Scuzzle
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| posted on 30/5/13 at 04:33 PM |
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Switching Relays
Just a quick question-
Does the terminal on a switching relay that connects to the battery have a slight constant drain on the battery. Just asking because I've only
recently fitted uprated wattage headlight bulbs and spotlights and given each one it's own switching relay and now the battery seems to be
draining quickly.
When working on the car I only have the accessory switch on just so I can listen to the radio and the power has dropped right down in 3 days of
working 5 hr days on the car, not a lightweight battery either 74 AH 600 CCA.
Has anyone any idea on why this should be, it's not as if I've had the lighting on, just the radio, but the battery deffo does not seem to
be holding it's charge as well since I've fitted the relays.
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Smoking Frog
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| posted on 30/5/13 at 05:03 PM |
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If they are wired correctly, no. Drain would only happen if the relay coil is energised. This is where the switch is wired in, so normally the relay
coil is not energised.
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Scuzzle
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| posted on 30/5/13 at 05:38 PM |
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They are wired as they should be, the battery drain just seemed to occur around about the same time the relays were fitted which is what has made me
suspect them.
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britishtrident
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| posted on 30/5/13 at 05:51 PM |
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Modern batteries are so easy to damage if left without regular charging it could well be a battery issue.
disconnect the battery and give it a long low rate charge before doing anything else.
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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Chris_Xtreme
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| posted on 31/5/13 at 08:47 AM |
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You'll also be surprised how much the radio can use...
I'd do the test from fresh charge, nothing on see how you go, if it does drain, do the same having removed your new relays to prove it is not
them..
On mine the previous owner didn't put the alternator exciter wire on the ignition controll and it drew 3 amps non stop. Would kill the battery
overnight.
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Scuzzle
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| posted on 31/5/13 at 11:56 AM |
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Could be, I've already had to replace one battery last year as inactivity and the cold winter killed it, this winter I removed the battery and
took it into the house but it's possibly not what it should be.
The car never gets used enough to keep the battery healthy, when it's left in the car I remove both terminals and fit one of those solar battery
maintainers but it still seems to lose charge quickly.
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loggyboy
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| posted on 31/5/13 at 01:21 PM |
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Disconnect the relays and see if it holds its charge for a few days.
Mistral Motorsport
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britishtrident
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| posted on 31/5/13 at 06:34 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Scuzzle
Could be, I've already had to replace one battery last year as inactivity and the cold winter killed it, this winter I removed the battery and
took it into the house but it's possibly not what it should be.
The car never gets used enough to keep the battery healthy, when it's left in the car I remove both terminals and fit one of those solar battery
maintainers but it still seems to lose charge quickly.
Disconnected starting with a full charge it should hold charge for months, standard manufacturers instruction for batteries in storage is charge once
a month -- my guess is it could already be foobarred.
Always make sure a battery is charged to full capacity before storing, each discharge reduces the charge the battery will hold when recharged. The
longer the battery lies with a low charge the more damage is done.
I foobarred a tintop 65ah battery this year by leaving it connected for 2 months. it started out fully charged but the few milliamps the ecus and
alarm take in sleep mode slowly but surely killed it, two weeks charging and it still hasn't taken any charge.
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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Scuzzle
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| posted on 31/5/13 at 06:37 PM |
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It's possible I've shortened the battery's charging capacity as I'm always leaving it for weeks on end. I might need to buy
another one and really take car to keep it fully charged at all times.
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