 | Home > Puma (Tdci) > Battery going flat!!! |
 
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| K9F Member Since: 12 Nov 2009 Location: Bournemouth Posts: 9610   
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Your spotlamps shouldn't be drawing any current at all with the ignition off unless they've been incorrectly wired. Pull the relay(s) for the spot lamps it could be that they've been wired wrong. See what you get then! Sonic's got a point though if it's under warranty and they're not aftermarket spots get the dealers to sort it. If they are aftermarket ones you need a good electrician to trace the fault and fix it. In the interim pulling the fuse(s) or relay(s) may stop your battery from flattening from the symptoms you describe. If you go through life with your head in the sand....all people will see is an ar5e!!
Treat every day as if it is your last....one day you will be right!! |
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23rd Feb 2010 3:05pm |
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| alantd Member Since: 14 Dec 2008 Location: Northamptonshire Posts: 1513 
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Even if you're drawing 0.2ma then a 40ah battery would last 200,000 hours right?
Sounds like there's another problem. One that started out as a 2.4 TDCi 110 XS + New Defender 110 First Edition |
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24th Feb 2010 7:33am |
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| K9F Member Since: 12 Nov 2009 Location: Bournemouth Posts: 9610
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Alantd - You are right of course but I think he means 180ma not 0.18ma? Think he may have the scale setting wrong on his multimeter or misinterprated the reading. Either way his spotlamps are drawing 9 times as much current and if his description is correct the ignition should be off? We also don't know the servicability of the battery itself or the ampere hour rating of what is fitted. Would still equate to 200 hours though!!!! It's a starting point though! If you go through life with your head in the sand....all people will see is an ar5e!!
Treat every day as if it is your last....one day you will be right!! |
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24th Feb 2010 7:49am |
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| alantd Member Since: 14 Dec 2008 Location: Northamptonshire Posts: 1513
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Agreed.
Spots shouldn't leak power. The battery is probably knackered now (having been deep drained so often) but I would check the alternator is working first. Just another thought, if you're running with all the lights on (inc spots), will the alternator put out enough current to charge the battery or would it slowly discharge anyway? I remember someone once telling me that the battery never gets charged at night because you have your lights on and they draw all the current. If you had spots as well then you may even be losing charge. Might be nonsense, however. I don't know the rating of the alternator. One that started out as a 2.4 TDCi 110 XS + New Defender 110 First Edition |
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24th Feb 2010 8:23am |
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| K9F Member Since: 12 Nov 2009 Location: Bournemouth Posts: 9610
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In layman's terms
The voltage regulator that is now part of the alternator but used to be a separate entity maintains output with varying heavy loads (i.e. windscreen heaters, lights etc.) by controlling alternator field strength, (higher load sensed field strength increased to up output) also with a bank of diodes converts the AC voltage produced into a stable 12 volt supply. All dependant of course if your alternator (brushes etc.) is functional. As with everything there is always an upper limit and if your running lots of extra gear an uprated alternator is a must! At night it will obviously work harder but should be able to cope comfortably as long as your not stationary for hours on end.  If you go through life with your head in the sand....all people will see is an ar5e!!
Treat every day as if it is your last....one day you will be right!! |
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24th Feb 2010 8:30am |
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| alantd Member Since: 14 Dec 2008 Location: Northamptonshire Posts: 1513
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Thanks
I'm definitely a layman when it comes to most of the technical parts of the vehicle. Slowly learning, though. One that started out as a 2.4 TDCi 110 XS + New Defender 110 First Edition |
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24th Feb 2010 8:49am |
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| K9F Member Since: 12 Nov 2009 Location: Bournemouth Posts: 9610
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First post claims it's on a 57 plate and you've only had it for only 5 weeks. Lamps also wired by Land Rover. This is a 'no brainer' in my opinion. Should be warranty protected by my reckoning! Even if the 3 year one is up the dealers would have provided some form of warranty surely?
konabikes11 go bang the dealers desk! Save the multimeter lessons till your warranty expires! Let us know of course how you get on! If you go through life with your head in the sand....all people will see is an ar5e!!
