Car draining battery overnight

Imaden123 · Jan 14th, 2020, 08:13

hi All, new Volvo s80 petrol owner...265k miles !!! so. when parked up the car draws nearly 2 amps with everything switched off. (meter in series with battery)So even the brand new battery doesn't really stand much chance overnight on a cold day. Any ideas on what can draw power when ignition is off ? I need to remove some fuses but thinking alarm ? lights? locks? stereo ? any thoughts gratefully accepted.

cheshired5 · Jan 14th, 2020, 10:46

1st Test
With the engine revving at around 2000rpm and everything electrical turned on, measure the both the AC and the DC volts ideally using the alternator B+ and alternator casing.
Report back both the AC and DC Volts figures.

2nd Test
2 multimeters makes this much quicker. One meter remains in series with the battery, the other meter does the tests.
Trick the car into going to sleep then voltage drop test every fuse. Almost all will be 0.000V and they can be ignored.
The ones showing any reading at all are the active circuits and can then be individually pulled and replaced to view their effect on the parasitic drain.

Don't randomly pull fuses in any quantity. There'll be maybe 3 or 4 max which actually need investigating.

That said, try the alarm fuse and audio fuse as an educated guess.

palwing · Mar 29th, 2020, 17:43

Hi cheshired5

I believe you have videos on YouTube with help for Volvo faults? Can you provide a link please? Thanks and regards.

Simmy · Mar 29th, 2020, 19:26

si robb youtube. great videos all very useful to all volvo owners

palwing · Mar 29th, 2020, 19:57

Is Cheshired5 sirobb?

As you say..great vids. Very knowledgeable and useful too.

Kev0607 · Mar 29th, 2020, 23:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by palwing

Is Cheshired5 sirobb?

As you say..great vids. Very knowledgeable and useful too.

He sure is. He has a fantastic YouTube channel with helpful videos for Volvo owners. Definitely check it out.

ksmi · Mar 30th, 2020, 08:51

Morning Simon,did you ever get any feedback from the o.p/imaden123? bit naughty if you didn't.

Regards,Keith.

Dastardly Diesel · Mar 30th, 2020, 08:58

Check the boot light is swtiching off - that's the obvious and very common one.

cheshired5 · Mar 30th, 2020, 13:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by ksmi

Morning Simon,did you ever get any feedback from the o.p/imaden123? bit naughty if you didn't.

No and it's a recurring problem across so many threads that I now contribute fewer posts.
If people don't conclude threads, we all miss out.

S60D5-185 · Mar 30th, 2020, 13:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheshired5

No and it's a recurring problem across so many threads that I now contribute fewer posts.
If people don't conclude threads, we all miss out.

+1

It's just common courtesy Simon to a least thank someone offering advice but all too often even that is in the too hard box for some.

Jan 14th, 2020, 08:13	#1
Imaden123 New Member Last Online: Jul 30th, 2021 17:06 Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Rossendale	Car draining battery overnight hi All, new Volvo s80 petrol owner...265k miles !!! so. when parked up the car draws nearly 2 amps with everything switched off. (meter in series with battery)So even the brand new battery doesn't really stand much chance overnight on a cold day. Any ideas on what can draw power when ignition is off ? I need to remove some fuses but thinking alarm ? lights? locks? stereo ? any thoughts gratefully accepted. Last edited by Imaden123; Jan 14th, 2020 at 10:20.

Jan 14th, 2020, 10:46	#2
cheshired5 Premier Member Last Online: Dec 26th, 2021 13:42 Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Crewe	1st Test With the engine revving at around 2000rpm and everything electrical turned on, measure the both the AC and the DC volts ideally using the alternator B+ and alternator casing. Report back both the AC and DC Volts figures. 2nd Test 2 multimeters makes this much quicker. One meter remains in series with the battery, the other meter does the tests. Trick the car into going to sleep then voltage drop test every fuse. Almost all will be 0.000V and they can be ignored. The ones showing any reading at all are the active circuits and can then be individually pulled and replaced to view their effect on the parasitic drain. Don't randomly pull fuses in any quantity. There'll be maybe 3 or 4 max which actually need investigating. That said, try the alarm fuse and audio fuse as an educated guess. __________________ 2002 S60 SE D5 Manual 209000 miles Last edited by cheshired5; Jan 14th, 2020 at 10:49.

Mar 30th, 2020, 08:51	#7
ksmi Master Member Last Online: Apr 23rd, 2020 07:12 Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: high ham somerset	Morning Simon,did you ever get any feedback from the o.p/imaden123? bit naughty if you didn't. Regards,Keith. __________________ 855 tdi auto.Now gone to new home in Wales. Short Four.

Mar 29th, 2020, 17:43	#3
palwing Member Last Online: Sep 10th, 2023 19:32 Join Date: May 2007 Location: OneBoat	Hi cheshired5 I believe you have videos on YouTube with help for Volvo faults? Can you provide a link please? Thanks and regards.

Mar 29th, 2020, 19:26	#4
Simmy Premier Member Last Online: Yesterday 22:30 Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Manchester	si robb youtube. great videos all very useful to all volvo owners

Mar 29th, 2020, 19:57	#5
palwing Member Last Online: Sep 10th, 2023 19:32 Join Date: May 2007 Location: OneBoat	Is Cheshired5 sirobb? As you say..great vids. Very knowledgeable and useful too.

Mar 30th, 2020, 08:58	#8
Dastardly Diesel Senior Member Last Online: May 14th, 2020 13:58 Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: The countryside	Check the boot light is swtiching off - that's the obvious and very common one.

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