Voltage drop

[Shayne Farwell]

Hi can any one help . I seem to be losing power from my battery, replace battery with new one but after a couple of days battery flat again. Checked everything fuses etc but still scratting my head

[Sir-Doris]

Hello, Try checking the alternator belt, if its loose your alternator wont be charging your battery properly, after that have the alternator checked, either at a garage or check the electrical section on how to do this, there is heaps of info there with regards to alternators. Could also be a loose earth strap or corrosion, or a loose wire shorting out somewhere, also are any of the interior lights or stereo or electrical gadgets being left on? A faulty alarm could also be drawing more power then necessary.

Hope this helps.

[Shayne Farwell]

Hi thanks for your help will have check list at hand. regarding internal lights, stereo etc all checked and disconnceted one by one, thought head lights or side lights relay faulty remove these as well one by one still no chance. How about starter motor solanoid could this show same problem?

[I Live For FOG]

do you have towbar or alarm fitted worth checking them
also which model of frontera

[Shayne Farwell]

Hi yes tow bar and alarm fitted model 1997 2.2 16v san deigo this is my first 4x4 so far I love it.

[meooo]

disconnect earth lead from battery, put an AVO meter in series between it and the battery, set to twelve volts and see what the current draw is.
You may need an anologue meter instead of digital as they pick up small voltages better.
you can then disconnect things one at a time to find which is causing the drain...the alternator can cause this problem, or the hrw relay stuck.
Its down to patience on your part to locate it.

[john boy]

You need a multimeter with amps on 10A min. take off earth lead and connect earth to earth pole on battery and positive to earth lead and make sure igy off and key out before starting, best if truck locked. check drain if its a digital unit should read about 0.08A with no consumers on. if its up around 0.12A you've got a high draw, start removing fuses and watch to see if drops. when it drops you've found your draw. i haven't used the volteage check but i do use this method at work and it works most times just make sure that the meter is fused should say 10-20A max.

[I Live For FOG]

shayne put area of country in profile please someoine may have tools you need and might know how to fix it in your area

[john boy]

Multimeter can be purchased from machine mart for about £40+vat and does a load of other things as well this it's a very handy piece of kit to have in your tool box

[I Live For FOG]

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Mod ... teria=Sale

[john boy]

Spotted that in the maplins book but can not see if it's fused realy needs to be fused cause if not can cause a lot of greif and heart ache cause if it aint protected and you get to much draw will burn out meter i know 10A's is a lot of draw but if it's a diesel and glow plug relay stuck in you could be drawing upto 40A and i have known this to happen don't half give you a shock when leads start to melt

[I Live For FOG]

agree with that got an avo 8 here with thermal cut out

[nitromotor]

I have a fluke 87v, and use an inductive current clamp attachment for measuring large current draw.

[Shayne Farwell]

Thanks all so far with help and advice, will starter tomorrow with everything. Had MOT today some little jobs to do first. Does any one have a exhaust mount they would like to sell, its the square one in the middle of system, apart from that and the front wheel bearings tighting she down ok for first MOT with me. Its nice to work on a vehicle were you can adjust things, famous last words lol

[Shayne Farwell]

Sorry me again, updated profile location Lowestoft Suffolk, any one else in this area or near by?

[comfortablyglum]

Me not more than 15 miles from you, along the norfolk/suffolk border a bit, near "Chicken Roundabout"

[Shayne Farwell]

Not the chicken round about, are the chickens still there, heared they all ended up on someones dinner plate or something like that What are you driving? just started 4x4ing myself.

[comfortablyglum]

Chickens still there, though in greatly reduced numbers. Mainly a batchelor pad of cockerels, very few hens there.

Currently with a 2.3td 5dr, slow, noisy, smokes a lot, and I love it. Girlfriend wondered what I was going to get next as Fronty out of MOT soon. Told her I didn't need a change of vehicle,(Must be something to this fronty lark as I never said that before!!)

[Shayne Farwell]

Hi chicken round about how are you doing? Had MOT sorry to say she failed but not on a lot n/s front head light alinement low, head light switch lose, middle exhaust rubber block broken, over all not to bad as this is my first MOT with me. Also I think I have found what is draining my battery, someone has attached a wire and relay to the main battery supply (big red lead) and this runs underneat the car, may be power supply to rear towbar sockets. Anyway cut this off, now waiting to see if battery goes flat again, will keep all informed.

[Rick]

Hi all,

Just a point on this one... I have owned vauxhalls for years now several from an 80's cav to GTE's to Vectras and now this beast is Frontera No 2!

Vauxhall use rubbish engine earth straps and this can cause the alt not to charge the batt properly and all other sorts of problems due to low voltage!!

Check the voltage across the battery and then put the -ve of the multimeter on the engine block and the +ve on the batt and see if the reading is higher, if there is a significant difference then the strap is most probably kaput run another from the engine to bodywork anywhere that is out of the way!!

Rick