Im new here! i love the magna i think its a great car and im glad to find this forum, hope i can be of assistance in the future, the more i discover the works of my exe. wagon :)

i have had a few problems since i got it off a dealers, heater core leakage, broken immobiliser key, burst pipes etc but nothing too bad,

i do have an issue with my battery constantly draining, it could be nearly dead or on its way out, when i wake in the mornings to go to work i often get caught cause of a dead battery. i then tried my brother in laws brand new 12v battery and it died from 1 night of being in the car. I then chopped off the stock terminals as they were rusty as and put on copper ones, but shes still draining :(

i read another post on here about how the car cuts out immediately from the immobilizer or so as a result of a bad battery. does anyone have any advice for something that could be draining? i recently got a towbar fitted, but afterwards i realised there was a black wire not connected to the negative terminal anymore, yet i found it buried beneath everything and attached it again to the negative terminals...hoping it would have something to do with all this draining, with no such luck,

does anybody know what these circuit wires attached to the battery do or what their for? maybe some wrong connecting on my part could be setting it all off? either that or im gunna look at the alternator.......

sorry for the ramble.......thanks in advance!

is there an a after market stereo or even a amplifier draining it. One way to check is seperate all the positive terminals and use a multi meter to see if there is any drain on that particular wire and take it from there

Firstly If the black wire was disconnected when your towbar was fitted why would you reconnect it? Did everything else still work?

Does your stereo switch off with the car or does it stay on?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MAGNA-TN-TS-ALL-VOLTAGE-REGULATOR-BOSCH-ALTERNATOR-/200641715053?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2eb72d9b6d
this could be your problem . that can play up and drain the battery
take the car for a drive . and feel the battery for heat . if it heated up . maybe the reg
the link is a gen1 gen2 reg which may not fit your car.( example only )

Charge up the battery and leave it connected overnight. In the morning, feel the alternator. If it feels at all warmer than say the rocker cover, the alternator is at fault. Possibly stuffed regulator, or diodes.

If you have a multimeter disconnect one side of the battery, connect the multimeter to the battery post and the loose connection, and see what the current drain is. If there is current, start disconnecting components like the alternator to see if the current drain stops. Continue disconnecting bits - probably easier to pull fuses for different components -until you find the fault.

I've had a stuffed alternator and brake lights staying on do this on 2 different occasions.

Stop messing around with the above (except what Max stated) , get to an auto elec, get them to do a test to see how much is being drawn from the battery while the car is off, then you disconnect each part one by one until the voltage draw has finished....replace or repair the issue and you are good to go

thanks folks i brought the battery down to an exide shop and they charged it up again a few days ago, i cranked it and it started no bother so i pulled it back out again to reserve its energy, THEN put it back in again yestarday, it started and so i left it overnight again to convince myself that it was absolutly draining.

got called back into work again today so i cant really go at it now but when i get back ill have a go at these things your all saying cos they make alot of sence!! thanks folks chat soon

OK !

so i finally got a chance to look at it today, i found a great online guide to a battery parasitic drain here http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/repair/how-to-stop-car-battery-drains

I did those things it said and it came down to a single wire attached to the positive terminal. i took a photo and photoshopped the black wire that was causing the leak so you can see. i could read what wire was wanting what when i attached the multimeter negative probe to the negative cable, and the positive probe to the battery negative stump.

With nothing attached except the main positive wire there is 0 currency

with just the red wire on the left screw there is no leak either: 0

with just the red and black wire on the right screw on the right side of the terminal there is a leak of .02amps which i assume is sufficient to leave over a good few nights even a few weeks as per normal.

With just the black culprit wire pointed out on the photo there is a leak of a crazy .35Amps !!

Feeling like i accomplished something i took the black wire off in the hope that it wasnt all too necessary....except the car had no electrics at all and wouldnt start! :S :S

So it all narrows down to one thing, what does this black wire cater for? does anybody know? pic attached

http://i.imgur.com/hNioy.jpg

sorry i dont know how to shrink this pic!

sorry i dont know how to shrink this pic!

