Other 70 Problem: - V70 battery drain again

Phil Russell · Apr 1st, 2015, 17:21

A 2004 V70 belonging to my daughter: Left for about 2 weeks about 2 months ago: battery flat. It was the original battery so we assumed it had failed. New battery purchased and all was well. Until car was left again for about two weeks when battery was flat again. Having read the various causes on here, the car was taken to a Volvo dealer who diagnosed the alarm system failing. This was duly 'done' at a cost of about £400 and all seemed well. Until recently when the car had to be left unused for about two weeks again at our house. I noticed the alarm red light had stopped flashing on Sunday night. Battery was as flat as flat can be, not even enough to unlock the tailgate. Eventually sussed the use of a battery via the underbonnet connections and tailgate was opened, battery removed and charged. At full charge it went back in the car and everything seems well. Daughter will contact the dealer again ......
But I am puzzled and seek advice from those in 'the know' please. After connecting the battery, starting the car for a couple of minutes, stopping engine, leaving car for about an hour (locked), I thought I would just see what the battery drain was in this 'not running' state. With all switched off but tailgate open so the interior lights would have been on, I recorded a drain of about 4.5 amps. I removed the alarm/siren fuse (38) but it made no difference. Now if there is a constant drain of this magnitude I figured the battery would be flat in a 24 hour period as it is a 60 ah battery. But it wasn't drained in that time, so the drain must go down when the tailgate is shut, interior lights are out and car is locked. I hope my reasoning is correct.. correct me if not, please. Now the interior lights could add up to about 25w or about 2amp. What uses the rest? And what is the steady state, locked, all off, drain amperage? Short of locking myself in the car with my ammeter, how do I check this? Surely a car battery should last longer than two weeks?

All advice, help appreciated. Thanks
Phil

Jim314 · Apr 1st, 2015, 17:41

If you have to do more charging of the battery, you do not have to disconnect nor remove the battery from the vehicle. You can charge it using the +12V lug in the engine compartment and a suitable ground on the engine. There are instructions in the owner's manual for jump starting the vehicle, and jumping causes much higher current flows than a battery charger.

Phil Russell · Apr 1st, 2015, 18:41

Thanks for the comment re battery charging Jim. Having sussed I could simply attach a 12v source under the bonnet and so open the tailgate, I also realised I could charge the battery without removing it. But in our case it was much more convenient to remove the battery for recharging.

But my original question still stands: what is the expected current drain with the car all locked /closed up? And how do you get to measure it?
I realise that the fault could be detected by removing fuses and seeing what effect it has on current drain but it would be easier to do this if the only drain is due to the fault. Or am I wrong in my reasoning??
Cheers, Phil

reggit · Apr 1st, 2015, 19:09

To measure it, you need to place an ammeter in series with one of the battery leads. Get one with long enough leads and you should be able to place it in the boot area where you can see it with the car closed up.
You can get a current clamp style meter which clips round one of the battery leads but I don't know if there's enough room to fit one and read it with the tailgate closed.

This is something I'll be doing myself shortly as I've got a current drain issue or duff battery and want to be sure.

Jim314 · Apr 1st, 2015, 22:04

If you can't use a current clamp, I think you would want to put an alligator clipped ammeter between the ground cable and the battery neg post. The instructions for disconnecting the battery are to disconnect the negative first. In this case this would be additionally advisable to leave the +12V side untouched so that it doesn't accidentally get grounded. If you clip both leads of the ammeter before removing the ground clamp from the battery post, then the electrical system will stay energized the whole time.

I think you clip the red (pos) lead to the cable and the black (neg) lead to the battery post and then remove the cable from the neg post of the battery.

Phil Russell · Apr 2nd, 2015, 13:08

Update;
managed to secure the ammeter so that it could be read through a window. With car unlocked and tailgate open the current was c. 4.5amps. When tailgate was down and car locked this fell to c. 0.8amp. Clearly too high for a normal resting state but: unfortunately I did not have time to leave it very long like this and I wonder if it would drop over maybe 15 minutes or so as other bits of the car closed down e.g. the fuel filler cap system .

