Battery Drain

[Halford]

we have a SKODA CITIGO MK1 999 2016

and I've recently changed the battery for a new Bosch which I fully charged up prior to fitting and it was all good.

 

the car is lucky if it does 30 miles a month (I don't let the wife out much) but after 6 to 8 weeks I'm having to charge the battery up

 

I've searched the forum in case there was something about current drain (only the alarm is active, as the plug in whatsit is removed) but I've drawn a blank,

 

There must be something amiss as surely I shouldn't be having to charge the battery every couple of months - or is that normal and I'm simply a dinosaur harking for the good old days.

 

any help or guidance would be most appreciated.

[Hyphons]

You could check the earth strap, I've heard these can corrode on some models, alternatively you could check the alternator, hope this helps! 

[J.R.]

Corroded earth strap will not discharge the battery, a faulty alternator (failed diode) would kill the battery in a few hours.

 

Halford has not said how many short journeys a month make up the 30 miles, even if it were just one or two the quiescent discharge over 2 months would likely be enough to need the battery charging especially if there are any accessories fitted.

 

My towing relay had been adding 60% to the normal quiescent consumption without my knowledge, if I have to leave my car for more than 2 weeks I would always leave it with a spare unconnected charged battery and jump leads.

Edited 27 February, 2020 by J.R.

[freemansteve]

A corroded earth strap between the alternator, which connects to earth on one side, and the battery, can mean the alternator won't charge the battery effectively - you can get a high or infinite resistance circuit!

[J.R.]

Do you really believe that?

 

That same earth strap that you are talking of with its high or infinite resistance also carries the full starter current.

 

I offer you my humble apologies in advance if the charging system has a seperate dedicated earth strap (more likely to be a cable) direct from the alternator to the battery.

[Halford]

thanks guys, the car typically does 3 x 10 mile trips a month, which I appreciate is not sufficient to charge a battery up.

 

the alternator is fine, putting out around 14.4v when the engine is running

 

I even bought myself a good charger (CTek) which should charge it up in 6 to 8 hrs

 

will charge it up to 12.8v again and monitor its discharge regularly to check for a pattern

[KenONeill]

2 hours ago, Halford said:

the alternator is fine

Just to confirm this, you do get a battery light when the ignition is on and the ginseng isn't running?

 

I've got 2 ideas, and this is a cheap and simple test as to which route to go down.

[Halford]

21 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

Just to confirm this, you do get a battery light when the ignition is on and the ginseng isn't running?

 

I've got 2 ideas, and this is a cheap and simple test as to which route to go down.

 

like the spell checker subbing ginseng for engine LOL

 

will check later when I'm home

[KenONeill]

24 minutes ago, Halford said:

 

like the spell checker subbing ginseng for engine LOL

 

will check later when I'm home

{multiple censored} Mickeyshaft!!

[Halford]

battery is now fully charged at 12.99v (true reading using quality multi-meter)

 

the dash battery light (alternator) comes on when key switched to accessory mode with the engine not running, and it goes out when the engine is started - so the bulb works OK

 

but anyway, with engine running the alternator putting out 14.6v to the battery.

 

will keep a record of the voltage decline and update this thread in due course.

 

[Breezy_Pete]

Will probably be OK once the weather warms up. Try to work out a way to give the car more use and longer trips next winter.

[Blackcountryman]

I am puzzled re the alarm you say is fitted.My car (2019) does not have one,yours could be an accessory fitted during the cars life.My experience is they tend to cause more battery drain than you would think,especially if remote armed with a fob.Disconnect the feed lead to the alarm unit if you are able,and see if this makes a difference after a few days.....

If it is the cause,put some alarm labels on the windows if you want,and leave it disconnected.No one takes any notice of them blaring anyway...... 

Edited 1 March, 2020 by Blackcountryman

[KenONeill]

On 29/02/2020 at 08:24, Halford said:

the dash battery light (alternator) comes on when key switched to accessory mode with the engine not running, and it goes out when the engine is started - so the bulb works OK

 

but anyway, with engine running the alternator putting out 14.6v to the battery.

That sounds normal. BTW, if the battery light stops illuminating with the ignition on and the engine nor running, you probably have an issue with the alternator control wires not the battery or the alternator itself.

[freemansteve]

Good thought - it is a smart alternator, so it is modulated by ECU (or similar), depending battery voltage, throttle on/off, brakes on/off etc. The question would then be, if the signal wire to the alternator is loose or has a corroded contact etc, does the alternator default to a state of charging or not charging?

[KenONeill]

48 minutes ago, freemansteve said:

does the alternator default to a state of charging or not charging?

Not charging!! At all.

[freemansteve]

44 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

Not charging!! At all.

 

Interesting - I wonder why it'd be designed like that? I would have guessed that without a control input, it'd be better to have the alternator supply charge like an old-fashioned alternator!

 

[Breezy_Pete]

I expect a 2016 car will do just that Steve.

[freemansteve]

3 hours ago, Wino said:

I expect a 2016 car will do just that Steve.