Is that why you are called "Jigantor"?

you crack me up.

From the massive pic that hurts my eyes im going to assume your talking about the big black cable in the middle?

If so follow it, its probably for things like the alt, starter motor etc.

Trace it. Otherwise connect it, turn the key to the ON position, and disconnect it and check the vehicle for what has gone off.

Guys, please don't make random guesses, is no need to reply if you don't know

The cable is the main power cable into the car also the charge from the alt comes in here. The only thing not connected to this is the starter, in short you have eliminated absolutely nothing

If it were me, i would be putting your multimeter in series with this, and start pulling fuses to work out what circuit is drawing the current.

The wire you've disconnected sounds like the main power feed from/to battery - this will more than likely go to the fuse box where there will be a fusable link and then is distributed to all other circuits.

Start with fuses in engine bay, if you dont have much luck - try interior fuse box. it's probably something like your boot light isnt turning off when you shut the boot.

It's more than likely a light. Is the dome light definitely turning off? Maybe boot light like BCX7 said, maybe even footwell or glovebox lights if you have them in your model.

*sigh*

Just leave all cables connected.

With ignition off, pull a fuse out of the fuse box under the bonnet, and probe the fuse connections with a multimeter set to current. If none, replace the fuse and try the next. Do this to the fuse box in the car too.

Eventually you will locate a circuit that is drawing current when it shouldn't be.
Note the current draw and work out from the fuse box cover what it is.

Let us know.

Guys, please don't make random guesses, is no need to reply if you don't know

The cable is the main power cable into the car also the charge from the alt comes in here. The only thing not connected to this is the starter, in short you have eliminated absolutely nothing

thanks mate, makes sence!


If it were me, i would be putting your multimeter in series with this, and start pulling fuses to work out what circuit is drawing the current.

The wire you've disconnected sounds like the main power feed from/to battery - this will more than likely go to the fuse box where there will be a fusable link and then is distributed to all other circuits.

Start with fuses in engine bay, if you dont have much luck - try interior fuse box. it's probably something like your boot light isnt turning off when you shut the boot.

cheers! im gunna reconnect the current meter and start d/c each fuse one by one, see what drops!


*sigh*

Just leave all cables connected.

With ignition off, pull a fuse out of the fuse box under the bonnet, and probe the fuse connections with a multimeter set to current. If none, replace the fuse and try the next. Do this to the fuse box in the car too.

Eventually you will locate a circuit that is drawing current when it shouldn't be.
Note the current draw and work out from the fuse box cover what it is.

Let us know.

or i could buy an adapter to plug into the fuse ports and read directly what its drawing, either way ill jump back on here and let yis know. im making progress at least,

before i thought it was just a dying battery.
then i accepted that it was being drained.
so i came on here and also online and found that parasitic bat. drain guide
i measured up and found the black wire to be the draining culprit!
i took a pic and you guys basicly told me what that black wire serves.

....now im gunna narrow down the fuse box and then i should know what circuit it is. it could even be a whole bunch of ones adding up to .35a. Either way im making progress thanks to all your input.

ill keep you posted!

SUCCESS!!

I checked each fuse while monitoring amp levels while the engine was off, after about 5 different ones i pulled out the car stereo fuse and KABLAMO it went straight back down to .04amps! a massive drop from .35a!

For anyone wandering how to check for a drainage, all you have to do is disconnect your negative wire off your charged battery (make sure all doors are closed as if you were to leave it overnight) attach your negative multimeter probe to your dangling negative wire, and attach your positive probe from your multimeter to the negative post-stump on the battery to read your amperage. then pull out fuses one by one and watch to see if you multimeter is dropping.

if the car starts by tomorow morning i just saved myself a hefty trip to the auto-electricians!!!! THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP.