I'm having a problem with my wifes Ford Puma battery discharging on a regualar basis. It will run fine all week but when it is parked for couple of days over the weekend it wont start monday.

Replaced the battery about a month ago and had the alternator check and that is fine.

I checked the current drain from the battery with no circuits turned on, no courtesy light etc and the current drain is 300mA

Has anyone come accross this problem before and can point me in the right direction as to which circuit could be causing the problem.
OR

does anyone know a garage in the West Yorks area with the necessary diagnostic equipment to suss this out.
My local garages only have engine and ECU diasgnostic so i wasnt sure if this was a main dealer task (my wallet cringes at the very thought!!!!)

thanks

Paul

0.3 A doesn't sound like that much.

check the non obvopouds bulbs are not on e.g. glove compartment, vanity mirror etc: dueto a bad switch.

what about car alarm?

next sold be to connect the meter in series with the cable and start to remove the fuses one by one - eventually one would expect the drain to be 0.

if not, then it is time to seek someone moere knowledgeable.

double check the boot light is not staying on, the switch on the tailgates get stuck sometimes

300ma for 60 hrs = 18 ampere hours

Something in the car is using 4 watts --- as you have already changed the alternator the first suspect is always the boot light or glove box light, followed by the radio/cd player particularly if it is a non OEM fit.

Other things that can cause problems are alarms and ECU not going into "sleep mode"

Only way to find it is some time spent pulling fuses and checking for current flow with an DMM/ammeter.

300mA sounds a lot to me!!!!!!!
If you get some blade terminals that will fit in place of the fuses you can make up some leads to put in place of fuses and measure the drain for each circuit to narrow down where the loss is happening (obviously be careful when doing as you'll have unfused circuits and if you're not careful you'll blow the main fuse)

i read somewhere about it being a design fault with the radio.ie turn the ignition off and leave the radio on,batt goes flat,turn radio off before turning ignition off batt stays live,worth a try

cheers lads.

I'll check the boot light first off when i get back tonight. other than that it is pulling out the fuses one by one.

cheers

Paul

I once had a Fiesta where after having the exhaust replaced the alternator wires were flapping on the Exhaust and were melting through!

Althought it was a dead short that caused a similar fault.

MY BMW did this sort of thing... it was eventually tracked down to a faulty Hazard Warning Light Switch.

Steve

You might have had the alternator checked, but that doesn't mean that it isn't faulty. I have come across similar to this before, try unpluging the alternator completely and then checking for amp drain/voltage. occasionally the alternator checks out as being ok, but, it can have an earthing fault throught the diode pack or the charging circuit light swith off circuit.

Other than that start checking other circuits as already suggested.

Hope this helps.

To get a real reading of the current drain you need to connect the meter and then leave it to settle for 10min with the meter connected, after this time I would expect a lot less that 300ma.

As siad above unplug things and see what happens, only thing that are conected with a memory sohuld be alarms, radio, clocks and any trip comuter type things.

Hi,

This is a handy little device for measuring current in individual circuits.

http://www.testtools.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=468

Davidwag

Next door had a problem with his alternator, it would charge but also discharged the battery when it was stood overnight. The alternator was warm to the touch when the engine was stone cold which gave it away.

got a bit further with this.

traced the fuse to No2 fuse 10A which controls

clock - tested o.k.
interior light - tested o.k.
heater panel - not tested yet
instrument panel - not tested yet.

ordered a set of manuals from ebay so that might help

cheers

Paul

now fixed.

fault traced to a tiny bulb in the boot.
activated by a pressure contact on the boot lid.

removed bulb!!!

wiring traced back thanks to a ford workshop CD bought on ebay for 2 quid. money well spent

cheers

Paul

quote:

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Originally posted by 02GF74

check the non obvopouds bulbs are not on e.g. glove compartment, vanity mirror etc: dueto a bad switch.

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