Hey guys!
I have a problem, and I don't know why my battery dies slowly, because something draws the power when the car is off.
It draws about 2,7-3 amps, when i plugged the multimeter between the battery and the clamp.
Could someone also threw some pictures of the fuse box in the engine bay? I lost one fuse and I can't remember what Amps it was.
The most power drop was on the 646 relay, left one, near fuse #21 when looking at the fuse box in the engine bay.

Hi Chris, no doubt someone will give you some advice on that circuit - one point, how long are you leaving the vehicle switched-off before taking the parasitic drain current reading? my understanding is that it takes a certain period before everything on the vehicle shuts down after switch-off.    

The car was standing in the yard for like 3+ hours today, after i just gently moved it out of the garage, so I could drive my motorcycle.
When I wanted to check the power draw, I disconnected the clamps, and used my multimeter to measure the power draw.
Like I said, it was between 2.7-3 Amps, and when i unplugged the relay 646, it dropped to 0,5, next to 0,17.
When I reconnected it, it showed that it draws same amps, but after few seconds, it's just low enough, but I wonder, if this is still just the "reconnected by multimeter" or something is off.

How long after the ignition had been turned off and was the car locked when you took those current measurements?

 

Some systems (like the infotainment) stay on until either the car is locked or approximately 30 minutes after the ignition was turned off.

Pulling fuses and relays is the wrong way to check for a parasitic drain, all you are doing is causing havoc on the cars electrical system and it will make it pretty impossible to figure out where the fault is.

 

Pay particular attention to step 3

 

 

Edited 5 April, 20206 yr by SuperbTWM

37 minutes ago, Christophy said:

The car was standing in the yard for like 3+ hours today,
When I wanted to check the power draw, I disconnected the clamps, and used my multimeter to measure the power draw.
 

That is a fresh power up and not a measurement taken 3+ hours later.

 

First thing you have to fool the car that the bonnet is closed by manually closing the catch or the vehicle will never go into a full shutdown.

 

Secondly when you remove the battert clamp you must already have your multimeter shunted across it and the battery terminal, if thats too fiddly then do what you did after locking the car and closing the bonnet latch, connect your meter and wait an hour, it will probably only take 20 minutes, VAG say 40 mins - 1 hour.

 

The disadvantage in not shunting the terminal is that the you have to have the meter on the 10 or 20 amp range and you really need the 200ma range to measure the exact parasitic drain.

 

do you have towbar electrics fitted?

8 minutes ago, J.R. said:

do you have towbar electrics fitted?

No, I don't have a towbar.
Damn, so I need to start again 😕

Do you have the infotainment turned on, it might be searching for Bluetooth, so  switch it off, and manually switch off all interior lights.   
 

The most likely is a delay timer (as used on lights) or a radio signal device.

Good luck on finding it

4 minutes ago, SurreyJohn said:

Do you have the infotainment turned on, it might be searching for Bluetooth, so  switch it off, and manually switch off all interior lights.   
 

The most likely is a delay timer (as used on lights) or a radio signal device.

Good luck on finding it

What do you mean by infotainment turned on? I switched the lights off.

1 hour ago, Christophy said:

What do you mean by infotainment turned on?

Turn off the radio/sat nav in the centre console.

1 minute ago, PetrolDave said:

Turn off the radio/sat nav in the centre console.

It was already off.

What year was the car built, and what is the engine code?

 

3 minutes ago, Wino said:

What year was the car built, and what is the engine code?

 

MY2015 i think, september 2015, 1.4 TSI 110kW 150 HP CZDA?

If you  leave the 646 relay in but remove fuses 22 and 23, one at a time, see which one, if either, reduces the current the same as removing the relay.

Okay, It's too late now to do anything, and it's cold, so I'll test it tomorrow.
In order to make sure i test the draw the good way, I will wrap two pieces of copper wires around the battery and the clamp, after half an hour since the car is closed.
But first, I will test the fuse box in the engine bay as SuperbTWM showed.
Can i leave the hood open? And if i have to trick the car to think it's closed - how to do that?
When testing the fuses inside - how to trick the car so it will think that the doors are closed?

Shut the catch on the door and bonnet with a screwdriver to fool the car into thinking they are shut and lock the car with the interior monitor disabled, for obvious reasons. leave the car for 30 minutes for everything to go to sleep and then come back and measure across all the fuses inside and out without disturbing anything. 

Edited 5 April, 20206 yr by SuperbTWM

Just like here? I tried today, but it showed both the hood and the driver door are still open...

10 hours ago, Christophy said:

Just like here? I tried today, but it showed both the hood and the driver door are still open...

On your display (the one with speedometer) are you seeing door open light

 

If so could be a stuck detection switch, so car is thinking it is not fully closed up and locked.   Do you have the function for keeping lights on for 10-15 seconds to light your driveway turned on.

 

27 minutes ago, SurreyJohn said:

On your display (the one with speedometer) are you seeing door open light

 

If so could be a stuck detection switch, so car is thinking it is not fully closed up and locked.   Do you have the function for keeping lights on for 10-15 seconds to light your driveway turned on.

 

Yea i can see that it shows that its open. No i dont have keeping lights on.

18 hours ago, Christophy said:

Okay, It's too late now to do anything, and it's cold, so I'll test it tomorrow.
In order to make sure i test the draw the good way, I will wrap two pieces of copper wires around the battery and the clamp, after half an hour since the car is closed.
But first, I will test the fuse box in the engine bay as SuperbTWM showed.
Can i leave the hood open? And if i have to trick the car to think it's closed - how to do that?
When testing the fuses inside - how to trick the car so it will think that the doors are closed?

Smart move re the copper wire, I presume you understand the procedure for measuring without breaking the circuit and waking the car up.

 

Bonnet catch is easy to fool but it has never worked for me with the doors, I think there is a secondary sensor that might pick up on the "acorns" that prevent the door from bursting open, there are many safety and security systems that remy on knowing that the door is physically closed and not just what a door lock microswitch says, I have asked the question many times regarding the VAG fuse volt drop procedure, how to access the fuses with the car in sleep mode when they are obscured by the closed door, never got an answer.

 

I would not at this stage get hing up on the fuse measurements, if you do the parasitic current measurement after the required delay, with the bonnet catch tricked closed, without waking the car up you may well find that its within limits so no need to measure across fuses.

 

The othet thing that I should have asked is has the radio been changed?

5 hours ago, J.R. said:

how to access the fuses with the car in sleep mode when they are obscured by the closed door, never got an answer.

 

I would not at this stage get hing up on the fuse measurements, if you do the parasitic current measurement after the required delay, with the bonnet catch tricked closed, without waking the car up you may well find that its within limits so no need to measure across fuses.

 

 

 

Frigging the door shut has always worked for me, I wonder if there is an updated TSB for newer cars that have additional sensors or switches rather than just the lock microswitches.

 

 I agree that the first step should always be to actually check if you have a parasitic draw hence why that is step 2, and measuring each circuit is step 3.

I checked the power draw, it showed 0,1 Amps, no voltage on the fuse box. But it still dies every now and then 😕 Might be just old battery?

Edited 7 April, 20206 yr by Christophy