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Car keeps getting a flat battery


rec-baller
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I bought my gen 7 04 plate Toyota celica 8 weeks ago, 

3 weeks ago I went too get in it and the central locking wouldn't open the car, opened it with the car and found out the battery was flat, I jump started the car and all was ok for a few days till it happened again, so I put a new battery on the car,  all was ok for a week till it happened again !!, so I put a new alternator on, all was ok till today and I've got another flat battery  

As soon as I put a booster pack on it starts first time , anybody any ideas ??

Shaun 

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As Dave (TC) suggested, sounds like an earth leak.  It could well be a dodgy component or just a bad connection somewhere.

As a get out of jail card until you discover the cause buy a trickle charger and leave the car connected to that, if that is an option of course.

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10 minutes ago, grrclark said:

Mobiles have made life so easy, once upon a time you would have shut yourself in the boot to discover the truth !!!

Or just find the switch and press it with your right index finger to see if the lights go out.

That is of course if you have a right index finger, if not go to plan B. I'll think about that and let you know. ASAP. 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Rewulf said:

Something is draining the battery, put a multimeter across the terminals and see if the voltage steadily drops ( when it's charged)

+1 its a leak, boot light is the old traditional  favourite but some immobilisers can draw a fair current. Amp meters do not lie.

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im sorry to tell you this but what you will have to do is take out all of your fuses out of the main fuse box in the engine depart ment whil you have a multi meter on your battery and when your  meter stops droppind find what the  that perticular fuse surplies that is the culprit 

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I take it no warranty when only 8 weeks old??

I realise u won't get an awful lot with a car of that age, but some garages might do something for u, even cheaper rates?

Could be a pain to find but plenty good advice above

 

My last couple of vans had the interior light bulbs pulled out, both combi's so take it was a common fualt in vans of that age.

 

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Go to an independent auto electrician that’s what they are there for. You have probably spent more on bits than what they would charge you. I was an auto electrician now retired and very often we would have a customer come in complaining of a flat battery and a lot of the time especially when the weather started to get colder and nights drawing in ie more load on the battery the problem was a badly adjusted fan belt unable to deal with the load the alternator required. Belt adjusted, problem solved. A certain exhaust and battery chain would sell and fit a battery then send the customer along to us if there was a problem . The customer often said ,” well the battery was over 2 old so it needed replacing (eye roll)  .

S.B.

 

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10 hours ago, Stour-boy said:

Go to an independent auto electrician that’s what they are there for. You have probably spent more on bits than what they would charge you. I was an auto electrician now retired and very often we would have a customer come in complaining of a flat battery and a lot of the time especially when the weather started to get colder and nights drawing in ie more load on the battery the problem was a badly adjusted fan belt unable to deal with the load the alternator required. Belt adjusted, problem solved. A certain exhaust and battery chain would sell and fit a battery then send the customer along to us if there was a problem . The customer often said ,” well the battery was over 2 old so it needed replacing (eye roll)  .

S.B.

 

Well said that man. 

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Don't test across the battery to see if the voltage drops. With everything switched off disconnect any of the battery leads and connect your multimeter to the battery terminal that you have disconnected the lead from and the disconnected lead. The multimeter should be on DC current. Any reading showing on the meter, ( in amps or mA ), shows you have an electrical discharge somewhere. It's then a matter of trying to find the cause, ( boot light still on etc). If you have no leakage showing then measure across the battery with the meter on DC volts, with the engine running, to see if the alternator is charging the battery. The reading should be about 14.5 volts. Hope this helps

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18 hours ago, supatex said:

Don't test across the battery to see if the voltage drops. With everything switched off disconnect any of the battery leads and connect your multimeter to the battery terminal that you have disconnected the lead from and the disconnected lead. The multimeter should be on DC current. Any reading showing on the meter, ( in amps or mA ), shows you have an electrical discharge somewhere. It's then a matter of trying to find the cause, ( boot light still on etc). If you have no leakage showing then measure across the battery with the meter on DC volts, with the engine running, to see if the alternator is charging the battery. The reading should be about 14.5 volts. Hope this helps

Correct. If there is a leak identified by DC current reading - and there probably will be - you could then start taking out the fuses, one at a time, until you identify the leaking circuit. That may or may not work out, but either way it will probably need someone such as a competent auto electrician to work from a wiring diagram and go through the car separating connectors etc.to isolate the fault.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 06/10/2018 at 19:03, VicW said:

Lights staying on are favourite culprits, boot lights or interior lights are the main ones. Check that the lights go out when the doors are shut or take the bulbs out to identify the culprit.

Vic.

Any marker lights in the doors? Micro switches are usual for this, same in boot and engine bay, 

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