Something draining the battery

mikeymac186

hi guys, im sure iv seen this before somewhere on the site, but for the life of me i cant find it, so here goes.

the problem is, if i don't run the car every day, by the second day of it sitting there, the battery doesnt have enough charge to get the engine turning over, just slowly cranking, ending up having to jump start it if i leave it.

at first i thought i was just being stupid and leaving the inside light on or something, but i double checked this before i had to leave it for a few days because of the ridiculous amount of snow i get at my house, and something is definitely draining the battery constantly notsure.gif

Basically i would like to know if this is a common problem and if anyone knows the likely culprits please,

thanks lads and ladys

Low3sy

Do you have an amp that does not have a switched live and is constantly on?

mikeymac186

nope, everything electrical is standard, only mods so far are vec c pipe, courtney panel filter, derestricing airbox and planning the precat really soon

dodger

if everything is standard, then it sounds to me the battery is knackered

mikeymac186

really? is there any checks i can do to confirm this? dont really want to buy another part that i might find out i didnt really need.

thanks dodger

dodger

mikeymac186 said:
really? is there any checks i can do to confirm this? dont really want to buy another part that i might find out i didnt really need.

thanks dodger

If you go to any garage that sells batteries they normally have a battery tester which can determine the state of the battery, basically this puts a large load across the battery

Wiswion

add a master switch lol
you know like in your house they call it "Main Breaker"

MikeS

unplug ya battery for 2 days and if she starts up when plugged back in then you know your car is draining the battery

could be something as simple as a blown fuse / bulb

dodger

MikeS said:
unplug ya battery for 2 days and if she starts up when plugged back in then you know your car is draining the battery

could be something as simple as a blown fuse / bulb

not sure a blown fuse / bulb would cause this as there will be no current drawn from the battery.

the easiest and quickest way is as mentioned before, go to a garage for a battery check in most cases it's free and you will know for sure

Daz

Have you got a cd changer built into the glovebox?

MikeS

not sure a blown fuse / bulb would cause this as there will be no current drawn from the battery.

there will be if the bulb / fuse earths itself

it has happened to me before with a bulb

gp55

does your vec have Illuminated sun visors check there not staying on when the visors are up

mikeymac186

well i got halfrauds to check it, aparantly the battery is at 91% capacity but the alternator is giving a low charge, but it is charging the battery, cos if it runs every day im sorted.

tbh, i was kinda hopin it was as simple as having a duff battery, but nothin is ever simple with the z22se. time to start huntin for my mystery drainer

MikeS

if you could monitor the battery drain i would start by unplugging the earth connection points top right hand side of engine bay 🙂

MikeS

if you could monitor the battery drain i would start by unplugging the earth connection points top right hand side of engine bay 🙂

JohnnyN

Mike spent a few hours on Messenger giving me pointers and advice on this very same problem with my car. I gave up with it in the end. I leave my car on a trickle charger if i'm not using it for a week or so. The battery stays fine if I use the car everyday.

Here's the link to my thread on this subject that I had running last year. Might be the one you've been searching for??

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9884&hilit=battery+drain

si_c1978

mine also used to suck when i used to be a service engineer and only used my car at the weekends, got to the point where id just park it on a hill just in case,
(tho i gather bump starting em aint good for the cat)

from my expierience, the z22se and all its electronics require quite a lot of power before the engine turns over, (hence the clicking noise)
and can quite easily melt a bog standard set of jump leads if you persist with trying to start it :oops:

the answer is to drive it more regularily or take it for a ballooting occasionaly. (the old rule used to be 7 miles from flat for a reliable start dunno bout now tho)

mikeymac186

right im just gonna follow what johnny did, and give up, it sounds as if it be a very long process of trial and error to find out whats drawing power when the car is off, or meant to be off, might just get a bigger capacity battery, might last a few days before it doesnt have the power to start it, instead of 1 day.

thanks anyways guys, pointed me in the right directions as usual, lol, just wish it was the battery, then id have it sorted by now, lol