Battey Draining ?

Hi all,

After all the expense of a blown head gasket,

I have a new problem. I have an few month old Optima Redtop battery I replaced the old battery with.

Something is draining this battery with a few days. Jump it with a 2nd HD one, and the engine fires up.

Take it for a run, everything is fine until i leave it to stand again, ( I drive a van for work, so Disco is used infrequently).

Have disconnected the Old CD changer under the seat. I believe except for the Alarm / Immobiliser that nothing else could be drawing current enuf to flatten the battery.

Coeincidence ? the rear near side door sometimes does not lock / go down when u activate the door blipper. unlock doors, relock then this door works fine.


any thoughts please .....

RF problem? - do yu live near an electrically operated garage door or lecky pylon?

sound like the RR problem - is it similar on a Disco?

look at this

Is the alternator charging the battery ? , have you measured how much it it putting into the battery with the engine running

or see this thread

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/td5-runs-down-battery-45712.html?highlight=battery

celticknight said:

Take it for a run, everything is fine until i leave it to stand again,

Click to expand...

dont that imply its charging ok - but draining after?

The Mad Hat Man said:

dont that imply its charging ok - but draining after?

Click to expand...

not ccessanarily - e just says e jump starts it & takes it for a run & when it's been left a bit - it won't start.

didn't know if e'd checked the obvious - if its charging ok ALL the time then it's the battery.

I had a similar problem with my vectra - battery kept going flat - checked the alt. & it was putting out about 14v with the engine idling + no warning lights on dash- thought 'thats OK' so spent about £40 on new battery - few days later flat again esp. after night driving (lights, heater radio all on etc ) - took it to local auto electrician - they tested the alternator & found it was only working intermitently & not doing enough to run all electrics & charge battery - AND it had blown the bulb on the dash warning light.

the RF receiver is a well know fault on the range rover - but not aware of it for the disco

no - ee dont say "e jump starts it & takes it for a run & when it's been left a bit - it won't start" - but "Take it for a run, everything is fine until i leave it to stand again" that means the battery has taken enuf charge to start it again UNLESS he leaves it.

celtic - have a look at this to trace the source of your battery drain

How to find the cause for an slow draining battery

Many Land Rovers are plagued by the 'flat battery' syndrome, especially the newer ones. After some days of not being driven the battery is dead flat. Under normal everyday driving those sympthoms do not appear.

The problem is in most cases a slow drain somewhere. It does not take that much to empty even a large battery over 3 or 4 days. An simple underhood or interior light is more than enough. But how to find it?

First make sure your battery is ok and fully loaden. Even a new battery is sometimes faulty. Drive to your local parts store and have them check your battery with an load tester.

If this is ok make sure your electronics don't mind being disconnected. Ask your dealer or have a look in your owners manual. Elder petrol engines (except new shape RRs) and all diesels except the TD5 are no problem.

Disconnect the positive clamp on your battery but take care not to touch the body metal with the wrench when doing this.



Now connect an small light between the + terminal and the clamp. Put the clamp on a rag so it can't touch the sheet metal. If any drain is present the light will glow. Or you can check the amount of drain with an small ammeter. An drain of 1-2 Watts can be tolerated. Next pull the fuse for the mechanic clock and the radio. Still any current flowing (light on)?

Ok, so you really have a problem. Now start pulling the fuses in the fuse box one by one until the light goes off. This is the circuit in which the problem lies. Check your manual or the indications in the cover of the fuse box to see which systems are connected to that fuse.

The next steps depend on the systems concerned. Try disconnecting each one of the parts connected in the circuit. Again it's the same - when the light goes out you've found the problem.

Even better than a light bulb is an buzzer. Many people have one of those annoying little rascals lying around. Use it.

In very new vehicles there are so many electric and electronic gadgets that problems are very common. Especially the immobiliser / alarm is known to be a can of worms. Those have best been left to an qualified auto electrician - not necessarily your Land Rover dealer.

a simpler way (using the same concept) is just disconnect the +ve and put your ammeter in series between the clamp you've just taken orf and the batt terminal - set the ammeter to the 10 amps range (if it shows in excess of that initially youve got big issues) - it's more likly to show a drain of around 500ma ish - and then take out fuses one by one till it shows no drain

and dont try starting the engine !