 

Yes, I'd have thought so - perhaps "Ken" has an older or different model that implements the alternator control differently. So, checking the alternator's control signal lead is probably a long-shot, with regard to the OP's issue of battery drain, if it was a question of the alternator not  charging the battery.

 

As for drain, I have left several cars in in long-term parking for 3-4 weeks when away, including in snow, and all have started instantly on my return, so unless I've missed some posts, this one is a bit of a puzzle. Empirically,  I still reckon a flat battery will most likely come down to one of: duff battery (maybe broken by faulty overcharging); alternator faulty or charge not reaching battery; or some piece of equipment that cannot be turned off that uses more power than expected (I have come across this in other car newsgroups, usually when people fit gadgets).

Edited 3 March, 2020 by freemansteve
rubbish spelling

[Halford]

Thanks guys, but going along the route of alternator issues is the wrong direction, the alternator works fine and pumps out charge to the NEW battery as mentioned in earlier posts.

 

Here's the latest 

29/02 battery fully charged up to 12.99v, with engine running alternator putting out 14.6v 

02/03 - 2 days later having been started twice, but not ran, tested at 12.58v

04/03 - 4 days later, tested at 12.41v (now at 75% charge)

05/03 - 2 x 5 mile trips in daylight (only DRLs on)

06/03 6 days later, tested at 12.35v

08/03 8 days later, tested at 12.26v 

10/03 10 days later, tested at 12.18v less than 50% charge 

 

Have now put on charge again

 

The car goes into the local auto-electric shop on Monday for investigation where they can isolate individual circuits and monitor the current drain thereby pinpointing where the problem lies.

 

will update when more info is available

[KenONeill]

2 hours ago, Halford said:

29/02 battery fully charged up to 12.99v, with engine running alternator putting out 14.6v 

02/03 - 2 days later having been started twice, but not ran, tested at 12.58v

04/03 - 4 days later, tested at 12.41v (now at 75% charge)

05/03 - 2 x 5 mile trips in daylight (only DRLs on)

06/03 6 days later, tested at 12.35v

08/03 8 days later, tested at 12.26v 

10/03 10 days later, tested at 12.18v less than 50% charge 

You have a current drain somewhere, or a bad "new" battery.

[Carlston]

On 27/02/2020 at 19:12, Halford said:

the car is lucky if it does 30 miles a month (I don't let the wife out much) but after 6 to 8 weeks I'm having to charge the battery up

 

I am not surprised your car battery is going flat after 6 to 8 weeks because you are only doing 30 miles each month.

 

Car batteries will go from fully charged to completely flat after 3 months if not used. ie. Car batteries self discharge at quite a high rate.

 

You need to charge your car battery every month to keep it topped up if you are hardly using your car, especially in the colder winter months.

 

Have a look at some good car battery chargers. You can get an adaptor that lets you plug your car battery charger into your cigarette lighter socket so that you don't have to keep opening the bonnet. See the two links below.

 

Noco G3500UK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NOCO-G3500UK-UltraSafe-Battery-Motorcycles/dp/B00E907PWS/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=car+battery+charger+noco+g3500uk&qid=1583887424&sr=8-5

 

Noco GC003

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NOCO-GC003-12V-Connector-Plug/dp/B004LWWNI0/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=noco+12v+connector+plug&qid=1583887653&sr=8-3

 

There are some much cheaper unbranded Chinese options on ebay, but these are unlikely to be as good as the above. You could probably sort something out for less than a tenner. Although it's possible these really cheap options might end up costing more than they save if they end up over-charging and damaging your battery.

Edited 11 March, 2020 by Carlston

[Halford]

took the car down to the auto-electricians today

 

the battery has a resting current drain of 10mA, but routinely surges up to 70 mA then falls back to 10mA, it's as though the system is searching for something (typically occurs when a tracker is fitted)

 

even 70mA is a low reading and nothing to be concerned with, and the problem is simply that the wife's not doing enough journeys to charge the battery as its pretty small at 44Ah / 420A

 

I could maybe modify a battery clamping system thus allowing me to fit a larger capacity battery, otherwise will just have to put it on charge every month to top it up (will probably choose this option).

 

re: 12v socket charger - unlike my yeti, the 12v sockets on the Citygo are not live and would need the key in the ignition switched to the accessory position, even with the yeti I'd have a problem with a cable being nipped by a locked door/boot - so for both cars the best option is to carefully position a cable under the bonnet, best place where the lights are.
 

[Blackcountryman]

During this present lockdown situation,battery voltage when tested on mine is dropping after four days from 12.8v to 12.2v .

Only doing 3 miles a week,work is a thing of the past. Battery is being charged weekly to get me to the shop.....

[Snaefell]

To check if it's the battery or the car, could you disconnect the battery and charge it fully.

 

Then check the voltages independent of the vehicle over a specific timescale and see if the battery drain is internal.

 

Check the initial battery voltage approx 60 mins after charging is complete.  Batteries always show high initial voltages straight off charge.

 

As KenON' suggested, it may be a faulty 'new' battery.