help needed battery keeps draining over night :(

1. adam661 Saxperience Forum Bum Joined: Jan 2009 chesterfield (ish) Posts: 2685 icelandic grey 53 vt

   #1 27th November 2009, 15:24

   as above really battery keeps draining over night or wen left with car off
   
   ive tried leaving the battery disconnected over nite and it seems 2 hold a charge but if left connected it drains
   
   took earths off and cleaned/ replaced.
   
   car doesnt cut out wen driving so im guessing the alternator is ok?
   also tried seein if the + sparks when the keys not in ignition and it doesnt?
   
   any ideas?????
2. Cutz Regular Poster Joined: Jul 2009 Walsall, West Midlands. Posts: 388 Black Saxo VT? ;)

   #2 27th November 2009, 15:26

   Dead battery, im off to buy mine now, £36.99, lol
   
   Cutz
3. adam661 Saxperience Forum Bum Joined: Jan 2009 chesterfield (ish) Posts: 2685 icelandic grey 53 vt

   #3 27th November 2009, 15:51

   what even tho it holds charge over nite wen its not connected?
4. Steveman Newbie Joined: Apr 2008 Durham Posts: 17 Saxo VTR (on my second) AX GT

   #4 27th November 2009, 16:58

   Sounds like you may have a faulty electrical connection somewhere which is draining the battery. You say the battery doesn't drain when it is not connected which suggests that something somewhere in the car is still drawing power when the engine is switched of.
   
   To trace the offending electrical device you'll need a muiltmeter and a lot of patience as find it is trial and error.
5. adam661 Saxperience Forum Bum Joined: Jan 2009 chesterfield (ish) Posts: 2685 icelandic grey 53 vt

   #5 27th November 2009, 17:05

   yhh thats what ive been told i have noticed when wheels on full lock the headlights dim???? could this be related?
6. sammy90 Infrequent Poster Joined: Oct 2009 Essex Posts: 170 1997 Peugeot 106 GTi

   #6 27th November 2009, 18:47

   ive had this problem i thought it was my amp but it was just the cold weather killed my battery. i put a spare on now it fine.
7. LDeere683 Regular Poster Joined: Feb 2009 York Posts: 335 Citroen saxo VTR

   #7 27th November 2009, 21:43

   i had this problem, it was my amp that kept draining it before as my remote wire was not in properly
8. user_38425 Established Member Joined: Oct 2009 Angus, Scotland Posts: 1061 Mk2 Two-Tone VTR

   #8 27th November 2009, 21:46

   Quote:

   Originally Posted by adam661 yhh thats what ive been told i have noticed when wheels on full lock the headlights dim???? could this be related?

   that is due to the power from the power steering pump so ive been told, as it uses quite a bit of battery power
9. adam661 Saxperience Forum Bum Joined: Jan 2009 chesterfield (ish) Posts: 2685 icelandic grey 53 vt

   #9 28th November 2009, 10:14

   Quote:

   Originally Posted by LDeere683 i had this problem, it was my amp that kept draining it before as my remote wire was not in properly

   ive had the power off from the amp over night and the battery still drained so it cant be that surly???
10. Cutz Regular Poster Joined: Jul 2009 Walsall, West Midlands. Posts: 388 Black Saxo VT? ;)

    #10 28th November 2009, 14:10

    Well i had this problem, didnt try disconnecting, just didnt lock the car up and it was fine. But all sorted as i bought a new battery. Get it tested at a garage.
    
    Cutz
11. addyt_vtr Infrequent Poster Joined: Jan 2009 Cleveland Posts: 139 clio sport 172 (212bhp) tarck slag. mk 5 golf gttd

    #11 28th November 2009, 14:33

    i would get your battery tested mate
12. adam661 Saxperience Forum Bum Joined: Jan 2009 chesterfield (ish) Posts: 2685 icelandic grey 53 vt

    #12 28th November 2009, 14:48

    yhh think i may well do lol
13. RichyBoiVTR Regular Poster Joined: Sep 2008 Posts: 324 mk2 8valve

    #13 28th November 2009, 15:21

    if you got tune in the boot its more than likely a killed battery i used to have this a lot with all my other cars.....
14. squeaky Regular Poster Joined: Aug 2008 louth Posts: 326 Saxo vtr, ax gti, sloda fabia vrs

    #14 16th December 2009, 22:01

    i had the same problem so i disconected the black alarm box under the dash and that sorted the problem straight away, but it could also be a bad earth from the alternator etc ...
15. user_38198 Established Member Joined: Oct 2009 West Mids Posts: 1847 Peugeot 106 1.1

