Will_Sport
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Registered: 28th Jun 04
Location: Notts
User status: Offline
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Right my car has just eaten a battery..... swapped it under gaurantee and the bloke said yep, its fooked.
put a replacement on, car started fine, no problems.... 4 hours later, engine wouldn't even turn (all could here was clicking from various solenoids)....... charged over night and its fine, but i guess as soon as it comes of the charger is going flat again.
any help/suggestions as to where i want to start looking?
p.s its only just starting doing this within last 2-3 weeks, and haven't made any alterations to the car for quite a while
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craig_s
Member
Registered: 5th Mar 06
Location: Birmingham Drives: mk4 astra gsi
User status: Offline
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is it going flat without even running the car?
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12vMatt
Member
Registered: 28th Oct 06
Location: Sunderland
User status: Offline
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is everything turned off including any amps headunit etc
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Will_Sport
Member
Registered: 28th Jun 04
Location: Notts
User status: Offline
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yep, everything turned off.
and yes, its going flat without running the car.
like i say... everything is turned off, nothing has changed since like september time, no alterations, it just eats batteries in a very short amount of time.
first time it did it, battery flat, jump leads, started up, ran for 2 weeks no problem.
now its done it, jump leads only just got engine to turn like half before dash lights etc going off. got new battery (fully charged), started fine, left for 4 hours, come back and its barely got any charge in it
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P1CK4D
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Registered: 19th Jun 06
Location: Around Essex Somewhere
User status: Offline
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This happened to my car as well mate. All it turned out to be was the Earth lead that comes off the Alternater had worn. Everytime I went to get in the car I had to jump start it, but that would only get me down the road. I would say your one might be abit dodgey as well. Once i'd changed the Earth lead thats comes off the alternator its been perfect ever since! Worth a try matey  Good Luck!
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Will_Sport
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Registered: 28th Jun 04
Location: Notts
User status: Offline
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thanks for that, will add it to the list of things i've been suggested so far lol.
although... when its running it seems fine, but still worth a try
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P1CK4D
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Registered: 19th Jun 06
Location: Around Essex Somewhere
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Mine was the same for a while, once started, it would be fine, n then later on it just gave up and wouldn't start at all. Its quick and easy to do, might not be the problem but well worth a go.
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CoastalCorsa
Member
Registered: 7th Jan 05
Location: Lancashire
User status: Offline
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perfect symptoms for alternator related problem
[Edited on 29-12-2006 by CoastalCorsa]
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craig_s
Member
Registered: 5th Mar 06
Location: Birmingham Drives: mk4 astra gsi
User status: Offline
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yeh sound like it could be the earth stap or the alternator.first thing to do is get 1 of your jump leads atatch one end to your engine lifting eyes or somewhere then the other end to the body of the car.make sure your battery is charged then leave it for a while if itstill goes dead then its not your earth strap.
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Will_Sport
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Registered: 28th Jun 04
Location: Notts
User status: Offline
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right.... electrical engineer says he doesn't think its an earth problem (after checking with multimeter)
where is the earth on the alternator? i've found one near it, like in that bit the alarm sits in (factory fit alarm) - sort of behind the airbox and suspension top mount...... looks fine to me, and think it tested ok.
where should i be looking? bloody x16xe engine bay isn't a place for seeing things easily, more like a jungle infact
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CoastalCorsa
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Registered: 7th Jan 05
Location: Lancashire
User status: Offline
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In all fairness an electrical engineer should be saying it is not an earth problem not he does not think its an earth problem
dis- connect your battery take a reading from the battery with a multimeter or a meg meter go back to the car in a couple of hours time and see what it reads
this will check to see that the battery is holding charge
another to try
multi meter the battery again see what power its giving out, then turn the car on and meter the car whilst engine is idle / ticking over, see if it has increase to 14 or 15 volts just to check that the alternator is charging the battery
check for earth loop impedance - put your multimeter onto the correct setting - the one where it bleeps when you touch the two probes together - put one probe on the alternator earth connection and then follow the wire to the other end, or use the negative off the battery, you should here it bleep constanly to let you know ther is continuity - if it does not bleep then you have found your problem
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City
Member
Registered: 30th Dec 03
Location: Wakefield Drives: Red GSi
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by P1CK4D
This happened to my car as well mate. All it turned out to be was the Earth lead that comes off the Alternater had worn. Everytime I went to get in the car I had to jump start it, but that would only get me down the road. I would say your one might be abit dodgey as well. Once i'd changed the Earth lead thats comes off the alternator its been perfect ever since! Worth a try matey Good Luck!
