Hey folks, just wondering if anyone else has had the same problem and what the solution was! I have a 2010 punto grande 1.4. It’s got about 46.000 miles on the clock. Back in November I had to get a new battery fitted as the battery appeared to be dead. Boxing Day cane and the car wouldn’t start again, jump started it and got it to garage where they said it was s faulty battery so they replaced it with a new one. Not even a month down the line and the battery is dead again?! It’s at the point the electric locking system won’t even work. I have not updated any features in the car it’s still got its factory fitted sound system etc. I’m a careful owner and ensure everything is switched off when leaving the vehicle. Has this happened to anyone else and could be causing the battery to drain? Unfortunately I’ll have to wait until Monday to get t looked at as the garage is now closed for the weekend.
Technical Battery drain again
- Thread starter Kirryloo
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Technical Battery drain again
Bernievarian
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This could be caused by a bad alternator (leaking diode), where positive would go back to ground thru the leaking diode and one of the coil...
You can disconnect the negative port @ the battery and reconnect it THRU a car bulb, if any current circulate, the bulb should lit slightly ... (use low watts bulb)
BRs, Bernie
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You can disconnect the negative port @ the battery and reconnect it THRU a car bulb, if any current circulate, the bulb should lit slightly ... (use low watts bulb)
BRs, Bernie
If someone here helped You fix -or better, understand- your issue, hit the thanks icon @ bottom right corner, it's free and makes us feel helpy ;-)
Is it doing short trips?
Thank you Bernie, I have no idea what wires are what. I’m usually handy but when it comes to the car I’m clueless!
Since having the battery replaced it’s done quite a few long drives but yes yesterday was the last time I used it for a short trip.
Since having the battery replaced it’s done quite a few long drives but yes yesterday was the last time I used it for a short trip.
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Look in the mk2 punto section.. GUIDE there for tracing parasitic drains 
Bernievarian
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Don't know what wire is what ? Here is the simpliest method:
- turn the car OFF
- disconnect the negative port (toward the front of the car)
- one disconnected, slightly touch the port with the cable's end
There should NOT be any sparks (or very very little). If you get noticeable sparks, there is current flowing from the battery.
BUT: no sparks doesn't mean there is nothing wrong: once you've disconnected the battery, you 've killed ALL the power to ANY device so they're all gone to full rest. It is posssible that one device keeps draining current AFTER reactivation (power ON)...
There is a way to verify this but you'll need some equipment .
BRs, Bernie
If someone here helped You fix -or better, understand- your issue, hit the thanks icon @ bottom right corner, it's free and makes us feel helpy ;-)
- turn the car OFF
- disconnect the negative port (toward the front of the car)
- one disconnected, slightly touch the port with the cable's end
There should NOT be any sparks (or very very little). If you get noticeable sparks, there is current flowing from the battery.
BUT: no sparks doesn't mean there is nothing wrong: once you've disconnected the battery, you 've killed ALL the power to ANY device so they're all gone to full rest. It is posssible that one device keeps draining current AFTER reactivation (power ON)...
There is a way to verify this but you'll need some equipment .
BRs, Bernie
If someone here helped You fix -or better, understand- your issue, hit the thanks icon @ bottom right corner, it's free and makes us feel helpy ;-)
Just a little update...the car has been in the garage for the past few days. They’ve done checks and these are their findings. They’ve not carried out any part changes or disconnected anything. Basically they can’t find the problem. As it’s my first car no idea what to do next!
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Pretty sure
I told you about the 'parasitic drain'
Thread.
With an £8 meter.. you can diagnose it yourself.
Charlie
Charlie, click on the image to make it larger. Click on the larger image to view it at original size, trust me it's fully legible
Don't see how they can say they can't find the problem. The advisories they gave you suggest there's a 0.66 Amp drain. It should be no more than about 0.03 Amp.
GP battery is probably about 55 A/h, so if it has a parasitic drain of 0.66 Amp, a new, fully charged battery would be completely flat if the car is not used for 83.33 hours.
The battery doesn't need to be completely flat for the car not to start, so with that amount of drain, it probably wouldn't start after about 2 days.
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What sort of things could be causing these things to have such a drain? It seems to be ok just now been running ok since picking it up a week ago. Sorry if I sound silly I’m a complete novice ?I’m just a girl with no idea, hence why I came on here to ask you clever people who are a lot more clued up than myself ?
Sounds to me like the garage did some half-assed diagnostics. Identified a parasitic drain, and then didn't bother trying to track it down. I'd be pulling fuses one at a time, if the drain stopped when the fuse is pulled then whatever that fuse is for is the problem.
Bernievarian
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Very roughtly O.66 amp x 12 Volts = 7.92 watts, so inserting a 5w bulb between the negative post of the battery (toward the front) and its connector (disconnected for the test) would lit 100%, it will also limit the current flow to abou 0.41 A.
If this is what happen (may not as I explained earlier) proceed as Eklipze suggested: remove AND re-install each fuse at a time (GPs have 2 fuse boxes), when the bulb turn off you've found the faulty circuit ...
BRs, Bernie
If someone here helped You fix -or better, understand- your issue, hit the thanks icon @ bottom right corner, it's free and makes us feel helpy ;-)
If this is what happen (may not as I explained earlier) proceed as Eklipze suggested: remove AND re-install each fuse at a time (GPs have 2 fuse boxes), when the bulb turn off you've found the faulty circuit ...
BRs, Bernie
If someone here helped You fix -or better, understand- your issue, hit the thanks icon @ bottom right corner, it's free and makes us feel helpy ;-)
