Battery discharging

Hi all I am new to this so please bear with me I have a diesel range rover (99) I've had it about 3yrs without any problems it is bog standard nothing added or taken away but a few months ago the battery went flat after stand for about a week recharged it but it kept on happening so bought new battery but it still happens can anybody help Thanks

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Kevin1 via CarKB.com
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Kevin1> added or taken away but a few months ago the battery went Kevin1> flat after stand for about a week recharged it but it kept Kevin1> on happening so bought new battery but it still happens Kevin1> can anybody help Thanks

You need to work out where the current is going.

Put an AMMETER in series with the battery negative lead. Watch and see what happens to the current flow after 2 minutes once the BeCM has gone to sleep.

0.6A is a good indication that something is keeping the BeCM awake.

Cycling from 0.06 to 0.6A every 2 1/2 mins is a good indication that you have an Oregon Scientific weather station keeping the BeCm awake.

Andy

Reply to
AndyC the WB

Thanks Andy for being so quick will let you know the results tomorrow

Kev

AndyC the WB wrote:

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Kevin1 via CarKB.com

Reply to
Kevin1 via CarKB.com

Sounds like the battery has done it's dash then. Time for a new one.

Reply to
EMB

EMB> Kevin1 via CarKB.com wrote: >> I've done as you suggest and am getting a reading of approx >> 0.033 >>

EMB> Sounds like the battery has done it's dash then. Time for a EMB> new one.

0.033A is a normal reading for battery drain when the vehicle is powered down. It could well be that the batter is at the end of it's life, but this doesn't follow directly from the reading.

The best way to tell if the battery is dying is to have someone watch the meter while you crank the engine - if it drops below 9V, you can be pretty sure the battery is no longer serviceable.

If the battery is still OK, then tracking down the extra drain will be more troublesome. Possible, but troublesome. Let's eliminate that possibility before going on to the next one.

Andy

Reply to
AndyC the WB

Is that a specific interfaction between the Oregan and BeCm or would any other bit of "wireless" kit operating in/on the relevant frequency (presumably 418 or 433MHz) also cause this effect?

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

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Kevin1 via CarKB.com

Dave> On Mon, 17 Oct 2005 14:21:12 +0100, AndyC the WB wrote: >> Cycling from 0.06 to 0.6A every 2 1/2 mins is a good indication >> that you have an Oregon Scientific weather station keeping the >> BeCm awake.

Dave> Is that a specific interfaction between the Oregan and BeCm Dave> or would any other bit of "wireless" kit operating in/on the Dave> relevant frequency (presumably 418 or 433MHz) also cause Dave> this effect?

It's a generic effect. Anything transmitting on 433Mhz (for European spec vehicles) can keep the BeCM awake. Newer models have a narrow band pass filter to prevent/reduce this effect.

Andy

Reply to
AndyC the WB

Well that might help nearby Radio Amateurs keeping it awake but what about all the wireless devices that are about these days all on the same spot frequency? Thermostats, burglar alarms, weather stations, door bells and so on. There must be loads of them in your average urban estate these days...

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

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Kevin1 via CarKB.com

How do you know what your neighbours have bought recently?

I think you've previously posted that the voltage during cranking drops to 9 or so. The battery is knackered, possibly just due to age or the deep discharges. ISTR you saying that it was flat after a week of standing at some point. Car batteries *hate* deep discharges, just one can be enough to effectively kill it, especially if its a bit old.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

On or around Fri, 21 Oct 2005 16:47:33 +0100 (BST), "Dave Liquorice" enlightened us thusly:

depending on the engine, I've seen 9V when cranking, from an otherwise OK battery.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

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Kevin1 via CarKB.com

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