I was working on the car and went to start it after the Battery Tender had been disconnected for 8-10 days, No go!  It read 12.15 at the battery terminals.  When the car runs, I get 13.5 volts at the battery.  Hopefully I should have it back on the road in a week or so, and I’ll take it for a drive and see if the battery drains, but everything looks like it should charge.



No hood light and no trunk light stuck on.  Likewise for the glovebox.  I really doubt the radio and clock could do this, and when running the idiot gauge says I’m OK.  Sooo, where do I start?  I’m no electrician, but I can check things.  What’s draining my juice.  What test should I do.  This car is not making me happy right now!



 

PS.  I have the radio out and the clock disconnected.  This is my first test.  I'll see what happens.

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[MCL968]

Sent a PM, give me a ring if you want to discuss how to chase those gremlins.

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[Westy]

OK, First off, I had a really nice conversation with MCL968.  Thanx Matt for your input!  I have several things to check.  Actually, more than several!

 

Here's what I did today.......

 

Went down today and the battery was at 12.96 volts.  I unplugged the Battery Tender, and in 15 minutes it dropped to 12.69 volts.  Plugged the Battery Tender in and in 15 minutes I had 13.04 volts.

 

I disconnected both terminals, and I had 13.08 volts.  After 20 minutes I had dropped to 12.75 volts.  Huh???  I mean it was disconnected. 

 

So I wonder.  Has something in my charging system screwed up yet another battery?  I'm gonna pull the alternator-firewall-starter wires and check them out per MCL968's advice.  Don't want a barn fire or a car driving thru the barn door!!  Don't know when I will do this, but this is my current plan.

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[az968]

What brand of battery?  Cheap batteries can have faults.  Interstate is the one I've had good results with.

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[Westy]

NAPA Legend, which is probably made by Interstate?  Same brand in our other 4 rides.  Just having a hard time believing it's the battery.  Really wonder if my car is damaging the batteries.

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[az968]

Also check the voltage regulator, maybe it's coking the vattery, although that doesn't sound like the case. And clean the battery ground.

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[94SilverCab]

Have you checked things like under hood light, glove compartment and trunk? These are typical, as is the radio faceplate.

 

It might be helpful to check these items before you start ripping the car apart.

 

Jay

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[ds968]

The first post indicates the hood, glove box , and trunk lights were checked . The radio faceplate does cause some drain , but no way near the levels ( by itself ) to cause the major issues described here. Something very whacky is going on and it may be a combination of things - bad voltage regulator, a bad battery cell ( and even new batteries can come with bad cells - mine did and it was an Interstate supposedly the gold standard of batteries ) , even two consecutive batteries , though I'd expect the latter has a very low chance of happening . I'd start with a new voltage regulator - cheap fix . Then if that does not solve the problem, move on to the rest of search for other culprits .

BTW, I'd recommend Paragon as the source for the regulator ; the OE ( Bosch ) is priced at 20 % of what the P-dealers charge for one.

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[Westy]

With the car running I have 13.5v to the battery.  Don't understand how the voltage regulator could be the culprit.  Unless there's a diode that got  fried and allowed current to travel both ways.  :wacko:  I've already decided to get another battery as this one fails the bench test. 

 

I don't mind buying some parts prone to failure.  The Voltage Regulator is kind of cheap for a Bosche item.  But the Kaeler brand is less than half that.  I also don't have an extra DME relay (which I've read a lot about).  It's pricey to just throw in my glovebox.  They are also made by Kaeler and Stribel at less than half the price.  Are Kaeler and Stribel acceptable replacements brands?

 

I was just advised my oil cooler duct, coming from Germany, will be 3-5 weeks turnaround,,,,,,,so I guess I'm in no hurry!   

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[Westy]

OK, so today I did a little more testing.  I put the 'real' charger on the battery and could get it up to 13.19 v.  I started the car and let it run for 15-20 minutes.  Turned on the AC and the RPMs dropped.  OK, normal.  Turned on the heater fan and the RPMs dropped.  Not as much, but still dropped.  Hmmmmm.  When running, the meter on the dash indicated just below 14v.  With the heater motor on it was around13.6v.  OK, I suppose this is within the parameters, after all it was at idle.  I did notice the motor changed RPMs regularly.  It wasn't hunting, but would not stay consistent.  Don't know if this is normal or not.  I guess tomorrow I'll get a new battery.  I'm not confident this will fix the issue.  Still haven't traced the Alt wires as the concrete floor was really cold!!!!  I will say that with both terminals disconnected, the battery continues to lose charge.  Stay tuned to stay tuned.

 

 

Update.  Went shopping with my wife (gotta keep her happy!) so didn't get a battery.  The battery sat unconnected overnight.  It had dropped to 12.67 and stayed there.  I hooked up the cables, and in 10-15 minutes it was down to 12.63.  I suppose for now my only angle of attack is to start pulling fuses one at a time and see when the drop stops.  I'm trying to charge it up again, but I doubt it will go much past 13.15 or so.  I'm fairly certain there's no short as the drain is fairly slow.

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[Waylander]

fully charged battery at rest should be between 12.72 to 12.96, this is according to Exide Batteries.

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[ds968]

I have taken my voltmeter to Autozone as well as Intestate when I recently bought my new battery and not a single fully charged new battery on their shelves ( I tested more than a dozen batteries ) read over 12.4, with most of them being in the 12.3 and below range. So I blamed it on my voltmeter but then I had them check the batteries with their sophisticated volt / amp meters , because I wanted to chose the one which had the highest reading. Pretty much the same results . Of course it's possible that the majority of batteries were resting on the shelves for a long time and not being charged frequently enough so eventually they loose a little, but after I replaced the regulator with a new one ( the OE, Bosch ) after several weeks my new battery still reads 12.41 12.42 at rest after any given drive , and the same in the morning .

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[Ryan]

I have the same problem with battery drain and I don't know what it is. I have heard maybe alarm could do it. I always disconnect the battery ground if I let the car set for a week now.

 

I have heard of quite a few people with this problem but it is hard to track down.

 

Ryan 

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[Waylander]

It was the door switches for the interior light on my car


Never put the lights on but would power up the side window motors and kill the battery



The numbers given from Exide were for the end of the production line fresh filled and charged


Any where around 12.4v is good for normal use

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[flash]

12.4 on a lead/acid battery is at 75% capacity, but only at about 50% on a gel battery

 

http://www.energymatters.com.au/componen...discharge/

 

http://modernsurvivalblog.com/alternativ...rge-chart/

 

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/artic..._of_charge

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[unknown4u]

I noticed that the original porsche cd player takes a constant 0.05 amp. That has drained my battery. After I disconnected the cd player there was no drain anymore. Car can now sit for more than 4 weeks and will start as normal.

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[Westy]

That 3rd attachment was an informative read.  Thanx.

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