Treat every day as if it is your last....one day you will be right!! |
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24th Feb 2010 9:28am |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20340
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Yes it's under warrenty still but i've done all the testing i'm going to do if i've cured it it'll start tomorrow if not i will contact them |
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24th Feb 2010 9:45am |
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| K9F Member Since: 12 Nov 2009 Location: Bournemouth Posts: 9610
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What did you find and what have you done to surmise that it may be cured? Interested being an electrician myself! Hope you have!
If you go through life with your head in the sand....all people will see is an ar5e!!
Treat every day as if it is your last....one day you will be right!! |
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24th Feb 2010 10:02am |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20340
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Right i used my multimeter set to A as i'm new to them and i tested current draw with ignition off alarm armed doors shut and it was reading 0.18A however i find my spot lights (wired direct to battery) were drawing around 0.16A (remember ignition off as if parked) 0.02A with out which seems normal. so two days ago i just dissconnected spots as soon as i knew this and since then i have realised that two connections on the spot lights relay were in the wrong position. they should be as follows 30: battery positive 87: spot lights positive 86: feed from dash 85 ground but i had 30 and 86 the oposite to above (previous owner) so i swapped them back to the correct positions above as it seems* there was some current being used before. as yet they are still dissconnected and i am going out tomorrow which means it's been left two days if it starts i have found the problem! Unfortuneately me being a spanner accidentally blew my multimeter fuse so i've bought some more to test it again of which it should be zero no A or MA at all 0.02 seems normal for alarm ect 0.18 thoguh seems excessive.  |
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24th Feb 2010 7:42pm |
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| K9F Member Since: 12 Nov 2009 Location: Bournemouth Posts: 9610
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That would do it, basically you had a permanent feed off the battery direct to the spot lamp relay coil. One would assume the dash feed is from a blue and white cable which comes directly from the main/dip stalk feed which is overall protected by a 30 amp fuse (link 6 on the diagrams).
In effect your relay which only draws milliamps is being protected by a 30 amp fuse! Much better to run the feed from the main beam off of one of the lights themselves they in turn are already protected by lower 10 amp fuses which is better protection in the event of problems. Alternatively protect the relay coil feed yourself better by putting in a 1 amp inline fuse, it's much safer than your current set up. That is if it hasn't been done already. If you go through life with your head in the sand....all people will see is an ar5e!!
Treat every day as if it is your last....one day you will be right!! |
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25th Feb 2010 8:46am |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20340
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they are wired to the head lights for the trigger not back to the stalk. i have cured the battery shes running great now
 by doing above however i tried today just connected the live feed to try the lamps and test reading again but they wont work now???? also my multimeter even with new fuses wont give me a reading  |
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25th Feb 2010 2:19pm |
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| K9F Member Since: 12 Nov 2009 Location: Bournemouth Posts: 9610
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konabikes11,
Wish I could help you out, it's frustrating for me! God only knows how you must feel. You now have the relay(s) wired up as they should be from your description above! See diagram below..... 
The ground or earths must be good as the system worked previously allbeit flattening your battery! I think that when you blew the fuses on your multimeter maybe more damage was done. If you set it ohms/resistance and put the probes together does it read? If not one can say your multimeter may be terminal. I would suspect that when the multimeter fuse went whilst checking the system out either your relay fuse(s) have ruptured (if one was fitted it should be connected somewhere in-line to terminal 86) and/or the supply feed fuse(s) for the lights themselves have ruptured (in-line to terminal 30). Happy hunting and good luck! Let us know how you get on! If you go through life with your head in the sand....all people will see is an ar5e!! Treat every day as if it is your last....one day you will be right!! |
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25th Feb 2010 3:19pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20340
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i have as above except that i have only one 87 terminal of which one positive goes out to the front along with earth then on my abar there is a splitter one for earth and one for positive (turning the one 87 wire into two one for each light) and yes multimeter reads Ohms i tried it and volts from a 1.5 battery and ma and A although when i try it with Landy nothing will only read volts? Last edited by custom90 on 25th Feb 2010 4:58pm. Edited 1 time in total |
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25th Feb 2010 4:53pm |
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