FTO AUSTRALIA

Hi Guys,

Well this is my first post, so hello to everyone. I’ve been reading the forums for ages though, and have found everyone to be really helpful, so perhaps someone can help me.

Basically my battery is draining overnight. I’m going to put everything below, so be prepared for a good read!

I have a 94 GPX tip, done about 96K, and just over a month ago I had a new Exide 550 battery installed, as well as a new Kenwood USB headunit and an immobiliser/alarm at Complete Car Sound in Brisbane. I was really happy with their work (The alarm is a Mongoose M80s). I also put in new headlight bulbs, narva’s on both hi’s an lo’s.

Everything was fine until last Sunday morning I find a soft constant beep coming from under the bonnet where the siren is. The battery is completely flat. I thought the alarm might have been trieggered and drained the battery. So I jumpstarted, but found that there just wasn’t enough to even have my rev counter function properly, so left it to charge overnight. (battery still connected)

I tried the next day and she started fine, went for a drive and after 5min decided to come back as the voltage kept dropping and the indicators were making the rev counter die. I’m thinking failed/failing alternator. So I disconnected the battery (which set off the alarm thanks to the battery back-up) and charged it up which charged quicker as well. Once charged I connected it back up and used a multi-meter to find the voltage dropping constantly even though nothing was on. It drops about 0.01 volts every 5 or so seconds, or about ½ a volt every hour. I figure if there is something wrong with the alternator, the car shouldn’t start? But she does start and with about 1000rpm the voltage is at about 13v and more with more revs.

So I started checking all the fuses. I also found that both my low beam lamp sockets have melted on one prong. (And I double checked the old ones were 60w, the new ones are 55w). So I removed these and checked for shorts and although the plastics melted it doesn’t seem like the prongs are touching. I also removed every fuse in both boxes. (except the alternator ones which are bolted in) - and the battery is still draining. In fact it seems faster. Disconnected the battery is fine, it only discharges when connected. So I might need to try remove the alternator fuse, but otherwise I’ve run out of ideas.

the battery could be dead because youve run it flat so many times, it could be the alternator needs adjusting, or the alternator fuse is just touching, it could be dead alternator...

check your wiring for the new stereo

hmm yeah. something is causing it to drain or laoding it up

The car will start without with a charged battery...the alternator will charge it as necessary however if its not working the car wont stay on for long as the power drain is too much.

I'm still not sure based on what u said. U said at idle its seems to work ok? but voltage drops when driving?

How long has the battery been in there for? And is there water in the battery?

i find that my alarm(rhino) slighty drains the battery if left for more than 1 week.

in my car i can hear a very feint rising frequency out of the internal siren inside my car.

dont know how to fix that one..

I was away overseas for 3-1/2 weeks and when I came back my battery was flat. Only thing I can think of that was active was the immobiliser/immobiliser LED and clock. But I doubt they would drain the battery that much.

Hey,

The battery is almost brand new, had it less than 2months, and when disconnected its voltage stays the same.

The voltage is ok if the car is revving, but at idle or off, the voltage drops. The car was fine for a month after the alarm and headunit were installed, and then it suddenly went flat overnight.

I did remove almost every fuse, hoping to isolate the circuit that is causing the problem, but the drain continued. Does anyone know what this means?

I will check the stereo's wiring, but it looks like I will have to have an auto electrician take a look.

I have a very similar issue, but seemed to be happening randomly, so I couldn't pin it on anything. I also have a mongoose alarm, and had actually turned it right off at one stage, because as the battery died (usually overnight) the alarm would go off.

One night, neighbours told me that my interior lights were on. I had actually noticed they come on if I went over bumps whilst driving. So, I took the bulbs out, and it seemed to fix the problem. Also got a new battery at one stage as well.

However, just lately, I have noticed my boot light coming on whilst going over bumps. So, I figure its a stuffed boot latch, as I can pull my boot open whilst its 'locked'. Even though it is down, its not necessarily closed, and so that would have been causing the interior lights to be coming on. So now I'm off to sort out the boot latch, either fix it (eek) or buy a new one (double eeek).

I never got round to testing things with a voltmeter, so not sure if I would have been getting similar readings to you, but its something to look into??

Ahhhh I see.......we've had a similar thread before. If you're getting low voltage during idle, you might wanna check to see if you're idle is too low.

Another cause would be your head unit or alarm is too much for the stock alternator. Usually it would be the voltage regulator in the alternator that needs a recondition. If you have a search around this forum you may find something on getting a higher output alternator, I think it was from the Galant or an aftermarket one. Have a look around.

Well, I fiddled with every wire I could get my hands on. Left the battery to charge (again). Put it all back together, voltage still dropped slowly. Went to turn the ignition on, hit the remote to disable to the immobiliser and eveything went dead. Absolutely no power to anything. No lights, no nothing, which kinda freaked me out.

So I removed the battery, checked everything I could think of, put the battery back in, connected back up and hey presto, it all works properly now! No idea why, but its not draining anymore and is all back to normal. Still a bit surprised, and still keeping an eye on the voltage. Will let you know if it's ok over the next few days.

it could be as simple as a bad connection grounding everything, and when u mucked aroudn with everything u fixed by simply moving the bad connection away from whatever it was grounding on.

I dont know, but with these things it does seem to always be the simple and stupid things that goes wrong though

BorepYano wrote: I dont know, but with these things it does seem to always be the simple and stupid things that goes wrong though

At least that's what we hope for anyway coz it usually means less $$$

Well,

Got it checked out and it was the alternator. Been reconditioned and it's all working now. Did end up costing $$