Constant battery drain over time

[mjamesy14]

Im looking for a little advice.Ive got a standard 182 which has been very well looked after.Recently when i tried to open using the key the imobiliser jammed on and further key pressing wouldnt open it.i used the key on the passenger door managed to get the other doors open with the switch inside and all seemed good after trying to turn the ignition over and failing the alarm decided to go off.After messing for a while i called the AA who decided it was a dead (original fit) battery.This was changed and an imobiliser/alarm reset carried out.I had no problems until recently when the car was left for a week the battery had died.iv measured the alternator o/p at around 14.5v ive checked all fuses and relays,have measured for parasitic draw and cleaned contacts on the battery.The battery holds charge as ive had it off the car for 4 days and it hasnt dropped V.Id like to chase circuits as ive a feeling it may be on the alarm circuit but cant get my hands on wiring diagrams.Any one have any ideas or suggestions,id rather not put it into renault as itl cost a fortune.Thanks in advance

 

[edde]

Measure the drain on the battery and start pulling fuses when you see the battery drain stopping thatss the problem circuit.

Check the rear boot light thoughn common issue.

 

[Dan1587]

Aftermarket HU?

 

[mjamesy14]

Finally had the time to take a good look at this over the weekend.
There is no parasitic draw from the batt i even tried with the doors locked to.see if.it.was on the lock/imob circuit.
Iv chased wires and relays,checked all fuses and all is good.
The only thing i did find was the throttle body unit when ignition.is onis energised and tryning to.motor but.im not sure if this is.normal on the bigger engines,i did look under the bonnet of a neighbours 1.2 but its completly different. theres no obvious way to test this as its a sealed unit but.it it were latched with the igntion off i presume it could drain the batt.over a period of time.
Anyone offer any advice?.... : (

 

[ADY 554D]

Im looking for a little advice.Ive got a standard 182 which has been very well looked after.Recently when i tried to open using the key the imobiliser jammed on and further key pressing wouldnt open it.i used the key on the passenger door managed to get the other doors open with the switch inside and all seemed good after trying to turn the ignition over and failing the alarm decided to go off.After messing for a while i called the AA who decided it was a dead (original fit) battery.This was changed and an imobiliser/alarm reset carried out.I had no problems until recently when the car was left for a week the battery had died.iv measured the alternator o/p at around 14.5v ive checked all fuses and relays,have measured for parasitic draw and cleaned contacts on the battery.The battery holds charge as ive had it off the car for 4 days and it hasnt dropped V.Id like to chase circuits as ive a feeling it may be on the alarm circuit but cant get my hands on wiring diagrams.Any one have any ideas or suggestions,id rather not put it into renault as itl cost a fortune.Thanks in advance

i have got exactly the same problem and i have not managed to find out whats causing it yet so if you do please update the thread as i would really like to know

 

[gilmour182]

Got this problem just now, Its My Alternator.
Current drain with alternator disconnected is around 35 milli Amps. With the alternator connected it can vary day to day from 90 milli Amps up to 0.4 Amps.
Need to get round to doing somthing about it...... Disconnecting the battery when the cars not in use for now.

P.S. Alternator stilll kicking out 14.4V.
Hope you get to the bottom of the problem.

 

[mjamesy14]

Thanks for the replies,ill keep you posted.ill try messin with the alt at the wknd,its the same o/p as urs at 14.4v though.
Discon the batts not really an ideal fix
Did changin the alt on urs fix the problem?iv got the throttle body elec conn off atm to see if thats where the drain is.
Another strange thing i noticed when lookin a little deeper at my 182 is theres no imobiliser fuse,or at least its not where it should be iaw the manuals??

 

[gilmour182]

Not changed the alternator yet, got the MOT on Thurs so will see how that goes.then decide if im doing the alternator myself or not.

 

[jack_davey]

Not a bad job tbh, most fiddly bit is getting the aux belt on after you've replaced the alternator.
I'd recommend changing the timing belt at the same time if it's not already been done

 

[gilmour182]

just changed the alternator, current drain with ignition off is now 37 milli Amps. Looks to be sorted.

 

[ADY 554D]

just changed the alternator, current drain with ignition off is now 37 milli Amps. Looks to be sorted.

just give me a quick idiots guide on how your testing the drain back to the altenator ?
i tried mine and got a 0 reading but might have been doing it wrong???

 

[Darren S]

Maybe the time of year isn't helping with this - what with the cold weather, etc?! My Evo has a drain issue - approximately 0.2v per day when not used. The alternator seems healthy - the terminals on the battery showing 14.6v while the car is idling and still showing 14.6v after a decent run out.

A new battery didn't fix the issue, though the earth connector on the Evo was very badly corroded. I gave that a good clean up with a wire brush and a little smearing of copper grease before reattaching it. Having looked on the MLR, the battery drain issue is common on the older Evos - especially as the battery appears woefully small on a car of that spec. The fact that the VI has aftermarket lights, Tracker and a non-standard headunit - could lead to a myriad of potential sources of battery drain. A tad frustrating as electrics are a black art to me.

That said, the issues I've had with the Evo helped to indicate a problem I had with the 182 this morning. Took it out for a short journey, switched off and when I returned to the car - it simply wouldn't start. The dash lights cme on, the fan and the radio worked ok - but the dead-giveaway was the fact that the dash clock had reset to 0.00. I tried the windows too and they were certainly slower than when the engine is running - so my prime suspect was the battery.

Luckily for me, my dad was only a few miles away and we managed to tow the 182 back home. Got the jump leads connected up to the Berlingo and the 182 and it fired up first time. Went back out and got a new battery and swapped it over and the 182 seems happy again. The OEM battery has definitely run the course - managing over 7.5 years of powering the Clio over 95k miles. It's still providing 12.1v on the terminals, but I'm suspecting the amps its chucking out are simply too low for the starter motor to engage. Well, that's my limited understanding of electrics, anyway!

I'll be keeping an eye on how the 182 behaves over the next week or two - just incase it is something a little more involved than a mere battery issue.

Good thread guys.

D.

 

[gilmour182]

just give me a quick idiots guide on how your testing the drain back to the altenator ?
i tried mine and got a 0 reading but might have been doing it wrong???

Ignition off then disconnect the negative lead from your battery. Set your Meter to DC Amps, Plug black lead of your meter into the common. Plug red lead of meter into Amps/Current(I)(if you have 2 Amps/Current sockets on the meter say 10Amps and 300mAmps use the 10Amp connection first then if less than 0.3 amps use the 300mAmps connection.) your now ready to take the measurment.

Put the red lead on the negative terminal of the battery and black lead against a good ground on the car or the disconnected battery lead.
Your meter is now completing the circuit allowing current flow through it.
Looks like around 40 milli amps is a good value at this point.
Just start pulling fuses and disconnecting things.
But Start with disconnecting one lead at a time from the positive terminal on your battery before you pull individual fuses.
Hope this helps.

Obviously I don't know what meter your using so might just make you more confused.

 

[gilmour182]

And if you suspect the alternator, disconnect the main lead from the alternator to confirm the current drops off when disconnected.
Disconnect the negative terminal from your battery before disconnecting / reconnecting the alternator, or you might weld your ratchet to the car.