smart51
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| posted on 13/2/11 at 02:05 PM |
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Battery Problem
My Suzuki Cappuccino has been laid up in the garage for 4 months, during which time I only went out once to run the engine up to temperature. It
wouldn't start yesterday but half an hour with the battery charger and it sprang into life. I did a 35 mile trip up the motorway, stopping at
the shop a few miles in and it started just fine. Some hours later when I came to go home, it wouldn't even turn over. It started using a
battery booster but again this afternoon, it won't start, despite leaving the battery disconnected overnight.
The battery measured 12.3V when disconnected but 11 point something connected but with the ignition off. Even with the ignition off and the key
removed, there is a 300mA load on the battery. The load goes to 11A when the key is first switched on and then 8A after that. Are these figures
normal? 300mA quiescent load sounds like a lot to me. A 30AHr battery would only last 100 hours with that load, which is about 4 days. Has leaving
the car for so long killed the new-last-year battery?
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designer
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| posted on 13/2/11 at 03:43 PM |
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I think the battery has died.
All batteries discharge when not used and after a couple of months a discharged battery is dead, no matter how new it is.
I store my car with a solar charger from Maplins.
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smart51
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| posted on 13/2/11 at 04:07 PM |
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I think so too. The alternator voltage is 14.5 so it's not that. The battery is not holding charge.
300mA sounds like a lot to me. What is the normal current drain of a car with everything switched off?
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 13/2/11 at 05:23 PM |
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300mA sounds very high to me, I wouldn't want to see more than a tenth of that.
You need to start pulling fuses and finding what the current hog is. Do you have an after market alarm fitted?
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norfolkluego
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| posted on 13/2/11 at 05:37 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by designer
I think the battery has died.
All batteries discharge when not used and after a couple of months a discharged battery is dead, no matter how new it is.
I store my car with a solar charger from Maplins.
Not sure I agree about the 'couple of months'.
I started my car for the first time in six months today (it's been in bits). Battery (Odessey 25) has been in the car the whole time but
disconnected and not charged, started on the second turn of the key.
[Edited on 13/2/11 by norfolkluego]
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britishtrident
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| posted on 13/2/11 at 06:14 PM |
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Normal voltage off charge for a battery with a decent charge under zero load should settle to about 12.5v in current UK ambient temperatures
(anything between 11.8 and 12.8 is normal depending on charge state and temperature).
The best way to check a battery is to charge at low rate for at least 12hrs ( very slow charging 18 to 24hrs is better) allow the battery to rest
for at least 20 minutes (ideally rest battery overnight) measure the zero load voltage then do a high current load voltage drop test (this
requires a special tester).
All modern cars have a small current drain with the ignition off normally this drops to less than 70ma after a fewminutes when the cars various
ECUs will have went into sleep mode.
When tracing Current drains the most common possible causes are:
(1) Alternator diodes
(2) Security systems & remote locking
(3) After market CD players and incorrectly wired accessories.
(4) Glove box & boot lights.
(5) Damaged relays and wiring.
A normal DMM is not the best meter for tracing current drain as it is too easy to blow the internal 10 amp fuse. I use thiss type of Ammeter that
plug into fuse sockets they measure 10ma up to 20 amps and can survive a fairly large overload.
[Edited on 13/2/11 by britishtrident]
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smart51
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| posted on 13/2/11 at 06:37 PM |
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The car is 17 years old so is not laden with ECUs. It does have an after market alarm, which is turned off at the key switch on the siren. It has an
aftermarket stereo and an under seat subwoofer. I like the fuse idea so I'll get hold of a fuse list and start pulling them out.
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Ninehigh
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| posted on 13/2/11 at 07:44 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by smart51
It has an aftermarket stereo and an under seat subwoofer.
Think that might be your problem. Missus's pug has had problems with the battery dying after a few days and it turned out to be the new radio
which didn't really switch off.
Also the battery on it had been dead for about a year, charged it slowly overnight and it started... well nearly first time, the petrol had been in
there for a year too...
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