Battery drain on Mk I vRS

[WayneMatthews]

Hi All,

 

my mk I vRS (02 reg) recently started doing some odd electrical things, remote key fob stopped working for a few days, then started working again, interior lights stayed on, then wouldn't turn on and the rear brake lights kept staying on - even when the ignition was switched off (hitting the brake pedal a couple of times after stopping turned them off again).

And then last weekend, after driving the car on the Friday evening I went to drive it on the Sunday and the car was completely dead (electrically).

 

I've been able to jump start it, and then it works fine, but even after driving around for an hour the battery stills goes flat after I park and then won't re-start.

 

The car has a new (Feb 13) Bosch silver battery, and the alternator was replaced at the same time as it failed as well.

 

I've had a quick look through the forum and there seems to be a couple of things that seem likely, either the main convenience module has got a fault, or the rear light assembly....

 

Anyone got any other ideas as to what I should check? I don't have access to a multimeter so can't check if there is any load after the car is switched off.

 

Cheers

Wayne

[Philip Coulson]

Brake light switch (get the uprated one). Maybe check the earths under the battery as that can cause a few wierd things.

[mbames]

I have found that my interior lights want to stay on all the time, so until I can be bothered to look at the problem properly I switched the switch up near the internal mirror to "always off".  Not ideal in the winter, but one little extra to ensure your battery won't go flat.

 

Have you checked the fuses on top of the battery, and the cabling to the alternator  The crimps is not nice and tight will be a source of resistance (and hence heat), which means the battery won't charge as it should do.