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    Battery draw. details inside. FIXED!

    I love my little monster, but lately shes been quite a bitch. She knows my weakness. And she is making my life hell right now. Me and Electricity do not get along and Im having a random issue right now...


    Symptoms: Occasional no start issue. Sometimes will fire up right away with a jump, sometimes wont even start with a jump. When it wouldnt start with a jump, I trickle charged the battery and that seemed to solve that problem.

    After that I read through a bunch of threads and believe the primary draw coming from the stuff associated with the #21 Fuse stuff.

    I streamlined the stuff associated with the #21 Fuse to the following list:

    Glovebox light
    Flashlight
    Ignition Key/Seat Belt warning
    Interior Lights
    Radio Memory
    Trunk Light
    Service Interval Indicator
    Fuel delivery
    Tachometer/Fuel Economy Gauge
    Digital Clock

    My glovebox has never had a light, flashlight, so Im not sure what the wires look like or if they are even there.

    The seatbelt warning light works. Driverside Interior light works. Passengerside has a mind of its own. It kind of works. I think the connections need to be cleaned or something.

    My stereo has the whine, from what seems to be the missing ground strap in the engine bay.

    Trunk light bulbs are pulled at the moment.

    My cluster was rebuilt by Gregs ///M so there better not be a draw from that.
    Currently my temp and tach arent working because the #21 fuse is blown.

    My car had a simple digital clock (no OBC) that was replaced with an analog clock

    When I did the "pull fuses and check the draw" test is when I discovered that the #21 fuse made a significant impact on the draw. A few days later the #21 fuse popped and when I replaced it the new 7.5A fuse popped immediately. At this point ( I was in the middle of a 100 mile drive) I said fuck it, I will live without those items until I have time to fix it.

    With the #21 fuse blown I stopped worrying about drain thinking that once I have time to figure it out I can address it, but then one day I was running errands and after a few stops of in town driving the car wouldnt start. I was frustrated and on a mission so I left the car for maybe an hour and when I returned I talked to her nicely and she started. Then wouldnt start again about an hour later.

    SO, if you made it this far, thank you. BUT I really need some advice on what to do to figure this out. Ive been disconnecting the battery when I park thinking whatever is trying to draw power, cant. And it works, but is not how I plan on driving the car. A band-aid on top of a band-aid....

    Today I decided to bust out the test light and started with the one thing I knew would confirm if there was a draw. With the neg battery cable disconnected I connected the light to the cable and the terminal and the light goes on for a second and dies out... And this is with no #21 fuse.

    Last edited by 2mAn; 05-27-2015, 11:26 AM.
    Simon
    Current Cars:
    -1966 Lotus Elan
    -1986 Mercedes Benz 2.3-16
    -2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDI

    Make R3V Great Again -2020

    #2


    Im a retard when it comes to using a multimeter. Ive blown 4 fuses on this thing already...
    Simon
    Current Cars:
    -1966 Lotus Elan
    -1986 Mercedes Benz 2.3-16
    -2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDI

    Make R3V Great Again -2020

    Comment


      #3
      Put your red probe in the ohms/V/Ma receptacle on the far right. Black probe in middle common section.

      Put the meter between negative cable and negative post on battery.

      Scale should be set to 200mA DC Amps section (yellow)

      Normal draw is around 30mA.

      The first thing that comes to mind is your have two different problems.
      1. Parasitic current draw from circuit 21. BMW is well know to have insulation failure for the trunk lights. If a power wire is shorting to ground, it does not matter if the bulbs are out, you will still draw current. Check the harness leading to the rear. Pull the back seats out and check its path. Looking for insulation damage or charring. I've seen this problem across several chassis's from BMW.

      Once you have your meter installed and measuring current draw, disconnect one suspect circuit at a time until you see a significant drop. Then you will have narrowed down the device or wiring causing the draw. Radio is also another suspect.

      You are blowing fuses which is good actually. This is a heavy current draw and should be easier to find. Wiring harness insulation failure could be a real culprit so pull your cluster, radio and inspect local harnesses.

      2. Failing starter solenoid. Another problem I've seen across many vintage BMW. Replace your starter and solenoid with a remanufactured Bosch unit only. Go for a drive and walk back to your car only to find it wont even click over? Sometimes starts strong, sometimes nothing. Solenoid failing.

      Fuse 21 has nothing to do with the starter circuit so I do not think they are related. Good luck!
      Owner - Bavarian Restoration
      BMW and European Electronics Repair and Restoration
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      Comment


        #4
        Thanks for the response Greg. I've been attempting to test the draw just as you described it and the DMM keeps popping its internal fuse. Not sure exactly when it happens, but it frustrated the hell out of me today.

        I will try again tomorrow, but it was the tracking down of the draw(s) that I really needed advice on. Thanks so much for chiming in, that description of the failing starting solenoid sounds like something Im dealing with in addition to something in relation to the #21 fuse circuitry.

        I will hopefully have something more to report tomorrow
        Simon
        Current Cars:
        -1966 Lotus Elan
        -1986 Mercedes Benz 2.3-16
        -2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDI

        Make R3V Great Again -2020

        Comment


          #5
          annnnnd the mystery continues....

          Yesterday, I thought I would try and fix an easy issue. A little while ago my car developed "quick blink" on left turns. Figured it was a burnt bulb. Nope. Okkkk, maybe the ground wire came off (early model with late model bumpers so theres 3 spade connectors. Pulled the bumper off and they are all plugged in.. Okkk...????

          This has to be associated with whats going on.
          Simon
          Current Cars:
          -1966 Lotus Elan
          -1986 Mercedes Benz 2.3-16
          -2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDI

          Make R3V Great Again -2020

          Comment


            #6
            Hopefully i knocked one of the two situations out. Went and fiddled with the starter today. Busted out the test light to see if everything had power when it was supposed to and everything looked good so i thought for sure it was a bad starter, but when i was putting the black/green wire back on I noticed that the stud that it was threaded onto was loose. Tightened that down and went to my garage and it fired up right away when I was done.

            Fingers crossed that the starter isn't bad and it was just a loose connection.

            I'll report back but still need to focus on finding the draw
            Simon
            Current Cars:
            -1966 Lotus Elan
            -1986 Mercedes Benz 2.3-16
            -2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDI

            Make R3V Great Again -2020

            Comment


              #7
              That wasnt it. New starter ordered as I am 100% sure the starter is on its way out. Also, fiddled with the trunk light and got it fully functioning, so I will report back if that ends up being it.

              EDIT: Was on vacation and the car was parked for 6 days and it fired right up. Trunk light must've been it
              Last edited by 2mAn; 05-27-2015, 11:26 AM.
              Simon
              Current Cars:
              -1966 Lotus Elan
              -1986 Mercedes Benz 2.3-16
              -2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDI

              Make R3V Great Again -2020

              Comment

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