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Re: Battery Discharging???? Posted by Larry West [Email]  (#1140)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Larry West) on Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:38:55
In Reply to: Battery Discharging????, Dave, Sat, 9 Feb 2008 11:02:56 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Just because the battery is "new" doesn't mean it can't be the culprit...
Thinking back on all of my Classic 900s, the very FIRST thing I would do whenever I bought one is to switch off the trunk light... The switch back there had three positions: always on, always off, and switched by the hatchlid.
My 2002 doesn't have a switchable trunk light, so that's not an option there. Check your trunk light for a switch. I don't know if they changed over time.
If that doesn't help...
You said you removed lots of fuses, but did you do it in a systematic way?
Basically, what you need to do is watch the current discharge from your battery while you unplug fuses to trace out the current draw.
Now, a car like the 9-5 will never have zero current draw, as most of the black boxes, and the radio, need a small amount of current to maintain settings, learned profiles, etc.
Basically you need a multimeter that can read current in amperes (amps). There are two common ways to connect an ammeter.
1) in series with the battery. That means you disconnect the + lead on the battery, clip one ammeter lead to the battery post, and the other to the + lead. The ammeter MUST be in the middle so all current can pass through it.
2) a clamp-on ammeter: this does not require that you disconnect anything, but may be unreliable at low currents. It has two leads that plug into the meter, and a clamp that wraps around one of the battery leads. It uses the magnetic field generated around a wire that has current passing through it to read the current draw.
NEVER connect an ammeter across both terminals of a car battery. If it's fused, you'll just have to replace the fuse, but if it isn't, the ammeter can be destroyed by the current flow.
So, with the ammeter connected, the car turned off, (don't attempt to start the car, or operate much of anything with the "series" ammeter), interior lights off, etc., look at the current being drawn through the system. Now, one by one, take out fuses, noting any change in the current draw. Theoretically, you can get down to zero, as everything is fused.
Things like Trionic, DICE, TWICE, the radio will draw some small amount of current (if you have the manuals or WIS, you can see which terminal/fuse is the memory retention (usually connected to +30 - and that's not volts), and which is the power to run it (usually +15 or +54) which will usually be on a larger wire, and larger fuse). But if you see large amounts of current on a fuse not related to one of those, that's where to start looking.
Larry West
2002 9-5 Arc Sedan
1990 900
_______________________________________ Current: 2002 9-5 Aero Kombi Cosmic Blue 2000 9-5 SE sedan, Imola Red 1990 900S Rose Quartz, Auto Past: 1999 9-5 LPT Combi 1999 9-5 LPT sedan 2002 9-5 Arc 1990 900 5-speed 1986 900 turbo Convertible 1991 9000 turbo 1980 99 GLi 1986 900 turbo 1986 900 S 1991 900 turbo 1984 900 turbo 1976 99 GL
, Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:38:55 <-- Viewing This Message
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