    #15 16th December 2009, 22:14

    Could be the boot light... You'll see if its on through the gaps in the parcel shelf.
16. user_35337 Frequent Poster Joined: Jun 2009 Totland, Isle of wight Posts: 528 Saxo Westcoast

    #16 16th December 2009, 22:34

    If it drains only when connected to the car then i would say it quite possibly a bad earth. This happended to a mates gti and it turned out to be a bad earth. Have a check of them and spray them with wd40. Helps the connection out.
17. mickyfinn Established Member Joined: Oct 2009 high wycombe Posts: 1078 mk2 silver saxo vtr 1.6 silver mk2 vts and now A

    #17 17th December 2009, 04:53

    mine does the same thing but only in the cold weather totally lame freezing cold and i got to mess about with jumpleads
18. deks36 Saxperience Forum Bum Joined: Aug 2008 Herne Bay. Kent Posts: 3881 Peugeot 307, Nissan Juke, 206 Grand tourisme

    #18 17th December 2009, 07:36

    had this with my neighbours car disconnected boot light problem stopped so might be worth a try on yours
19. vtcarl Frequent Poster Joined: Dec 2006 telford, shropshire Posts: 968 E86 Z4 3.0 si coupe

    #19 18th December 2009, 07:37

    mine this morning was not far off dead. had to use the jump leads to start it and now i have the engine managment light on. any ideas what will of caused it?
20. 123-samsung123 Infrequent Poster Joined: May 2008 Posts: 228

    #20 18th December 2009, 08:53

    You need to disconnect the negetive lead on the battery terminal, using a amp meter/voltmeter, reconnect the battery negetive lead inline with the amp/voltmeter. Now check the amp drain from the battery, 0.03 to 0.10 good no drain. if its reads 0.50 to 1.00 you have a cosumable draining the battery! Then you need to find it. Look at all radio/amps etc, make sure no interior lights are staying on. If all ok, You need to start pulling fuses from the fuse boxes whist watching the ampmeter when the reading drops to 0.03, You know what curcuit in the vehcle the drain is on. Hope this helps. You could just have a simple battery fault, have you cleaned all the terminals, earths etc?
21. Itz_Jamez Regular Poster Joined: Apr 2009 Lake District Posts: 407 Saxo. Westcoast.

    #21 18th December 2009, 11:06

    Its just a dead battery, had the same.
22. vtcarl Frequent Poster Joined: Dec 2006 telford, shropshire Posts: 968 E86 Z4 3.0 si coupe

    #22 20th December 2009, 19:29

    had a test on the electrics on the car. found that the starter was to blame. would still turn over as normal but due to an internal problem with it, it drew a huge amount from the battery when starting. replaced with a recon unit and all is fine.
23. Britabroad Newbie Joined: Jan 2015 Posts: 1 Citroen Saxo Exclusive Left Hand Drive

    #23 29th January 2015, 13:41

    I had this exact problem. Turned out that water was managing to seep in through where the aerial is on the roof and was shorting out on the interior lights. I noticed one odd drip from the interior light fitting, which alerted me after weeks of trying to figure it out. Sealed the aerial to the roof with silicone sealand and the problem stopped. Just wish all the other things wrong with it were so easy.
24. user_20080 Saxperience Hardcore! Joined: Dec 2007 smurfland. Posts: 17346 Ex saxo owner.

    #24 29th January 2015, 17:38

    Disconect the alternator overnight,then get the alternator tested.
25. sexysaxo_dan Infrequent Poster Joined: Oct 2012 Dorset Posts: 237 Citroen Saxo Furio 1.4l

    #25 29th January 2015, 18:23

    sounds like you have a parasitic drain somewhere (a component that drains the battery when it shouldn't) check yours earths and check various connections for any signs of green or rust. You can also use a multimeter to check connections too. First of all though id drop test your battery. Just buy a drop tester set it to the right setting and test your battery disconnected and in a charged state. Or you could just buy a new battery and see if that solves the problem.
26. konark L-plater Joined: Jun 2011 yorkshire Posts: 69 2002 Desire 1.1 Posi Blue

    #26 31st January 2015, 19:51

    Charge the battery up and then check the voltage between the terminals; the voltage should be over 12.6V.
    
    Put it in the car and try and start it, if it starts check the voltage with the engine running, it should be 13.5 to 14.5Volts, if it's less than the battery voltage the alternator is not charging and the battery will be slowly discharging as you drive around. The next time you try to start the engine it will struggle. The battery charging light may not come on as the alternator is giving some voltage but not enough to charge.
    
    If the battery won't start the car after charging it's scrap.