Battery Problems

[Mick]

Hey i seem to have a problem with battery performance in my R33 GTST.

The battery has an indicator on it that is green when fully charged and changes to black when it needs charging and i was told by the guys i brought it from that it should always be green aven is i dont start the car for a couple of weeks, but from green it only takes a few days for it to drop down a little and turn black. I have an alarm in the car and that is even when the alarm isnt turned on also, acording to the alarm specs the current draw with alarm off is 9mA and when on it is 20mA.

what else could be draining the battery when the car is off ??

Does anyone else have this problem ?

I dont drive it much and it only gets started every couple of days.

Please help me.

[djr81]

So does the car start ok if you leave it for say, a week or two?

[Mick]

no if the car wasnt started in 2 weeks it would be dead

Also i forgot to mension the battery was brand new, and when i took it back because i thought the battery was faulty they replaced it for me and its still doin it so i know its not the battery.

[blind_elk]

Whole bunch of stuff that draws on the battery when everything is off, like the radio needs battery to maintain all the pre-set stations and its clock.

The other common one is the boot light not turning off when the boot shuts.

Do you have a multi-meter?

[Mick]

Yer i know its not the boot light cos i have the rear speakers out and i can see in the boot through the holes.

Yer i have a multimeter, and im very good with it, i used work in electronics, wiring, soldering etc ..

So what or how should i test what exactly, what are you thinking ?

I just carnt think of how i can test what is drawing power, is there a way to test the load draw on tha battery with it ?

[blind_elk]

Remove +ve battery terminal and measure amps (everything off) between battery post and terminal clamp. If you confirm a serious current draw, then you need to go through each fuse and work out which circuit(s) are drawing current.

[Mick]

Hey thanks for the help, i realy appreciate it.

So you want me to remove the positive battery terminal and measure amps from where exactly?

The negative terminal of the battery and the bare positive battery post (with the terminal removed)

Is this right ?

[blind_elk]

No, from the +ve post on the battery to the +ve clamp (that normally connects to the +ve post) (amps are measured in series, volts are measured in parallel).

[Mick]

oh wow cool, thanks for that, you have been a big help ..