Battery flat in 7 days

[whitey]

I have Jan04 Elegance. Left at airport battery went flat in 7 days - battery since tested OK. There is a steady drain of 200 milliamps after standing (settles down to this after a few minutes) which drains the battery down to 11.35 volts at which point not enough charge to crank the engine (takes about 7/8 days to run down). Removing Fuse 31 eliminates this drain completely - other fuses have no effect. The handbook says this feeds "vehicle interior module control unit". Haynes not out until Jan now so cant make any progress - no wiring diags and dont know where unit is or what else might feed off Fuse 31. Vx dealer failed to find faulty part but due to go back in soon. Does anyone have any ideas/info??

[Gsi3.2]

is yours a 150 CDTi?...there is a recall on a failing alternator on 04 to 05 model years..if it's at fault VX will swap it FOC..

does the battery drain down if it is disconnected ( I.e faulty cell in the battery?)

are there any Body fault codes displayed that would point to a ECU failing internally to earth?..

In the 'good old days' i would have condemned the diode pack in the alternator as letting the current run back..but that is a really small draw..

[_ZS_]

Could just be the battery. 4 years, which seems to be the life of Vauxhall batteries now.

Mine was totally goosed after 4 years, car owuld work fine if used daily, but leave it a few days and it was touch and go whether it would start or not.

[Gsi3.2]

yep, thats what made me ask about the bad cell....4 years is about it for the factory fitted battery...it works fine.. then it 'just' dies....

[ed taylor]

I remember the old batteries, they would give indication they were on the way out, the new ones work ok then next time you try the battery is dead no warning or nothing.

[whitey]

Car is Vecra Elegance 1.8 dual fuel. The original battery has been changed for a more powerful one which has been tested OK - passes 538amps cranking compared with spec of 540amps. The 200milliamp drain will take 4.8 amp hours out of the batt every 24hours (so 34 amphours in 7days) and dropping the batt voltage about 0.2 volts every 24hours (so 1.4volts dropped in 7days). Thanks for your comments.

[Ben H]

When I go away on holiday I just expect mine to be flat now. I just disconnect the battery.

[kingarthas]

Hi,
I got similar problem.

What I found so far.

When remove F31 current is 0.02A.
When in place again current is 0.07A
After lock all doors current is 0.07A
After unlock driver door current jump to 0.30A
After lock again current again 0.30A
Removing and putting back F31 reset some modules and reduce current until door are UNLOCKED via remote key.

Car NOT OEM alarm is connected separately and switched off for testing take 0.02-0.03A

I read that fuse in cabin have common line with F31. So I remove all fuse in cabin and trunk - they do not reduce current to 0.07A.

Reading from power consuming fuses:
F5 - 0.01A
F9 - 0.10A - when removed can not lock/unlock doors via remote key
F12 - 0.05A
F17 - 0.04A
Although very close to Min current, after putting those fuses in place current back to MAX=0.30A, not like F31 which looks like reseting some faulty module and current stay to MIN=0.07A when reposition.


Please, any suggestions...

[phil-h]

Sounds like the only thing draining it is the aftermarket alarm mate, I'd start there, possibly you have other sensors fitted that take a drain when they're tweaked?

[matt89]

Hi

1. 0,3A current is okay when doors are open.
2. After closing doors it takes some minutes to go normal level. My current draw is 50-70 mA in idle.

This is my thread in other forum, might help: http://www.vauxhallownersnetwork.co..../#post-2639335
Mods if link posting is not allowed please remove.