Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega Electrical and Audio Help => Topic started by: monkeyrich on 06 January 2010, 14:50:38
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hi there ive got a 2001 omega fitted with a 2.2td engine and im having a bit of a problem with stopping the battery going flat after being parked for more than one day does any one no if this is a common problem or help in any way ,many thanks rich
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Get the battery itself checked - they don`t last forever
Most tyre centres or battery suppliers will often check this for free for you
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tryed that one had three on it now in 12 months and they have all been tested and said to be ok all seem to be charging aswell is as if the electric fairy steal it all .
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In that case, its out with a clamp meter to measure the battery drain at rest and to see where the volts are dissapearing to.
Worth also unplugging the alarm powersounder for a few days as this can often be a very good place to start
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As Dave says .. first port of call the powersounder .. then its the longwinded way !!! pulling fuses to see what is doing the draining ... My initial thoughts to try are the boot light circuit and the cigarette lighter circuits ... could take a while to track it down .. :(
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my last car was a vectra 2.0td done the same thing it turned out to be the ignition thingy at the back of the barrel was the problem woren contacts.
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If you can find someone else not using there car, then swap the battery, and see if that one drains as well. Will save u buying a new one, just to find that drains anyway
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Ring an auto electrician ! :)
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Ring an auto electrician ! :)
Always handy :P
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cover the battery and keep it warm you are in the coldest place.
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thanks for the help guys the trouble is the has been to the auto electrian 3 times and comes back every time saying its ok and then go's flat again just wondered if things like the alternator can loose charge when parked up other than that might be time to get rid of the dam thing .
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thanks for the help guys the trouble is the has been to the auto electrian 3 times and comes back every time saying its ok and then go's flat again just wondered if things like the alternator can loose charge when parked up other than that might be time to get rid of the dam thing .
Suggest to try a different autoelectrician that knows what he`s doing.
Also, update your profile with a location, as someone nearby may be able to assist further
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Have you tried the previous suggestion of unplugging the power sounder ?
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What current draw are you getting 5 mins after ign turned off?
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Connect an ammeter in series with the battery and measure the 'off' current.
You could buy a cheap multimeter (Maplin as a guess for under a tenner) with milliamps range.
The 'off' drain should be only in the order of 10 to 100 of milliamps - I doubt a clamp meter will be adequate to do that.
One area to check is the boot light - as prblem (IIRC) on Senators
Steve
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had the same problem and sent the battery back to the supplier - turned out it had a faulty cell that kept breaking down under load but checked out ok on a meter - put a new battery on and now no more problems
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Connect an ammeter in series with the battery and measure the 'off' current.
You could buy a cheap multimeter (Maplin as a guess for under a tenner) with milliamps range.
The 'off' drain should be only in the order of 10 to 100 of milliamps - I doubt a clamp meter will be adequate to do that.
One area to check is the boot light - as prblem (IIRC) on Senators
Steve
Actually a clamp meter is the only way to perform this test correctly - virtually all of them will go down to very low sensitivities and wires can be checked very quickly without the need to remove or disconnect anything - cheapie multimeters will usually pop when wires are connected due to the small surge currents that exist before the current settles down to something worth monitoring.
Because clamp meters are that bit more expensive, you can see why autoelectricians with these correct tools often find the faults much faster than the diy mechanic with a Maplins meter.
;)
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I can understand how an AC clamp meter works, it behaves like a transformer, A transformer requires AC to work though so DC clamp meters seem akin to alchemy to me :(
Do they use the 'Hall Effect' I wonder?
Is this a suitable meter for measuring quiescent current in a car?
(http://www.sealey.co.uk/Images/Products/MM405.jpg)
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Perfect !!
You would struggle to find anything else that is of more use !!
:y
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Very nice .. but at £65 a tad expensive as a "might be used" tool .. :(
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Very nice .. but at £65 a tad expensive as a "might be used" tool .. :(
£65 DIY Vs Autoelectrician @ £40/Hour (at least 1/2 day)
Do the maths !!
;)
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there is a member on e-bay selling somthing like that for £30, motorparts in nott's out of date stock.
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Very nice .. but at £65 a tad expensive as a "might be used" tool .. :(
£65 DIY Vs Autoelectrician @ £40/Hour (at least 1/2 day)
Do the maths !!
;)
Agreed , and if I need one I'll buy it !! But I think buying one "just-in-case" is a little OTT .. however the day my multimeter doesn't give me the answer ........ :)
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have you checked the alternator out put, if not would do that.
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Very nice .. but at £65 a tad expensive as a "might be used" tool .. :(
£65 DIY Vs Autoelectrician @ £40/Hour (at least 1/2 day)
Do the maths !!
;)
Agreed , and if I need one I'll buy it !! But I think buying one "just-in-case" is a little OTT .. however the day my multimeter doesn't give me the answer ........ :)
Actually its an exceptionally usefull tool - and I would almost go as far as saying that its invaluable in a tool box - I use mine nearly as much as I do a multimeter, as not only can you see if you have a voltage, but you can see very quickly if the item you are checking is actually working by its current draw - much faster to diagnose with as you do not have to find a bare terminal to stick a probe on, simply hook around a wire and see.
:)
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Bear in mind before buying that the vast majority of clamp meters (especially almost all that fall below the price tag of the Sealey one mentioned) measure AC current only - because that's easy with a simple current transformer. They will obviously be useless for automotive diagnosis!
Read the small print and ensure it measures DC current using the clamp (some do have DC current measurement, but only by being introduced into the circuit in the sense that a normal "fiver from Maplins" multimeter does!).
Kevin
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Bear in mind before buying that the vast majority of clamp meters (especially almost all that fall below the price tag of the Sealey one mentioned) measure AC current only - because that's easy with a simple current transformer. They will obviously be useless for automotive diagnosis!
Read the small print and ensure it measures DC current using the clamp (some do have DC current measurement, but only by being introduced into the circuit in the sense that a normal "fiver from Maplins" multimeter does!).
Kevin
Good point, but the cheaper ones that cannot measure DCA often have two banana plugs just to the right of the display -
This one shown looks fine, no extra sockets for probes and has DCA clearly marked on the selector switch
(That and we`ve also used this one before)
:y
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This one shown looks fine, no extra sockets for probes and has DCA clearly marked on the selector switch
(That and we`ve also used this one before)
:y
Yep, agreed the Sealey one will be perfect. Just a warning for those who decide to shop around.
Kevin