Went out this morning to get somthing from the car... and the battery is sooo flat that the central locking wont even work!! I havn't driven the car since wednesday but that really shouldnt be a problem...??

Ive had it go flat a few times in the winter before but i cant seem to figure out the problem... the battery is only about a year old so it cant be that, ive got an aftermarket headunit (alpine) but i always take the faceplate off and all the lights were off in the car.. any ideas guys?
Also any recommendations on a jump start kit.. as it looks like im gna need one handy :bang:

The heaunit might have the faceplate off but it'l still draw power to keep the clock running etc; I had one that killed the battery in under a day with the faceplate off (was a dodgy battery but still!)

Also try taking auxillary bulbs out; my mums car kept going flat and it turned out to be a trickle through the interior courtesy lights (the one above the dash in the ceiling and the boot light)

Just had a look at the battery, and its only 35ah...? that seems a bit low to me, what capacity batteries have you got in your puntos?

30 to 45 ah is fine for a small car. Have you wired both the red and yellow wire in the HU to a constant live? if so and your not using the ignition live, the headunit never goes into 'standby' and will always be draining more current than it should.

Singh! said:

Just had a look at the battery, and its only 35ah...? that seems a bit low to me, what capacity batteries have you got in your puntos?

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The original FIAT one was a small form 30Ah, the one thats in is a normal sized 44Ah (the FIAT one was dying and the 44Ah was a carry over from the last car and less than 6 months old)

I didnt wire up the headunit myslef, but it does not turn off with the ignition and it will stay on unless i turn it off.
Is it easy to rewire it? I might take it back to the place where it was fitted and get them to do it, but i do remember them saying that they couldnt get it to turn on/off with the ignition..

Thats possibly the reason for your drain then. You can take an ignition feed from anywhere that becomes live with ignition on. I think what the installer meant was "there isn't a pre-wired ignition live to the HU, and i cant be assed to make my own"

Xen said:

. I think what the installer meant was "there isn't a pre-wired ignition live to the HU, and i cant be assed to make my own"

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Halfords by any chance?

If you've paid to have it fitted (wherever) go back and tell them whats happening and that it can't have been installed correctly.

I got the headunit fitted from impulse in watford but the amp and sub fitted(not bought lol) from halfords.
So where do you get an ignition live from? is it easy to do? I will take it back to Impulse but i dont have the time at the moment and if its relatively easy to do myself then ill have a go, i can take some pics of the wiring as it is so u guys can advise me on what to do??

usually red wire to constant live (i.e. where it is now) and yellow to the ignition live. what year and model of punto is it? i may be able to tell you where the nearest ignition live is

Pic may help to confirm their wiring setup

Ill get a pic in tomorrow, its a 2003 mk2b active sport 16v
And ive got an alpine CDE-9881RB
Thanks for the help Xen!

Right just to update, i went back to the place that fitted my headunit (impulse) and they kindly said that they would sort out an ignition live for me free of charge... and it works
They said that it shouldnt actually be the cause of the battery drain....
So i got the battery checked from halfords and they said it was sitting on 13.1volts with nothing on... they said that was a bit high but its nothing to worry about.. could this be a sign of a nackerd battery?(not holding its charge)
cheers