Another battery drain problem

[splash2]

Hi Folks,

My starter battery is draining over a period of a few days. I have done all of the usual, i.e. disconnected the radio and sat nav and made sure no interior lights are left of. Testing between the -ve battery post and the disconnected -ve lead with an ammeter set to 20 mAmps I see a maximum of 2.6 mAmps being drained which I wouldn't have thought would be too much of a problem. [BMW clock?]

Is it possible that the LB powering the fridge is getting to such a low level that it is sucking the power from the SB? If so, how do I test this to confirm?

Ta in advance,

Ade.

[apole]

Hi,

You could have a duff battery, had that 3 weeks ago, if there is no drain on the main battery I can't see what else it could be, unless it's something that switches on and off that you maynot pick up whilst testing.

How about disconnecting the battery as a test for a few days (if you are not using the car) and see if that makes a difference?

[MountainGoat]

I have a full conversion and I had the same problem whe I first got my Bongo. I replaced the starter battery and that one went duff on me too. I then obtained a Willinton Intelligent Split charging system and now I have no problems at all.

After trying apole's suggestion I would take your Bongo round to the local battery centre where they should test both batteries free for you. If they say that both batteries are ok then it has got to be your split charging system.

Tony

[francophile1947]

There can also be a problem with the neon interior light. Mine was not very bright, but I didn't realise it as I'd not looked at any others. My battery also kept going flat until someone suggested that I changed the tube - no more problems

[bongosailor]

Take one fuse out at a time. I know its time consuming, but it does narrow the drain down to one circuit.

[splash2]

Thanks for all your help chaps - I'm slowly working my way through the fuse box in an attempt to track down the culprit. I'll report back when I find the little bugger

BTW - anyone have information of the V6 fuse box?

[g8dhe]

The V6 fuse box is the same as the diesel as far as I can tell If the drain your seeing is only 2.6 milliamps then that is NOT your problem, drains as much as 100 milliamps are not uncommon, but anything above 50 milliamps I would prefer to understand.

[splash2]

Thanks Geoff. You may have saved me a long and frustrating hunt for the non-existant. I guess the next step is to fully charge the battery then leave it disconnected overnight & check the voltage.

[splash2]

When I disconnected the -ve terminal I heard a very loud clunk - a relay somewhere? This does not happen every time I disconnect so it looks like this is going to be even harder to track down than ever

[splash2]

Just a quick update. I never did track down the source of this problem - it just stopped happening back in February and everything has been running nicely ever since; until a few days ago

Nothing has changed. No added equipment, no changes to the electrics. Bloody frustrating.

[patnben]

The central locking system is operated by a one second OFF delay relay, if this sticks ON then
current will be supplied continuously to all the secondary door locks as there are no limit switches.

If you sit inside with everything swiched off, and then operate the drivers door lever, you should
be able to hear the delay relay operating when you toggle the door lever. Never happened with
my Bongo but it did with another car I once owned. Worth a try.

[splash2]

Thanks PatnBen - I'll give that a try

[splash2]

OK - just done that.

When I push down the locking knob I can hear the door mechanisms clunking. I tried it several times and only once, after locking the doors did I hear anything remotely like a relay operating. I guess the next stage is to remove fuse 4, charge the battery & see what state it's in tomorrow morning.

Anyone know where the CL relay is situated?