So next stage is to leave it longer and start removing fuses, I guess. Maybe academoic as we intend to return it to the dealer as the problem was not fixed first time. But if it took 10 days to drain the battery = 240 hours, then the drain could have beeen around 0.25 amp. I have no idea what drain the alarm system takes in normal circumstances.

Cheers for now
Phil

Andy_Gibson · Apr 2nd, 2015, 13:27

once the ignition key has been removed and the car locked it takes a good 5 - 10 minutes for all the ECU's to shut down

850gle · Apr 6th, 2015, 09:18

I had a similar problem on my original 850. Nightmare breaking down in the winter . I had to resort to jump starting with a portable battery which I carried in the back.

Had batteries changed, alternator checked, etc, etc. Main dealer was at a loss but costing me a fortune.
Eventually went to a local car electrician who found the issue - the red front passenger door light was staying on. My choice was to pull apart the door and fix the switch or remove the bulb. I removed the bulb.
Problem solved.

henrycrun · Apr 6th, 2015, 10:28

Might be worth locking the car just using the key in the door to see if it lasts longer.
On other cars I've had, this has removed the immobillisor circuit and battery drain dropped significantly.

Simon Jones · Apr 6th, 2015, 13:40

The immobiliser is active as soon as the ignition key is removed but if you lock the car with the key it generally won't set the alarm.

Apr 1st, 2015, 17:21	#1
Phil Russell Member Last Online: Mar 6th, 2022 09:29 Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cambridge	V70 battery drain again A 2004 V70 belonging to my daughter: Left for about 2 weeks about 2 months ago: battery flat. It was the original battery so we assumed it had failed. New battery purchased and all was well. Until car was left again for about two weeks when battery was flat again. Having read the various causes on here, the car was taken to a Volvo dealer who diagnosed the alarm system failing. This was duly 'done' at a cost of about £400 and all seemed well. Until recently when the car had to be left unused for about two weeks again at our house. I noticed the alarm red light had stopped flashing on Sunday night. Battery was as flat as flat can be, not even enough to unlock the tailgate. Eventually sussed the use of a battery via the underbonnet connections and tailgate was opened, battery removed and charged. At full charge it went back in the car and everything seems well. Daughter will contact the dealer again ...... But I am puzzled and seek advice from those in 'the know' please. After connecting the battery, starting the car for a couple of minutes, stopping engine, leaving car for about an hour (locked), I thought I would just see what the battery drain was in this 'not running' state. With all switched off but tailgate open so the interior lights would have been on, I recorded a drain of about 4.5 amps. I removed the alarm/siren fuse (38) but it made no difference. Now if there is a constant drain of this magnitude I figured the battery would be flat in a 24 hour period as it is a 60 ah battery. But it wasn't drained in that time, so the drain must go down when the tailgate is shut, interior lights are out and car is locked. I hope my reasoning is correct.. correct me if not, please. Now the interior lights could add up to about 25w or about 2amp. What uses the rest? And what is the steady state, locked, all off, drain amperage? Short of locking myself in the car with my ammeter, how do I check this? Surely a car battery should last longer than two weeks? All advice, help appreciated. Thanks Phil

Apr 1st, 2015, 17:41	#2
Jim314 Premier Member Last Online: Nov 20th, 2018 01:45 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Dallas, Texas	If you have to do more charging of the battery, you do not have to disconnect nor remove the battery from the vehicle. You can charge it using the +12V lug in the engine compartment and a suitable ground on the engine. There are instructions in the owner's manual for jump starting the vehicle, and jumping causes much higher current flows than a battery charger. __________________ 2004 V70 2.4 petrol 170 5-spd auto (lost 2016 June, collision with deer) 2007 XC90 FWD 3.2 petrol 6-spd auto Last edited by Jim314; Apr 1st, 2015 at 17:45.

