Patcharoonie Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Hi, Appreciate if anyone could help me out here. Our van is parked in our drive with everything (well everything I can find) switched off. When I check the control panel, it shows the van is still consuming 1 to 2 amps. It must be drawing the power from the started battery as it drained the battery and caused the alarm to go off. The alarm is an aftermarket one. At 2am the neighbours we're far from amused. For the life of me, I cannot see where this 1 to 2 amps is going. The leisure battery does't seem to be affected. Even with the alarm off, it's still showing the amp draw. We have a 2008 Rapido on a Fiat Ducato. Any help or advice appreciated. Thanks.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 It could be the alarm itself, even if switched off, especially as it is the vehicle battery losing power. It depends how it was wired in, radios can do the same, as they have a constant live connection to maintain their memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerThat Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 My guess would also be the aftermarket alarm, there could be something wrong with it internally. To find out what's causing the drain, first of all, ignore the control panel :-D Then, disconnect the negative wire to the engine battery. Connect a mulitmeter, in Amps mode, one end to the - terminal on the battery, the other end to the negative wire you just disconnected. All being well, you'll now see an amp or two flowing across the meter. At this point, simply unplug fuses, one by one, until you see the reading drop right out. Identify the owner of the fuse and you've found your culprit :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patcharoonie Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 Thanks Billggski and Rogetthat, I'll take your advice and check that tomorrow. I guess if it turns out to be the alarm then a trip to an auto electrician is on the cards. Cheers guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QFour Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 The on board computer will be using power as will the alarm. You need to keep the system topped up. A solar panel on the roof would help and keep everything topped up. Swift used to have a steering lock fitted that had an extra position that switched off everything. No remote control, No clock, No nothing. When you got in you had to set everything. I have seen this on other Forums with batteries flat after a couple of weeks. If it's at home you could plug it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJB Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 Many Motorhomes will deplete the vehicle battery in 3 to 4 weeks down to 12.4v/12.3v. With alarms etc that is perfectly normal...I connect a charger (on the rare occasion the MH is static long enough) for a day each time that happens....a cheap voltmeter will give you all the info you need. If the vehicle is used regularly it's no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevina Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 I also have a 2008 Rapido, a few years ago I checked the vehicle battery drain and I happen to have the results to hand whilst I sit outside a French supermarket. We have a Pioneer radio with removable fascia, also a reversing camera but this made no difference. When tested the drain will drop significantly once the ecu shuts down after a minute or so. Radio fascia on: 440ma/140ma Fascia off: 360ma/80ma Radio disconnected: 350ma/70ma Nowhere near your 1-2A but the advice already given should help track it down and this might also help clarify. Kev Ps do you have a CBE panel? If so, this only shows leisure battery current, it may also need recallibrating which is in the manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanedwin Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 In the meantime why not plug it in? That will stop the alarm going off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandncaravan Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 Do as it says above by removing the Starter battery Earth lead to see if the draw on the panel changes? If it stays at 2amps, it may not be coming from the Starter battery, but see last paragraph. Again as it says above try removing the fuses on the fuse panel one by one to see if that changes the display. Some Power distribution units, like Schaudt, allow an AES Fridge to be run off the habitation battery, in an emergency. This normally requires the Fridge to be manually set to 12v with a fuse inserted into the AES slot, so check fridge is not on 12v setting. We normally advise the AES fuse slot, second from left on an EBL 99 is never populated. Check your Fridge is not on the 12v setting? If you take all the fuses out and still have the 2a draw, try disconnecting the battery charger, and if there is one the Solar regulator as these can sometimes have a big draw if they fault internally? 2amps is quite high, so unlikely to be normal culprits like Alarm, Radio, etc. We did see one installation where the Alternator D+ was connected directly to the battery, instead of via the ignition switch/bulb so the Alternator coils energised all the time. Maybe something similar here? Or is it possible the Split charging system has either faulted or has a wire connected wrong, so is back feeding to the Alternator D+? Lastly, we have seen issues after Solar is fitted when a Voltage sensitive relay is used to drive the Split charge. What happens is the Solar raises the Starter battery voltage above 13.5v and the split charger 'sees' the raised voltage and thinks the Alternator is spinning so fires up the fridge on 12v. The draw of the Fridge may, or may not, exceed the Solar current resulting in battery drain. Possibly won't be noticed in High Summer, but as the days draw in the Solar output drops, increasing the discrepancy. So could be a fault you have had for a while but the sun has 'hidden' it till recently? In this scenario you may see a drain from both batteries but the smaller Starter battery bank dying first, depending on how it is all configured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 Whatever it is it's using up to 24watts so the first to notice is anywhere getting warm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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