Im still here and still sorting my FC :P
I have a wierd problem with my battery, and I can\'t work it out. Everytime I leave the battery attached and the alarm on, after say 8 hours ish the alarm goes mad then when I try to start the car the battery is flat.
The connectors to the battery (terminals) are a bit shoddy tightening up and one of the hoops is actually broken (god knows how).
What I can\'t work out is whats draining it or common causes of a drain. Is the alarm sucking the power, is it the connectors that are causing the problem or something else?
I have bought a brand new battery now and have it disconnected from the car when im not using it.
Any help on this would be appreciated - if it is the alarm im thinking of ditching it completely and getting a quick release steering wheel :Thumbs-up
The alarm is a cat1 clifford cobrathing
assume ok if alarm not activated? if still not ok could be duff alternator ?
i had the same prob - it was the stock panic alarm draining the battery
have you a red switch on the side of the steering colomn ???
if so thats a panic button
has the orig mazda alarm been fully removed ??
im sure there is a way to check for bad earths aswell - something about a test lamp from the negative battery terminal to the body - if this lights the lamp you have a bad earth - or summat like that - i assume you can use a volt meter aswell - if that shows a voltage - then you have a drain on the battery somewhere
what happens if you pull the EGI and MAIN fuse - does it still drain ???
this is ALWAYS a good one to check - is the boot light off ??? i have heard many stories about this draining the battery !!
Stu
stu
Don\'t some alarms go off if the battery is low?
So, could be a duff battery. Attach the new battery, and find out. Or, alternatively, get the old one checked out. It may be that it just can\'t hold any charge.
Ok update.
I think this alarm does go off if the battery is low. I had the old battery checked out, and it was goosed but the guy seemed to think this was due to the alarm draining it (chavfords though ;)).
Checked the boot light, it was in the on position, I switched it to off now just to make sure.
There is a panic button installed - could this be the problem?
Im guessing seems this alarm was installed professionally at a garage (by original owner - Paul) that the previous system was fully removed - is there anyway to check though?
Not checked bad earths yet.
Not pulled fuses yet.
I have disabled the alarm for now, and checking it overnight to see if its drained in the morning. If it is then I know its definately not the battery (its brand new) and something else.
you can check the fuses - i cant tell you which ones though as it would allow anyone to turn the stock alarm off
drop me an email and i will tell you which ones to check - i would yahoo you - but its been blocked at work :(
Stu
I have a similar problem on my FD - I might have fixed it now but i\'m not sure as I\'ve only left it for 4 days without starting it...
See if it makes a week then I\'ll know.
You\'re right tho when the battery dies the alarm has an internal one (at least mine does) once that drops below a certain voltage then the siren sounds. ****ing my neigbours off no end if I\'m at work and it\'s the middle of the day :)
I\'ve made some custom earth straps from the engine to the body and double earthed the battery to the body.
My problems I thought were related to the connectors/fuses left over after the ABS was removed but not true...
I\'ll let you know what I find.
Have you tried a meter on amps with ign off to see what sort of current drain there may be? If you are pulling some still, whip the fusses out one at a time untill it goes? or the other way round and remove all and load up one at a time.
I\'ll pm you with the alarm details that I remember
Paul..
Alarms have \'built in\' system for voltage drop...this is in case somebody gets their hand under the bonnet to cut the battery cables to disarm the battery !
If the alternator is functioning incorrectly you will have additional probs.....as the advice goes,look for a \'system\' which is drawing the current even when ignition is off:Typing
Prob best email me paul richard@loxam.me.uk cheers for that.
Ill check out the car in the morning to see if its fine - if not ill whip the meter out!
UPDATE: Checked it this morning and it started up fine, maybe it was just the battery had goosed *fingers crossed*
This is all with the alarm disabled. Ill see how it gets on in the next few days.
Then ill re-enable the alarm and see what happens :D