my battery is being drained.

Talk about the 406's electrical system, what wires do what, how to add extra functionality, etc.

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pugnut
1.8 16v
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Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:14 pm
Location: Swindon Wilts.

my battery is being drained.

Post by pugnut »

Hi all

I have been plagued with a constantly dying battery this weekend, I will get the battery checked out, no problem, but if it is in fact ok, anyone got any ideas as to how to fault find if its a short? tried putting an ammeter individually across all the fuse contacts but there are about 60,000 fuses to check (oh alright I lied, theres only about 25) I started - but ran out of time . C'est la vie. Thing is, it's happening with the key out and the car locked - would I be right in thinking the only live circuit in this case is the central locking and the alarm? The alarm fuse contacts give me ZERO amps load - as do all the others I've tried so far :(, except the interior light circuit with the key in the ignition - I get 0.1A showing, which (having been the victim in the past of little fingers fiddling) wasnt enough to drain the battery overnight. I dont wanna do the 'disconnect the battery overnight' trick as last time I did this the keys had to be recoded - not going down that road again!

Clutching at straws - I can see this running into a big auto electricians bill but just in case, thought I'd ask here, Thanks in advance

Cheers

Rob
406 Exec 2.0 HDi 110
GingerMagic
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Re: my battery is being drained.

Post by GingerMagic »

Hi, what is the behavior of the car as it starts, is it a sluggish starter with dim dash lights or are the dash lights okay? No matter how flat my battery went the electric seats were the last to die.... :wink:
I thought my battery was dying a few months back but turns out my starter was slowly seizing up :roll:

I can't think of anything that would drain the battery too much as the ' power saving mode ' would pop up? Is it maybe lots of door opening but not starting the engine?

I too and fumbling for drinking tubes.....
2003 2.2hdi estate - mine
1998 Volvo 940 auto estate - also mine
2019 Citroen C3 something - the wife's
PP2000 user, can help with faults / diagnostics in the Bournemouth area.
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steve_earwig
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Re: my battery is being drained.

Post by steve_earwig »

See what the battery checks out at first before you go grabbing dried wheat stalks:wink:

Does it have an after-market stereo, phone kit, anything like that?
Unskilled meddling sin©e 2007

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Doggy
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Re: my battery is being drained.

Post by Doggy »

If it's in a bad way, your battery will probably self-discharge when disconnected, (taking precautions to disconnect correctly, of course).
2002 HDi 2.2 Exec Estate, (2008-12) (wonderful)
2003 HDi 2.2 6-speed Exec Estate (2012-19) (also a gem)
2009 Citroen C5 2.0 HDi VTR+ Estate (godawful heap)
2008 BMW E91 330i touring (great fun - murdered by a reversing SUV)
2007 BMW E91 325i touring (slower smoother quieter)
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pugnut
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Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:14 pm
Location: Swindon Wilts.

Re: my battery is being drained.

Post by pugnut »

Ohhh sh** a month has almost passed - has it been that long? Apologies for not getting back to you. Problem is solved and this is how I traced the fault:

At work we have one of these:

http://www.tool-net.co.uk/p-333053/clar ... tAod4XYA5g

And I was allowed to leave it connected to my battery during the day, the theory being if THAT drained after eight hours at work, I can eliminate the battery as being the cause.

It didn't. Car started with consummate ease on completion of my shift.

Ergo, my battery had in fact died!

£58.99 bought me a new one from http://thebatteryshop.co.uk/ and my starting woes vanished overnight.

I was convinced it couldn't be the battery. Wrong again. As usual. :-/
406 Exec 2.0 HDi 110
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Doggy
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Re: my battery is being drained.

Post by Doggy »

Good news and the right time of year to get it sorted before the cold weather arrives.
2002 HDi 2.2 Exec Estate, (2008-12) (wonderful)
2003 HDi 2.2 6-speed Exec Estate (2012-19) (also a gem)
2009 Citroen C5 2.0 HDi VTR+ Estate (godawful heap)
2008 BMW E91 330i touring (great fun - murdered by a reversing SUV)
2007 BMW E91 325i touring (slower smoother quieter)
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steve_earwig
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Joined: Thu Oct 04, 2007 6:09 pm
Location: Jastrebarsko, Croatia http://www.jastrebarsko.hr/lokacija/

Re: my battery is being drained.

Post by steve_earwig »

Ah, nicely done :cheesy: It just goes to show, always start from the basics and never assume anything...
Unskilled meddling sin©e 2007

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GingerMagic
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Re: my battery is being drained.

Post by GingerMagic »

Good result and , as Doggy says, a fresh battery for the oncoming winter ' battery bashing ' season... :cheesy:
2003 2.2hdi estate - mine
1998 Volvo 940 auto estate - also mine
2019 Citroen C3 something - the wife's
PP2000 user, can help with faults / diagnostics in the Bournemouth area.
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