Technical Flat battery!!!

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Technical Flat battery!!!

victoruk2

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Hi. I'm new to this site so hello to everyone!
I have a 2000 Punto 1.2 8 valve and the battery goes flat overnight. When it is disconnected it is fine. I've had the battery tested and it is fine. I've connected a volt meter between the earth lead and earth terminal on battery. With everything turned off it reads avout 12 volts. I pulled every fuse from both fuse boxes to see if the meter dropped , but it stayed steady. I've removed both interior light bulbs (cabin and boot) but it make no difference. Any help greatly accepted and appreciated.
Thanks, Victor.
 
You have a pretty bad draw, check after market stereo gear (if installed) as youve pulled every fuse and get the same reading id be looking at faulty alternator or starter motor, pretty much anything with a constant live feed attached to it
 
12 volt draw with everything pulled, you should have hardly any draw with every fuse pulled thats abit odd mate.

i Know its a 1.2 8v but on the 1.2 16v mk2 there is a known fault (ask a fiat garage if this is a fault on your model), idle speed control being supplied by the ECM when the ignition is off. Here how it says to check it:

Problem: Battery Discharged

Test:

1. Test for battery drain
2.turn ignition off
3. wait 5 mins
4. disconnect ECM multi plug
5. If drain is above 30mA its not this fault,
6. If drain is under 30mA you need to fit EPROM kit to the ECM
EPROM KIT for ecm 46550683 = part number 71717911
EPROM KIT for ecm 46531218 = part number 71717912


Are you sure you are checking the draw correct? maybe a coincidence that the battery is twelve volts and your reading is 12 volts wondering if your checking it wrong and its actually reading the voltage of the battery.

Have you checked alternator is working, and fanbelt is not slipping?
 
Last edited:
Set the ammeter to 10Amps and see what it shows between the earth post and disconnected earth lead. If its showing nothing much set it to the milliamp scale.
 
I would like to thank all the members who have replied to my problem. This is by far the most helpful forum I have used.
I don't have a amp meter at the moment, but I will get one tomorrow. I will let you all know what it reads. Thans again. Victor.:)
 
I have a amp meter, but the scale is confusing. I checked between the earth lead and earth pole on battery. The needle went up quite high, stayed steady for two to thee seconds. Then it went down to about half way, stayed steady for two to three seconds. Then dropped to nearly zero and stayed there. I have disconnected the after market stereo which made no difference.:bang: Should I set fire to it and get a non- italian car? I put a new battery on just in case. HELP!!!
 
Things go wrong on anything thats 10 years old.

What scale was the meter set at Amps - milliamps - microamps - ?
 
You will need to use the 10A seeting to get measurement. This also normally requires to change the wires to different location. You can not use the mA setting. If you only have a volt meter you can still measure current. Just use a small low ohm resistor like 0.5 Ohm in series with the negative ground connection and the battery and then take a volt measurement. Then use the Ohm low I = V/R, to calculate the current.
 
Hello again. I have got my self a new amp meter. With the dial set at 10amps the display reads 0.17 for a few seconds then 0.7 for a few seconds and then 0.01 and stays there. If i disconnect the meter and try again, it does the same thing. Over and over. Would the clock do this as it is on display all the time. Because it stays steady at 0.01 on the meter, which seems low, I'm hoping the new battery sorts it. I will find out tomorrow. I'll let you all know. Thanks again. Victor.
 
0.01 is good as is minimum 10mA or at max just under 20mA. When I do it on mine it shows 0.06 which is 60mA which is more then what you get. Also when I removed the stereo fascia I was expecting it to go down but instead it went up. So my extra current draw is possible the stereo. Is a bit too cold to investigate so I am driving the car every day to make sure the battery is not discharging.
 
0.01 is good as is minimum 10mA or at max just under 20mA. When I do it on mine it shows 0.06 which is 60mA which is more then what you get. Also when I removed the stereo fascia I was expecting it to go down but instead it went up. So my extra current draw is possible the stereo. Is a bit too cold to investigate so I am driving the car every day to make sure the battery is not discharging.

You could also pull the stereo fuse or disconnect the battery earth lead overnight. It sounds like the stereo isnt going off completely when the ignition is off.
 
You could also pull the stereo fuse or disconnect the battery earth lead overnight. It sounds like the stereo isnt going off completely when the ignition is off.
Yes, my stereo is not switched off from the ignition at all and I can turn it on with the ignition off. I have not wired it myself as it was there when I bought the car. Should the Mk1 Punto stereo ON switch be overwritten by the ignition switch? If so my stereo wiring will definitely need some attention.
 
Yes, my stereo is not switched off from the ignition at all and I can turn it on with the ignition off. I have not wired it myself as it was there when I bought the car. Should the Mk1 Punto stereo ON switch be overwritten by the ignition switch? If so my stereo wiring will definitely need some attention.

Follow the instructions in the guides to rewire the stereo.

Cheers

D
 
The car started ok today when I got home from work. The weather was down to -5 last night so I wasn't expecting it to start. Lets hope it was the battery all along. I'll keep an eye on it.
Many thanks to all who replied. victor.:)
 
Hi. The car is starting fine now. I put a new battery on and sorted the permanent and switched lives on the stereo. You have all helped,thank you all. Victor
 
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