Battery draining on 2003 3.0i

CHIMV8 · Post by **CHIMV8** » Wed Dec 12, 2018 1:46 pm

Brand new battery totally drained when parked up in garage for 1-2 weeks

Thought it was a duff one,so took back and got another

Same happened again!!

Checked boot light wasnt stopping on,and dont lock the car in the garage

Has anyone had this problem,and could be an obvious issue

captain caveman · Post by **captain caveman** » Wed Dec 12, 2018 2:00 pm

Take the bulb out of the centre cubby hole infact i,l take the boot glovebox and any other ones like that. If it fixes the problem put them back in one at a time. Worked for me.

kis · Post by **kis** » Wed Dec 12, 2018 5:10 pm

Something is drawing juice somehow. I looked into this for mine too as I have a parasitic drain too, but mines an old battery too (but not that old!) so something is drawing the current but by the sounds of it not as quick as yours! Take a look at this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF1gijj03_0 I'm prob going to go down this route myself (over xmas when everything is nice and quiet)

Ewazix · Post by **Ewazix** » Wed Dec 12, 2018 7:54 pm

Previous members with this problem narrowed it down to the original radio head units which can go bad, others to aftermarket bluetooth or handsfree kit or one-touch roof modules.

ph001 · Post by **ph001** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:41 am

Yeh, centre cubby hole is a good one to check as the switch actuator can break off. Put your mobile in there doing a video to check! Also, not locking the car actually takes more drain from the battery as it doesn't go into full 'sleep' mode with doors unlocked.

Buy one of these which you can simply clamp around one of the battery wires to check current. It should be less than 0.1A when car is asleep..... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Multimeter-Tac ... ag=z4fo-21

bladeowner · Post by **bladeowner** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 9:14 pm

ph001 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:41 am Yeh, centre cubby hole is a good one to check as the switch actuator can break off. Put your mobile in there doing a video to check! Also, not locking the car actually takes more drain from the battery as it doesn't go into full 'sleep' mode with doors unlocked.

Buy one of these which you can simply clamp around one of the battery wires to check current. It should be less than 0.1A when car is asleep..... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Multimeter-Tac ... ag=z4fo-21

In the question and answer section on Amazon one guy reckons the minimum DC reading is 1A and another reckons 700mA which won't be sensitive enough to be useful for measuring parasitic drain if true. For a more accurate reading using a conventional meter in series with the battery lead will be more accurate.

ph001 · Post by **ph001** » Sat Dec 15, 2018 1:11 am

True but anything killing your battery in a couple of days will be more than 1A anyway. Most people are not comfortable with disconnecting battery leads and putting a meter in series. Also, you have the added inconvenience of it blowing the meter fuse when you do something like lock the doors when it takes a pulse current of 20A

bladeowner · Post by **bladeowner** » Sat Dec 15, 2018 10:13 am

Indeed but the OP said it drained over 1-2 weeks and if the drain was say 0.5 A the meter clamp meter may not read it but it would be enough to give the same symptoms. I'd rather know what the actual current drain is. I admit I use my old Avo for such tasks as it can take surges. I use my digital meter for less heavy duty tasks.

oldgit · Post by **oldgit** » Mon Dec 17, 2018 11:08 pm

CHIMV8.
Do you leave a dashcam plugged into the cigarette lighter socket by any chance?
This socket is permanently live and I drained my battery in less than 2 weeks.

soundb0y · Post by **soundb0y** » Tue Dec 18, 2018 12:09 pm

I have this problem and pretty sure its caused by my bluetooth adaptor.

Only ever happens after a week or 2 of being sat.

I was considering installing a battery cut off switch somewhere, has anyone done similar?

bladeowner · Post by **bladeowner** » Tue Dec 18, 2018 1:21 pm

If you cut off the battery you would have no alarm and have to reset the clock and windows etc. Better to isolate the adapter even temporarily to see if it is your issue.

ph001 · Post by **ph001** » Tue Dec 18, 2018 2:03 pm

soundb0y wrote: ↑Tue Dec 18, 2018 12:09 pm I have this problem and pretty sure its caused by my bluetooth adaptor.

Only ever happens after a week or 2 of being sat.

I was considering installing a battery cut off switch somewhere, has anyone done similar?

Ancillary items like this should always be wired to a switched ignition feed, not permanent live.

soundb0y · Post by **soundb0y** » Sun Dec 23, 2018 1:22 am

ph001 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 18, 2018 2:03 pm
soundb0y wrote: ↑Tue Dec 18, 2018 12:09 pm I have this problem and pretty sure its caused by my bluetooth adaptor.

Only ever happens after a week or 2 of being sat.

I was considering installing a battery cut off switch somewhere, has anyone done similar?
Ancillary items like this should always be wired to a switched ignition feed, not permanent live.

I can't remember why I didn't to be fair. Maybe it was hard to find a switch feed in the boot? Active phone charger and other bits like dashcam are on a switched feed.

CHIMV8 · Post by **CHIMV8** » Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:56 pm

Been leaving the car unlocked in the garage,someone pointed out that the electrical system wont go to sleep unless its locked,as it constantly thinking its about to set off

So recharged battery,and locked it,lets see how we go

CHIMV8 · Post by **CHIMV8** » Sun Jan 27, 2019 2:50 pm

Well,it seems that if you don't lock your car in the garage,it totally drains the battery,even new ones.

Just started the old girl after leaving for nearly 10 days in garage with her locked not left open

Lesson learnt

Z4-forum.com

Z4-forum.com