Author Topic: Battery drain  (Read 2896 times)

Rudolph99

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Battery drain
« on: April 30, 2019, 09:07:51 AM »
Hi all, i am still trying to cure a battery drain on my mk 1.  I have a drain of .370 amps which runs the battery down in five days.  I have done all the usual checks.  its a new battery which is charging ok.  The drian is on fuse 8 of the under bonnet fuse box.  This appers to be connected to a whole host of stuff via the main fuse box.  Its been suggested that it could be a sticking relay.  i have tried removing various relays which are easy to get to.  Can anybody advise me as to the relays behind the main fuse box.  What they are for or is there a diagram somewhere that shows there location and circuit they are for.
Hope you can help
Chris Taylor

springswood

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Re: Battery drain
« Reply #1 on: April 30, 2019, 09:22:39 AM »
I had a look in my Haynes. Confusing I'm afraid. In one place it says F8 is for the reversing lights, in another that it goes to the instrument cluster, audio unit and engine speed sensor?!

There's a set of wiring diagrams here http://hondafitjazz.com/manual/A00/HTML/00/SAA2E00000000000000ZDAT00.HTML

Good luck
"Indecision is a terrible thing"
Or is it? What do you think?

Rudolph99

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Re: Battery drain
« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2019, 09:41:14 AM »
Yes i have a Haynes manual which I have found is completely useless for my car as all the info is wrong and the fuse boxs shown are also wrong.  I was searching recently for a manual on here but I cant find it. The only one shown is a RAR file which I can't open.
Chris Taylor

culzean

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Re: Battery drain
« Reply #3 on: April 30, 2019, 09:54:17 AM »
A sticking aircon clutch relay will draw about 3 amps and a sticking rear heated screen probably 10+ amps,  heated mirror maybe 5 amps.    Even a boot or interior light left on ( 5 watts ) will draw almost half an amp.  Car makers normally aim for max standby current of <200mA. 

Do you have an alarm fitted ? alarms are notorious for their high standby current ( and your 0.370 amps seems about right ). Obviously an alarm still needs power when car is locked and key removed.  The normal OEM immobiliser will not flatten the battery - we left our cars for sometimes 6 weeks and they still fired up first time.

A good clue is that relays are used to handle heavier current devices like solenoids, heated things and headlamps,  it means that a small switch and thin cables can be used to handle the 50mA or so that it needs to operate the coil of the relay while the main relay contacts can handle 20+ amps if required, this means that if a relay is sticking closed the load will be quite heavy and will drain your battery in hours not days.

According to wiring diagrams that Springswood linked to Fuse 8 ( 16 amps ) feeds accessory socket and cigarette lighter, and power is removed when ignition key is out.
« Last Edit: April 30, 2019, 10:12:21 AM by culzean »
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Jocko

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Re: Battery drain
« Reply #4 on: April 30, 2019, 10:33:31 AM »
370 mA is a hell of a current for a dormant car alarm. I would have expected it to be less than 20mA.
Fuse 8 in the engine fuse box goes to the radio, for some sort of auxiliary feed.

Jocko

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Re: Battery drain
« Reply #5 on: April 30, 2019, 10:37:00 AM »
Yes, it appears to go to the Aux and cigarette lighter socket in this diagram.
http://www.hondafitjazz.com/manual/A00/HTML/00/SAA2E00000000000000EBAT00i007.HTML

Have you a phone charger plugged in all the time? Even without a phone attached it will draw current.

culzean

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Re: Battery drain
« Reply #6 on: April 30, 2019, 10:41:58 AM »
370 mA is a hell of a current for a dormant car alarm. I would have expected it to be less than 20mA.
Fuse 8 in the engine fuse box goes to the radio, for some sort of auxiliary feed.

Car makers aim for less than 200mA - they think that is acceptable drain.  My mates Civic alarm would drain his battery in a week - my sister in law have an Avensis with an alarm that would drain in just over 2 weeks.
Some people will only consider you an expert if they agree with your point of view or advice,  when you give them advice they don't like they consider you an idiot

Jocko

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Re: Battery drain
« Reply #7 on: April 30, 2019, 11:21:28 AM »
Looked up a couple on Amazon. Quiescent Current: 8mA to 10mA.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CP7MK2H/ref=psdc_303609031_t4_B01M063XEZ

springswood

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Re: Battery drain
« Reply #8 on: April 30, 2019, 01:48:10 PM »
370mA at 12 volts is 4.4w so not far away from a single bulb. Have you checked the boot light isn't staying on?
"Indecision is a terrible thing"
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Jocko

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Re: Battery drain
« Reply #9 on: April 30, 2019, 03:01:30 PM »
I trapped a shopping trolley bag in the hatch and the boot light stayed on. Luckily, the blind was back, and I spotted it.

culzean

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Re: Battery drain
« Reply #10 on: April 30, 2019, 04:14:11 PM »
Looked up a couple on Amazon. Quiescent Current: 8mA to 10mA.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CP7MK2H/ref=psdc_303609031_t4_B01M063XEZ

Some alarms are better than others and some alarms have backup power supplies that will still operate the alarm even if main car battery is disconnected ( just like house alarms will have backup power battery ). If the alarm battery starts to fail it can draw extra power from car as the alarm system will try to charge a battery that is never going to charge, I know the Civic alarm has some lithium ion batteries in it ( they are behind the trim panels in the boot area ) and when they go bad ( as my mate found ) they can flatten main battery is less than 5 days.  Even the alarm on my sister in law avensis could not be trusted much over 2 weeks.
Some people will only consider you an expert if they agree with your point of view or advice,  when you give them advice they don't like they consider you an idiot

Brendan976

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Re: Battery drain
« Reply #11 on: May 01, 2019, 11:54:32 AM »
Disconnect the car radio as they have caused drains on the batteries of cars ( not had that particular issue on the Jazz) It will trial and error to disconnect everything on that fuse one by one until the item pulling the draw stops.
Ben

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