electrical gremlins

[william]

i have a powerdraw thats been draining the battery within two days after charge i know i dont drive it much but is this normal considering the the battery got changed last 07 and ive gone through the wiring throughly

possible causes bad earth
new battery required
boot light
headunit
alternator replacement

[h100vw]

i have a powerdraw thats been draining the battery within two days after charge i know i dont drive it much but is this normal considering the the battery got changed last 07 and ive gone through the wiring throughly

possible causes bad earth
new battery required
boot light
headunit
alternator replacement

Alternator is easy to test, voltmeter across the battery with the engine running. Should be looking at 13 plus volts easy.

Bootlight could be checked with the seat down or by dropping the back seat down.

Battery, is there any electrolyte in it? I replaced the battery on my Ibiza and when I took the old one off I noticed it was well low on fluid. That was pretty dead after Christmas and I had to bump it backwards off the drive.

Just charging it up doesn't prove that it's any good.

If you have volt meter you could check the current flow with the ignition off. Set the meter to amps and put it in line with the earth lead. Don't turn the ignition on cos most meters can only handle a small current. Maybe a few amps tops.

Gavin

[william]

ok the alternator is fine then bc microtech says it charges at 13amps

i know the car has always has a bad earth how can i fix that??


what would you guys recomend ive had bosch batterys and charged two in three years??

just checked the boot light its ok

and the facure to the headunit has been off for a week

[h100vw]

Unplug the stereo altogether. To check the earth lead use your meter on OHMS. and see what it reads between the engine and the earth terminal. A bad earth won't flatten your battery but would reduce the charge voltage.

Gavin

[william]

ok il try it asap
the deck is wired dirrectly to the battery when the car is off and key is out i can still have it on you get me

[h100vw]

ok il try it asap
the deck is wired dirrectly to the battery when the car is off and key is out i can still have it on you get me

I understand, hope you have a fuse right by the battery!! Take the fuse out and see how it goes.

Gavin

[william]

yeh i have a fuse near the battery was ok last i checked and the headunit works il check it now. I rackon its a battery too but two in three years thats unspeakable really what battery would you recomend??

[h100vw]

yeh i have a fuse near the battery was ok last i checked and the headunit works il check it now. I rackon its a battery too but two in three years thats unspeakable really what battery would you recomend??

Have someone check the battery out. They should do a drop test with the filler caps off so you can see into the cells.

They do a controlled short of the battery and see what current it provides. If the battery is shot there is usually gassing in the duff cell(s).

Gavin

[william]

i went down to check the stereo fuze which was ok and i found the fuze which was another stereo fuze i had put to hard wire the fans had brittle plastic and limited to no connection through the fuse and cracked when i touched it this thick wire with a fuse goes to the possitive terminal i think ive found it. what do you think?

[h100vw]

i went down to check the stereo fuze which was ok and i found the fuze which was another stereo fuze i had put to hard wire the fans had brittle plastic and limited to no connection through the fuse and cracked when i touched it this thick wire with a fuse goes to the possitive terminal i think ive found it. what do you think?

Don't count your chickens just yet.

Wait and see how it goes over the next few days.

I know it's easy to think you've found it, when you have really just talked yourself into it. I do at work often with avionic snags, you convince yourself it's one thing and nothing will sway you. Then after you spent ages trying to prove it, something else happens and off you go down another road.

Be patient for now, don't get a battery just yet.

Gavin

[william]

ive spoken to mate who happens to be a vw tech and he may be able to come check it for us il keep ya posted thanks gavin

[h100vw]

ive spoken to mate who happens to be a vw tech and he may be able to come check it for us il keep ya posted thanks gavin

No worries, be interested to see what your man says.


Gavin

[Cupra]

Hi William

Just seen this thread, is the wiring from the battery still standard after the vr6 transplant? If so I've had a problem for the last couple of years where if I drive the car every day the battery seems fine but it got to the point where if I didn't drive the car over the weekend it would struggle to start on monday.

I checked out the likely suspects as you seem to have done over a period of time with no luck. It got to the point where I was chasing my tail as the state of the battery was so bad I couldn't do any reliable faulfinding.

I decided to replace the battery & start faultfinding again & that's when I found my problem. On my cupra the -ve lead from the battery terminal goes down behind the battery to an inline earth point then off to the main earth. In my case the inline earth point was corroded & the section of lead from the first earth point (closest to the battery) to the -ve terminal had corrosion under the insulation amongst the wires.

I cleaned up the the earth pole (first earth point) & reconnected the original lead at that point but didn't connect it to the -ve terminal on the battery. I then got a new lead from the -ve terminal to the first earth point & placed it over the original lead on the pole at that point.

I have everything powered on the car & have not had a problem since(touch wood) . I did this about 6 months ago & have left the car at work for more than a week while away on a trip & also I can start & move the car around at home as much as I want without any problems with the battery charge being affected. Also I did all this with a new standard battery, nothing sexy as I expected to trash the battery doing my faultfinding

Hope this helps, good luck with the problem.

Cheers

Phil

[william]

hey phil thanks for the tip i spoted the corroded terminal and cleaned it last time where did you get the new lead from???

[Cupra]

hey phil thanks for the tip i spoted the corroded terminal and cleaned it last time where did you get the new lead from???

battery world at north richmond had a selection of different length leads, I only stumbled on to it because I put the largest battery I could in the space & the original lead wouldn't reach the -ve terminal so I selected one of their leads that would.

Phil