Battery going flat

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Doug G
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Battery going flat

Post by Doug G »

Any suggestions where to begin?

The battery goes flat really quickly, e.g. within a day.

The alternator is working.

Where do I start looking for the fault?

Could it be a chafed wire from the positive terminal ?

Any polite suggestions where to begin?
Having a moking good time!
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Tim
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Location: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Re: Battery going flat

Post by Tim »

You need a multimeter. Set it to the 10 Amp range. Disconnect one of the battery leads and with the ignition and everything else turned off, connect the leads of the multimeter between the battery terminal and the end of the lead. It shouldn't show any current flowing. If it does, something is making the battery go flat, so you need to disconnect things to find out what. Start with the alternator, it may have a defective diode pack.

If no current is flowing your battery is probably stuffed.

Tim
Any sarcastic, ignorant, libellous, unfounded or stupid opinions expressed in or through this message are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the opinions or views of any member of The Mini Moke Club or the opinions or views of any other individual.
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Doug G
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Re: Battery going flat

Post by Doug G »

Thanks.

Unlikely to be battery. I replaced it. :D

Will go through the diagnostics you suggest. Thanks.
Having a moking good time!
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Doug G
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Re: Battery going flat

Post by Doug G »

Unfortunately there are NO qualified automotive electricians here. The other electricians are also not properly trained.

Have tried two 'electrical' guys.

One suggested somebody else. :roll:

One guy suggested that I install a battery isolator switch!!! :shock:

The other is a guy that deals with alternators. He could'nt find anything wrong. :shock:

Will start with your suggestion, i.e. myself.
Having a moking good time!
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Doug G
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Re: Battery going flat

Post by Doug G »

Now to try and source a multimeter which can handle the 10 Amp range.

I have contacted my son in UK. Here they are 3x the price.
Having a moking good time!
macky999
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Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2015 8:47

Re: Battery going flat

Post by macky999 »

Hi. I know you have checked out the alternator, but this is quite a high possibility. A diode failure in the built in regulator tries to turn the alternator into a motor. Is it slightly warm to the touch when parked? To eliminate it totally just unplug the connections from the alternator and wait a day and see if the battery is still holding charge. Very simple a quick to rule this out as a possibility. If not, sadly the search in other directions will continue. Best of luck. Ian
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Doug G
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Joined: Sun Sep 17, 2006 14:44
Location: Caribbean

Re: Battery going flat

Post by Doug G »

Thanks for that easy test.
Having a moking good time!
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