green_dragon Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Further to my previous post about the stereo coming on all by itself, I still need help. I've taken all the dash off and nothing seems to have rubbed through. Ive taken the stereo out and it's not that drawing power. I've disconnected the t-timer but there is still something taking power with nothing switched on. The battery voltage goes from 14.5v when charging with the engine running, to below 10v after about 15 mins with it switched off. I know the average car battery voltage varies a lot, but mine is flat after a day or so. I was up at 2 o'clock this morning jump starting it, because the battery was so low it was making the alarm beep at full volume alerting of lack of power. I know the first thing you are all going to suggest is to replace the battery, but the whole point of my question is, why are ignition live circuits becoming live, with no ignition?? I appologise if my description is not very clear, I will give more details after further investigation. Any advice greatly appreciated Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ardasaliah Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 I went away on hol and when I came back my battery was dead. The car had discharged it self as it wasn't driven for a month- when I jump it, the car was fine however the next day it discharged again- So-again I jump it. My point is while it was discharging its self really odd electrical things would happen like things turning on. At one point the alarm and the break lights were on + Dodgy dash lights etc. I bought a new bat and since then things have been fine— Just thought id let you know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sakura Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Same here. The battery kept running down for no reason and the alarm wouldn't arm but went off every time I tried to start the car. If I tried to charge the battery it was fully charged within a few minutes. I eventually gave in and changed the battery, and so far all is fine. I figured that after eight years it had just decided it had had enough - and died Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green_dragon Posted October 27, 2004 Author Share Posted October 27, 2004 If a duff battery can cause 'odd' things like that to happen, then I will bite the bullet and buy a new one. I didn't know they did that, I thought they just kind of faded away. I'll try that when I get paid on friday. Thanks for the quick replies, I can sleep tonight... Unless the alarm keeps going off again. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sakura Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Maybe you could just "borrow" a good battery first, just to check that is causing the problem, before spending £75+ on a new one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green_dragon Posted October 27, 2004 Author Share Posted October 27, 2004 £75!!!! is that how much they cost??? Blimey no beer for me this weekend then!! lol I thought I'd get ghange from 50 quid!! How naive am I?? Does anyone do a 'try before you buy' deal? DREAM ON !? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stt Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 well heres one thing to try before you do buy a new battery,Just connect jump leads from another car,dont start in or anything just check all the wierd stuff thats been happening,If you alarm has bonnet pin switches then close them down so the alarm thinks its shut and check the voltage with the alarm on and see how much of a current drain your getting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sakura Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Originally posted by green_dragon £75!!!! is that how much they cost??? Blimey no beer for me this weekend then!! lol I thought I'd get ghange from 50 quid!! How naive am I?? Does anyone do a 'try before you buy' deal? DREAM ON !? I was talking "Halfrauds" heavy duty worst-case scenario in case you're running lots of Ice etc.! I'm sure there are cheaper options about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonB Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Could be a dodgy ground somewhere. I recently had a problem when I was fitting my Emanage. I would turn the ignition off but it would stay on! I realised I'd forgotten to reconnect the ground on my RLTC unit, as a result it must have been causing the ECU to keep the ignition on somehow. You can get a new battery from Halfords btw, the decent sealed calcium ones are only £60 or so IIRC, standard ones cheaper than that so you should be able to get one cheaper somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green_dragon Posted October 27, 2004 Author Share Posted October 27, 2004 Nice one, I tried the jump lead thing about 20 mins ago... Sorted !! The previously live circuit goes dead when two batteries are parallelled up, but comes live after a few seconds,(longer than before) Which a take to mean that my battery is sapping the donor battery causing the same fault. Thanks loads guys, I thought it was gonna cost a packet. Saved a load of embarrasment too, going to auto electrician Simon, are calcium ones better than normal ones then ? More power or something? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grazer Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 I have the standard battery from Halfrods which was about £40. I'm running stereo, mp3 and 2 amps and it's been fine for about 1 year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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