V90 draining of battery

[ns1234567]

Hello
Does anyone know that if the central locking (or indeed any other circuitry ) ceases to work - there will be a drain on the battery.
If so is there a known cure
Many thanks

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by ns1234567

Hello
Does anyone know that if the central locking (or indeed any other circuitry ) ceases to work - there will be a drain on the battery.
If so is there a known cure
Many thanks

Have you recently renewed the battery? If so why? Also what sort of battery?

Forgot to say, when you first switch the igniton on, BEFORE you start the car and look at the warning lights, is the charge warning light present?

[capt jack]

Originally Posted by ns1234567

Hello
Does anyone know that if the central locking (or indeed any other circuitry ) ceases to work - there will be a drain on the battery.
If so is there a known cure
Many thanks

More likely the other way around. If the battery dies then the central locking will stop working. The cure would be a new battery.

Do you have a battery that appears to be draining as the car is left? It could just be that the battery is fubarred and needs to be replaced. As Dave has said, does the charge light come on a switch on? If not the alternator may be failing or there could be some other charging circuit issue. Does the light go off when the engine is started?

Another possibility is that something is draining the battery when the car is stood. The most likely culprit is a courtesy light not going out - in the boot perhaps? Or one or more of the red marker lights in the doors. These won't be noticed of course, but occasionally something will go wrong and one of these lights will stay on.

What car is it?

Jack

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by capt jack

What car is it?

Jack

It's a V90 Jack - top of his first post but that's all we know so far! Could be the door open guard lights in the doors, especially if the interior bulb has blown and nobody has noticed or has switched it to the middle (off) position - a door not closing properly or a courtesy switch that is shorting to earth will bring all 4 door open guard lights on.

My guess is it's had a new battery and a silver-calcium/calcium battery has been fitted and the alternator just isn't charging it. To save me a lot of typing, this thread covers it and explains (several times for those who somewhow missed the relevant posts) why calcium batteries are no good for our beasties :

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=299918

Enjoy the repetition!

[aardvarkash10]

Originally Posted by ns1234567

Hello
Does anyone know that if the central locking (or indeed any other circuitry ) ceases to work - there will be a drain on the battery.
If so is there a known cure
Many thanks

In some cases, yes.
In most cases, yes.
No problem!

[ns1234567]

Thanks Dave and Jack

Very helpful - here's the full story - the battery is nearly a year old and it's a Platinum 027SPPLA from Kwik Fit (calcium construction).There isn't a charge failure light before turning over the engine - all of the door lights go out pressing the switches - no rogue interior lights left on or blown - BUT central locking works only on the boot lock from inserting the key into the driver's door
I did read somewhere that partial central locking could be a drain whilst the car is standing -the battery was Bosch tested at Kwik Fit and all looked good - but clearly I need to charge from a charger - would you recommend I took off the connecting leads before charging..?
Do you think there's a calcium issue too..?
Very grateful to you both
Best wishes

nick

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by ns1234567

Thanks Dave and Jack

Very helpful - here's the full story - the battery is nearly a year old and it's a Platinum 027SPPLA from Kwik Fit (calcium construction).There isn't a charge failure light before turning over the engine -
Do you think there's a calcium issue too..?
Very grateful to you both
Best wishes

nick

Hi Nick, first, it's the wrong battery for the car, the alternator you've got WON'T charge a calcium battery. Some people get away with it due to component tolerances or there is a modification you could do to the alternator to boost the charging voltage.

However, the biggest problem is the alternator isn't charging! The charge warning light should come on with the ignition and go out when the engine starts. Do you get the washer fluid, ABS and a couple of other warning lights up when turning the key to position 2 before you start? If not, switch the ignition off, find your alternator and locate the two main wires going to it, one is thick and usually red, the other is much thinner and should go to a terminal usually marked D+ or similar - but NOT "W" - the "W" terminal is for diesels ONLY and provides pulses for the rev counter.

Remove the smaller of the two wires from the D+ temrinal and make a jumper wire to link this to earth. Swtich the ignition on to position 2 - the charge warning light and a few others should light up (ABS, washer fluid etc) - if so the fault lies in your alternator, probaly he voltage regulator/brush pack because the brushes have worn away.

If you can do this and let me know, i can guide you through the rest of things after. Do you posses and know how to operate a digital multimeter at all?

[ns1234567]

Sorry Dave I misled you - the charge warning light does come on with the ignition and yes it does go out when starting the car ( what I was trying to say was there was no charging failure indicated)
Just been watching a "how to locate a parasitic draw" video with a multi meter (which I have and can just about use).
The other point is a measure from the Bosch Battery test at Kwik Fit - under the heading Charging System - it says No Problems....No Load 13.56 and Loaded 13.40
Thanks once again
Best wishes

nick

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by ns1234567

Sorry Dave I misled you - the charge warning light does come on with the ignition and yes it does go out when starting the car ( what I was trying to say was there was no charging failure indicated)
Just been watching a "how to locate a parasitic draw" video with a multi meter (which I have and can just about use).
The other point is a measure from the Bosch Battery test at Kwik Fit - under the heading Charging System - it says No Problems....No Load 13.56 and Loaded 13.40
Thanks once again
Best wishes

nick

Nick - DO NOT use your multimeter, you will blow it up!

As for Fik-Wit, they're wrong.

At 13.56V it's not charging, never mind at 13.4V - should be 14.4V on a cold votage regulator and 14.0V on a warm regulator with no load,even on load it should still cover above 13.8V although that's not necessarily the best measure.

To do a proper charging test you'd need a 30-0-100A analogue ammeter, a properly calibrated voltmeter (although DMMs usually suffice) and the knowledge of how to use them and what to look for. Kit like that is £OUCH! though and you won't find it in the average Fik-Wit workshop, nor anyone with proper automtive electrical systems knowledge.

First thing to check is the alternator drive belt is tight enough, you should easily be able to play the bass riff from Smoke on the Water, if not a little higher pitch. As your charge warning light goes out with the engine running, have you ever noticed it come on dimly at night when using lights, heater, heated rear window and perhaps other loads all together?

[ns1234567]

Thanks Dave

Interestingly the charging light (on the dash) doesn't come back on under load at night etc - not even a glimmer - so if IT is working I assume the alternator is charging but low as you point out.Is it faulty would you say (it has to be the original) - and is it worth attempting the modification to boost it's output voltage..?
There may also of course still be a drain - problems sort of started around the time the central locking failed (except for the key operating the driver's door and tailgate)

Very grateful once again for your time

nick