Apr 1st, 2015, 19:09	#4
reggit Premier Member Last Online: Yesterday 07:14 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Preston	To measure it, you need to place an ammeter in series with one of the battery leads. Get one with long enough leads and you should be able to place it in the boot area where you can see it with the car closed up. You can get a current clamp style meter which clips round one of the battery leads but I don't know if there's enough room to fit one and read it with the tailgate closed. This is something I'll be doing myself shortly as I've got a current drain issue or duff battery and want to be sure. __________________ 2009 Volvo V70 D5 (Polestar 225bhp) r-design 180,000 miles

Apr 1st, 2015, 22:04	#5
Jim314 Premier Member Last Online: Nov 20th, 2018 01:45 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Dallas, Texas	If you can't use a current clamp, I think you would want to put an alligator clipped ammeter between the ground cable and the battery neg post. The instructions for disconnecting the battery are to disconnect the negative first. In this case this would be additionally advisable to leave the +12V side untouched so that it doesn't accidentally get grounded. If you clip both leads of the ammeter before removing the ground clamp from the battery post, then the electrical system will stay energized the whole time. I think you clip the red (pos) lead to the cable and the black (neg) lead to the battery post and then remove the cable from the neg post of the battery. __________________ 2004 V70 2.4 petrol 170 5-spd auto (lost 2016 June, collision with deer) 2007 XC90 FWD 3.2 petrol 6-spd auto

Apr 2nd, 2015, 13:27	#7
Andy_Gibson Turbo-Charged Last Online: Apr 17th, 2024 06:36 Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: redditch	once the ignition key has been removed and the car locked it takes a good 5 - 10 minutes for all the ECU's to shut down __________________ 1997 945 2.3LPT SE Auto 2001 V70 2.4 170 SE

Apr 1st, 2015, 18:41	#3
Phil Russell Member Last Online: Mar 6th, 2022 09:29 Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cambridge	Thanks for the comment re battery charging Jim. Having sussed I could simply attach a 12v source under the bonnet and so open the tailgate, I also realised I could charge the battery without removing it. But in our case it was much more convenient to remove the battery for recharging. But my original question still stands: what is the expected current drain with the car all locked /closed up? And how do you get to measure it? I realise that the fault could be detected by removing fuses and seeing what effect it has on current drain but it would be easier to do this if the only drain is due to the fault. Or am I wrong in my reasoning?? Cheers, Phil

Apr 2nd, 2015, 13:08	#6
Phil Russell Member Last Online: Mar 6th, 2022 09:29 Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cambridge	Update; managed to secure the ammeter so that it could be read through a window. With car unlocked and tailgate open the current was c. 4.5amps. When tailgate was down and car locked this fell to c. 0.8amp. Clearly too high for a normal resting state but: unfortunately I did not have time to leave it very long like this and I wonder if it would drop over maybe 15 minutes or so as other bits of the car closed down e.g. the fuel filler cap system . So next stage is to leave it longer and start removing fuses, I guess. Maybe academoic as we intend to return it to the dealer as the problem was not fixed first time. But if it took 10 days to drain the battery = 240 hours, then the drain could have beeen around 0.25 amp. I have no idea what drain the alarm system takes in normal circumstances. Cheers for now Phil

Apr 6th, 2015, 09:18	#8
850gle Junior Member Last Online: Sep 7th, 2023 16:44 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Worcester	I had a similar problem on my original 850. Nightmare breaking down in the winter . I had to resort to jump starting with a portable battery which I carried in the back. Had batteries changed, alternator checked, etc, etc. Main dealer was at a loss but costing me a fortune. Eventually went to a local car electrician who found the issue - the red front passenger door light was staying on. My choice was to pull apart the door and fix the switch or remove the bulb. I removed the bulb. Problem solved.

Apr 6th, 2015, 10:28	#9
henrycrun Member Last Online: Aug 19th, 2017 17:59 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: WGC	Might be worth locking the car just using the key in the door to see if it lasts longer. On other cars I've had, this has removed the immobillisor circuit and battery drain dropped significantly.

Apr 6th, 2015, 13:40	#10
Simon Jones Premier Member Last Online: Jan 15th, 2022 11:23 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Salisbury (ish)	The immobiliser is active as soon as the ignition key is removed but if you lock the car with the key it generally won't set the alarm.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)