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[Wayne]

Guys

haven't used my car for 8 days over Christmas, went out this morning and it wont start, WHAT is draining it?
i haven't left nothing on, i never do!
this is really getting on my tits now!
is there ONE thing in an Omega that drains the power?
something i can disconnect?
could it be my battery is shagged?
if so, i will take it back tomorrow to National Tyres, rather thing cost me £90!!!
if i want to not use my car for a week or two, what is the big deal with it keep playing up, i only recently charged the battery up about 6 weeks ago
the battery isnt that bloody old

any advice would be great and has anyone else had this problem?

[Entwood]

You need to spend some time with a good test meter or take a load of fuses out and see if it improves.

Favourite "unseen" battery drains are ... boot light, cigarette lighter, internal light(s) perhaps a rear door puddle light ??

A methodical approach is needed .. not a stab in the dark one ..

[Wayne]

already checked the car for ALL lights left on, they are ALL off

[Andy H]

It's going to be something less obvious then such as
- powersounder
- aftermarket radio
- 101 other things

which is why each fuse needs to be pulled in turn until the circuit which is drawing power when it shouldn't is isolated.

[Wayne]

how about having one of them battery isolator switches fitted? i have one in my van when i know i wont be using it for a week or so, simply turn the key, remove it and then pop it back in and twist when you need to use the car

it stops anything from discharging the battery
bit overkill i know, but a test meter could take bloody days pissing and farting about

[Wayne]

is there a fuse for the powersounder?
i remember years ago by cars alarm would go off all day and night when a bit of wind blew against it!
if so, i will rip the bloody thing out as i have heard this draws power

[rustym95]

would bet on cells in battery going, cold weather can put a drain on batterys and go flat when not in use,electrolite it the battery gose weak and the cells get bent out of place, then the cells collapse then disengrate and fall to the bottom of the battery wich dis-charges the battery, and boils the distilled water.
woul think you need a new battery.

[Wayne]

even after owning it since January 2008 ?
here's my exact battery fitted to my car

http://pmd.varta-automotive.com/pmd2/showBatterieDetail.do;jsessionid=DBEF07A062EE5F7A5CD1E779BCDFBE31?ArtikelNr=5724090683132

[tunnie]

even after owning it since January 2008 ?
here's my exact battery fitted to my car

http://pmd.varta-automotive.com/pmd2/showBatterieDetail.do;jsessionid=DBEF07A062EE5F7A5CD1E779BCDFBE31?ArtikelNr=5724090683132

Do you know when the battery was fitted?

[Wayne]

yeah, it was fitted on 7th January 2008

[tunnie]

yeah, it was fitted on 7th January 2008

2 years old then, so quite possible its failed. I'd get a GM one in there 

[rustym95]

even after owning it since January 2008 ?
here's my exact battery fitted to my car

http://pmd.varta-automotive.com/pmd2/showBatterieDetail.do;jsessionid=DBEF07A062EE5F7A5CD1E779BCDFBE31?ArtikelNr=5724090683132

dose it have a tester on the battery? green light etc

[Entwood]

even after owning it since January 2008 ?
here's my exact battery fitted to my car

http://pmd.varta-automotive.com/pmd2/showBatterieDetail.do;jsessionid=DBEF07A062EE5F7A5CD1E779BCDFBE31?ArtikelNr=5724090683132

Rather than guessing ... do something LOGICAL.

If you don't want to pull fuses to track down a quiescent feed as you've now decided its the battery ... check the battery PROPERLY.

Take it off the car, charge it up for 36 hours. Disconnect charger. leave to stand for 2 hours. Measure voltage. Measure voltage every 6-8 hours, if it remains stable for 48 hours it has no internal short.

If you don't have a "load tester" handy (and most of us don't) connect a headlamp bulb - main beam 55W - directly to the terminals and leave it.  Now as watts =volts x amps, the current drawn by a 55 watt bulb is 55/12 = 4.6 amps. You have a 72 A/h battery so it should give 4.6 amps for about 72/4.6 = 15 hours. If it does there is nowt wrong with your battery. 

Recharge if for 48 hours and put it back on, start removing fuses to find the circuit that is on ... 

[rustym95]

yeah, it was fitted on 7th January 2008

2 years old then, so quite possible its failed. I'd get a GM one in there 

dont batterys come with 5years warranty, just looked at mine and it say 10years but standard is 5, one in caravan 25years. so can have a free test.

[rustym95]

even after owning it since January 2008 ?
here's my exact battery fitted to my car

http://pmd.varta-automotive.com/pmd2/showBatterieDetail.do;jsessionid=DBEF07A062EE5F7A5CD1E779BCDFBE31?ArtikelNr=5724090683132

Rather than guessing ... do something LOGICAL.

If you don't want to pull fuses to track down a quiescent feed as you've now decided its the battery ... check the battery PROPERLY.

Take it off the car, charge it up for 36 hours. Disconnect charger. leave to stand for 2 hours. Measure voltage. Measure voltage every 6-8 hours, if it remains stable for 48 hours it has no internal short.

If you don't have a "load tester" handy (and most of us don't) connect a headlamp bulb - main beam 55W - directly to the terminals and leave it.  Now as watts =volts x amps, the current drawn by a 55 watt bulb is 55/12 = 4.6 amps. You have a 72 A/h battery so it should give 4.6 amps for about 72/4.6 = 15 hours. If it does there is nowt wrong with your battery. 

Recharge if for 48 hours and put it back on, start removing fuses to find the circuit that is on ... 

while the battery on charge put meter on the terminals for the battery and test and remove fuse's save time.