Hi all,

thanks to one and all for the info.

My Disco is a 300Tdi.

Have measured the Current, but when engine was started, the batteryt terminal voltage was 14.1 ish Volts.

I know it wasnt charged longer enuf, but leaving it tick over for 15mins, did allow the enigine to restart, and the terminal voltage was 12.1v at the time, then went back upto 14v.


will try and restart the engine again tomorrow, take it for a run then ask my neighbour. nice RAC Bloke to re use his battery tester gizmo when it has charged up sufficiently.

then try the Fuse box method.
i take it this is the main fuse box in the engine bay on top of the left side wing.

burtonboy said:

Now connect an small light between the + terminal and the clamp. Put the clamp on a rag so it can't touch the sheet metal. If any drain is present the light will glow.

Click to expand...

I like the practical approach Just to say, however, that it's safer to disconnect the negative terminal and connect the lamp/buzzer to that side of the battery. You get the same result from your tests ~ the current flowing in a circuit is the same wherever you measure it.

celticknight said:

Hi all,

thanks to one and all for the info.

My Disco is a 300Tdi.

Have measured the Current, but when engine was started, the batteryt terminal voltage was 14.1 ish Volts.

I know it wasnt charged longer enuf, but leaving it tick over for 15mins, did allow the enigine to restart, and the terminal voltage was 12.1v at the time, then went back upto 14v.


will try and restart the engine again tomorrow, take it for a run then ask my neighbour. nice RAC Bloke to re use his battery tester gizmo when it has charged up sufficiently.

then try the Fuse box method.
i take it this is the main fuse box in the engine bay on top of the left side wing.

Click to expand...

i think you've missed the point - you dont need the engine running, you need to see how much, and through what, current is flowing when the engine is orf

Sean said:

a simpler way (using the same concept) is just disconnect the +ve and put your ammeter in series between the clamp you've just taken orf and the batt terminal - set the ammeter to the 10 amps range (if it shows in excess of that initially youve got big issues) - it's more likly to show a drain of around 500ma ish - and then take out fuses one by one till it shows no drain

and dont try starting the engine !

Click to expand...

Just tried this on our disco with draining battery problem , gave a reading of 1.9 amps, which had me a little concerned, until I remembered I`d left the passenger door open, closed that and the drain dropped to 0.1amps .
Used a rubber floor mat to insulate the +terminal.

the 100ma drain is probably the radio and alarm, even that drain your battery after a few weeks - have seen many peeps stuck in long stay carparks after coming back from costa dell yobo only to find their cars wont start

Sean said:

the 100ma drain is probably the radio and alarm, even that drain your battery after a few weeks - have seen many peeps stuck in long stay carparks after coming back from costa dell yobo only to find their cars wont start

Click to expand...

Just been out and bought a new battery, £54. Use the multimeter for checking voltage and alternater current, but I didnt know about the amperage drain test until I came across this thread. Cracking tip, as is the diagram of the lamp test . Thank you.

Hi all,

I took the disco to the place where I bougt the Optima battery from.
The did some tests, apparently the Voltage reading was 6volts.

with that, I got the battery changed under the guarantee. will see if this new one behaves this weekend with a run down to dorset from North Wales.

Thanks to all who helped out. will let u know the outcome.

Get a VOLT METERm

Maplins sell lovely meters for SIX POUNDS!!! Buy three! Keep one in the car.

Here's the test to do.

Start the engine, and then switch on every damned thing that uses electricity, headlights, rear fog, front fog, heated rear screen, the lot.

With all this stuff ON, measure the voltage across the battery terminals while the engine is running about 1,500 rpm.

Your system MUST be able to maintain at least 13.5 volts at the battery or it isn't keeping up with the demand.

CharlesY

those cheap meters are pants, they are all accurate to plus/minus 25% dispite it saying 2% on the box

Hi all,

the Battery problem seems to have been cured.

have had the Optima Red Top exchanged under guarantee and it behaves fine now.

thanks for the help and suggestions.