Battery Drain - Rover 214

Hello group, I've been experiencing battery problems over the last week ( see Central Locking Draining Battery post ). Unfortunately, so far no-one has replied.

Is 150mA over the top for parasitic drain on a '94 Rover 214? The driver's central locking doesn't operate, possible jammed linkage; could this cause an excessive drain? the 150mA figure is with the doors unlocked; will try locked tomorrow morning. According to the Haynes manual, some models have a separate fuse for the central locking, although I cannot find one on the vehicle. I haven't yet tried pulling out all the fuses in turn. I wanted to check if the drain is within acceptable limits first before I broach the cold weather.

Tested at the battery supplier, the battery only put out 280A CCA, and was declared a dud. Does the test have to be carried out on a fully charged battery? By definition, if the battery is faulty, it may not be able to hold a charge.

Anyone have any opinions on the Accugard smart charger? Due to disability, I only drive short distances in stop-go traffic, and probably need to charge the battery occasionally.

Thanks for any help. John

Reply to
John
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It is high, IMHO, but would depend on any accessories fitted like alarms etc. It's not high enough for an alternator fault. I'd expect the car still to start after a week or so if the battery started out fully charged.

Reply to
Dave Plowman

Just checked my '98 216 unlocked and therefore no alarm, just 1.5 mA which I guess is the clock ! Time to check those fuses. HTH

Andy Pandy To e-mail, address hopefully, self-explanatory !

Reply to
Andy Pandy

Thanks, Dave for the reply. There are no accessories fitted, only factory-fit alarm/immobiliser and factory-fit radio-cassette. I suspect the battery couldn't have been fully charged. The car had lain idle for a week, while I had the flu, and had only done short journeys just prior to that.

The battery failed a load test, but it wasn't fully-charged when tested. I seem to have read that some testers compensate for a low charge. I've a new battery now. If I can dig out the original receipt, I can get a refund on the new one as it was still under warranty. If not, at least I've possibly got a spare battery. I'll charge the old one and see if it self-discharges, or have it tested again.

John

Reply to
John

Borderline 150mAx24Hrx7 = 25Ah, that'll flatten a lot of batteries in Winter. I'd suspect the radio.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

Hello again, I've now pulled out all the fuses in turn. With a new battery, the current drain is 130ma. I pulled each fuse in the passenger fusebox. The drain remained at 130ma. It seems that this figure although high may be normal.

I'm still wondering if the jammed linkage in the drivers door central locking could cause a drain. The Haynes manual shows a separate fuse for the central locking but it is not present in the car.

On a separate note, I have one of those led battery analyzers that plugs in the cigar lighter socket. Yesterday, the led lit weakly inidcating a possible overcharge. I stopped the car and at fast idle the voltage at the battery was 14.4V if I recall correctly.

Thanks for all your replies. John

Reply to
John

Thus sounds about right. The charging voltage will vary depending on temperature, which your LED analyser cannot allow for. You should find the charging voltage is a little lower in hot weather.

Reply to
Bob Davis

Still seems high. I wonder if it's worth disconnecting the alternator and checking again?

Reply to
Ian Edwards

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