battery problem??

Post by **shropshirevanman** » 26 Sep 2007, 19:14

evening all...

got a slight problem, the vans not used all the time and it is standing outside, after about 10 days, it struggles to start and i have to jump it to get it going....now this maybe normal but the battery should be strong enough to cope. I have a leisure battery hooked up as well plus 240v hok up, oh and the vans a 1.6td

any suggestions??

many thanks
dan

Post by **DiscoDave** » 26 Sep 2007, 19:31

sounds like something is draining the battery! have a look in the wiki, link at the top of the page, there should be something in there about ufinding the drain!

Post by **Shootz** » 26 Sep 2007, 20:11

Something is draining my starter battery as well,i have just had a new cd player put in and i am sure that its got something to do with it

Even with the cd player switched off after a couple of days stood the starter battery is totally flat.
I took it to an auto electrics place and did a few tests and everything seemed to be in order.
At the moment when the van is stood i just disconnect the battery so the van will start.
Poxy thing

Lee.

Post by **hembo666** » 26 Sep 2007, 20:15

T3Lee wrote:Something is draining my starter battery as well,i have just had a new cd player put in and i am sure that its got something to do with it

Even with the cd player switched off after a couple of days stood the starter battery is totally flat.
I took it to an auto electrics place and did a few tests and everything seemed to be in order.
At the moment when the van is stood i just disconnect the battery so the van will start.
Poxy thing

Lee.

My engine battery started going flat after a couple of days straight after i had a new cd player fitted. im going to rewire it to the leisure battery

Post by **Shootz** » 26 Sep 2007, 20:22

hembo666 wrote:
T3Lee wrote:Something is draining my starter battery as well,i have just had a new cd player put in and i am sure that its got something to do with it

Even with the cd player switched off after a couple of days stood the starter battery is totally flat.
I took it to an auto electrics place and did a few tests and everything seemed to be in order.
At the moment when the van is stood i just disconnect the battery so the van will start.
Poxy thing

Lee.

My engine battery started going flat after a couple of days straight after i had a new cd player fitted. im going to rewire it to the leisure battery

I was thinking about putting a switch in so you can switch the player from starter to leisure battery,or a switch that cuts off all power to the cd player completely.
Its a pain so i must get it sorted.
With mine it could also be a problem with the 12 v fridge relay as that is all new as well.
The other day i took the cd player out of the van and all seemed ok so it looks like that the new cd player could be the problem,will have a chat about it at Cromer hembo.
Lee.

Post by **Mocki** » 27 Sep 2007, 09:01

its a easy test...........

disconnect the main battery neg, connect a 21w bulb( indecator or brake) between the neg and the neg lead, ,ake sure everything is switched off, and if the bulb lights there is still a drain, the brighter it lights the bigger the drain....... then disconnect the stereo and see if it stops the drain, and or . in lees case take the relay for the fridge out too.......... if neither of these stop it, disconnect other things untill you find the culprit..... if no drain, battery is fubar'd

the memory wire on a stereo shouldnt drain a batter thatis any good in less than a month, infact two months would seem resonable

Post by **hembo666** » 27 Sep 2007, 09:05

Mocki wrote:
the memory wire on a stereo shouldnt drain a batter thatis any good in less than a month, infact two months would seem resonable

Thats another thing worth checking, i have a feeling the mupets at hellfrauds may have put the main feed onto a permenant live rather than just the memory wire.

well i know they have because the radio works with the ignition off.

Post by **Mocki** » 27 Sep 2007, 09:09

just move the feed to fuse3 from the main battery to the leisure, wont stop the battery going flat, but will stop the van not starting

Post by **anlar** » 27 Sep 2007, 12:41

I had the same problem after having a new cd player fitted. Turned out it was drawing a quater of a amp even when the radio was switched off and the key out of the ignition.

A good auto electrician sorted it out.

Post by **Cruz** » 27 Sep 2007, 13:10

My radio is rigged up to both leisure and started batteries with a 3-way switch on the dash. I rigged the memory wire to the leisure battery to remove any chance of battery drain

Post by **Shootz** » 27 Sep 2007, 20:09

hembo666 wrote:
Thats another thing worth checking, i have a feeling the mupets at hellfrauds may have put the main feed onto a permenant live rather than just the memory wire.

That could be the problem with mine as i can use mine with the ignition off as well.
Worth checking out,also going to get it switched to the leisure battery.
Lee.

Post by **hembo666** » 27 Sep 2007, 22:00

Lee, looks like a common prob, lets have a techie hour at comer and sort it.

Post by **shropshirevanman** » 30 Sep 2007, 09:35

thanks fellas for all the suggestions!!
off to maplins to buy a 12v bulb holder!

dan

Post by **Shootz** » 01 Oct 2007, 23:18

Got the van booked in on Friday morning to get it so i can switch the power from the radio off completely,and also have a switch put in so i can run it off both batterys.
Will then see if it still goes flat at cromer,so i may need a jump start off someone if that dont work!

Lee.

Post by **sean collins** » 04 Oct 2007, 20:40

had the very same problem did know why until I removed the sterio from the van as it was going to be parked at a freinds for a feww weeks and I didn't want the local tea leaves smashing my window to get a cheepo sterio. I fitted a switch bought from halfwits for about £3 and as long as I remember to turn that on of and isolate the sterio all is well. The only down side being having to enter the sterio key code each time I turn it back on. But once you have done it a couple of times it's easy to remember.