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battery draining
A1 - 21/11/10 at 03:22 PM

trying to start her now, the battery was fully charged yesterday, but went flat after about one full turn of the engine.
what could be draining all the power from the battery so fast?

austin man - 21/11/10 at 03:30 PM

are you sure the battery is charged and not damaged, is it a new battery ? it would have to be one hell of current being drawb to flatten the battery

A1 - 21/11/10 at 03:32 PM

its not brand new, but i had it on the charger that checks for power retention... also its drained another battery that was turning a v6 no probs. (although that ones not been used in a while so could be effed)

austin man - 21/11/10 at 04:11 PM

I would check the starter and solenoid out

alawrence - 21/11/10 at 04:15 PM

turn everything off and remove keys from ignition.
take off the neg from battery and connect your multimeter on "amps"(I) between the neg terminal on the baterry and the neg cable you took off.
there should be nothing or very little current...
if there is ..remove each fuse in turn and see if the current disappears
this may give some indication which circuit is causing the problem

A1 - 21/11/10 at 04:42 PM

cheers,

Ive had a check of the starter and solenoid, the solenoid doesnt seem to return fully.

i take it theres not much i can do to fix them if theyre draining all the power?

alawrence - 21/11/10 at 05:20 PM

unless the starter motor is turning i cant see thats the problem
to prove it take the wires off the solenoid (be sure to insulate them to prevent them touchining earth) and do the above check again

MakeEverything - 21/11/10 at 07:11 PM

quote:
Originally posted by A1
cheers,

Ive had a check of the starter and solenoid, the solenoid doesnt seem to return fully.

i take it theres not much i can do to fix them if theyre draining all the power?


Check your earths. A loose earth will give the symptoms of a dead battery. They all need to be quality contacts.

rusty nuts - 21/11/10 at 08:04 PM

First thing to do would be to test the battery! Don't waste time and effort trying to sort out the problem if the battery is dodgy. Faulty alternators can also drain a battery when the negine is stopped

A1 - 21/11/10 at 11:04 PM

cheers for the replies, ill try out checking the solenoid tomorrow and let you know!
thinking of getting a new battery too just to be sure.
the alternator should be fine, took it off a car that was working okay.

A1 - 22/11/10 at 10:54 PM

just to let you know- changed the battery tonight for a new one and she started!
so yea, thats the first start! even managed to wire in the starter button right!

cheers again for all the tips!