ive got same prob matey, were does the earth go to??
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Robin
Premium Member
Registered: 7th Jan 04
Location: Northants Drives: Clio 182 Cup
User status: Offline
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goes to the bulkhead IIRC.
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STEvieXE
Member
Registered: 21st Jan 03
Location: Ballymena N.I.
User status: Offline
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i had a battery going flat but i had let it go flat and was drivin in winter conditions (lights/wipers/heater on etc) and it wasnt charging properly. also found that the negative terminal on the battery had somehow worked its way loose. tightened this up and charged it over night, been grand ever since..
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City
Member
Registered: 30th Dec 03
Location: Wakefield Drives: Red GSi
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Robin
goes to the bulkhead IIRC.
were abouts does it come from on altenator robin? looking for the wire now but cant find it?
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Robin
Premium Member
Registered: 7th Jan 04
Location: Northants Drives: Clio 182 Cup
User status: Offline
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There's a threaded bit on the inlet manifold side of the casing.
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City
Member
Registered: 30th Dec 03
Location: Wakefield Drives: Red GSi
User status: Offline
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do i need to remove anything to see it?? is it on left hand side of altenator?
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csweatherston
Member
Registered: 16th Jan 06
Location: Devon
User status: Offline
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ok..... a faulty earth, will not cause the battery to go flat!
you need to do an amp discharge test, disconnect the earth from the battery, connect a multimeter (ampmeter) between the negative pole and ground lead.
you should expect a resistance of no more than 0.1a...
get back with the resistance shown and we can pinpoint you in the right direction.
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csweatherston
Member
Registered: 16th Jan 06
Location: Devon
User status: Offline
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oh, alarm usually gives 0.06 if you have one fitted..
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City
Member
Registered: 30th Dec 03
Location: Wakefield Drives: Red GSi
User status: Offline
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i had battery tested its fne he said atenator was weak and told to check earth?
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csweatherston
Member
Registered: 16th Jan 06
Location: Devon
User status: Offline
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on a x16xe, the alternator earths to a threaded bar on the lower inlet manifold IIRC.
but that would indicate the alternator is not charging properly...not draining the battery.
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City
Member
Registered: 30th Dec 03
Location: Wakefield Drives: Red GSi
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by csweatherston
on a x16xe, the alternator earths to a threaded bar on the lower inlet manifold IIRC.
but that would indicate the alternator is not charging properly...not draining the battery.
its a c16xe dont think that will make a difference, yeah it charges battery but very weak charge only, guy at battery place says its will be altenator earth thats gone
im looking for wire but cant find it??
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csweatherston
Member
Registered: 16th Jan 06
Location: Devon
User status: Offline
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it will be somewhere near the block electrical connector (where the upper manifold curves over)_
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City
Member
Registered: 30th Dec 03
Location: Wakefield Drives: Red GSi
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by csweatherston
it will be somewhere near the block electrical connector (where the upper manifold curves over)_
lol still bit unsure cheers dude have to try find it as its pissing me off now!
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Will_Sport
Member
Registered: 28th Jun 04
Location: Notts
User status: Offline
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right - first put battery on started, left for about 20s - its ok, leave 4 hours, come back and its flat, bloke at shop says he only got battery a day or so ago and should be fully charged.
charged battery up, took it off charge and its been sat since about 6pm last night, started a couple of times and its still charged fine now.
why is it so random?????
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