To the first post, can you not hook up a multimeter through the positive cable and read your parasitic batter drain and see if it is above a max of .05 amps( 50mA). Then if it is pull your headlight fuses, and see if it drops to the correct amperage. Just because the light isn't on doesnt mean it isn't pulling amps. I have problems of my own that thought someone may know!!!??

I have a parasitic battery drain of .11Amps (110mA) which is huge! All electronics seem to work in the car, except the clock will not hold charge after turning the car off; plus battery is just about dead every morning. I have hooked up my Amp meter, and pulled every single fuse out (bonnet and inside by drivers feet) and its still got the issue. From my research this leaves an altinater, and voltage regulator? But as a side note when I disconnect only the power from my electrical power unit (in the engine compartment) is when my .11A will go away. What cct runs through the power unit that doesn't have a fuse!!!?? I am so lost now? Hopefully someone may know a bit about this situation,
Cheers

2006 Mini Cooper conv.

 

You are being methodical with the right equipment, you will figure it out. Did not skip any light circuits? Disconnected all aftermarket electronics especially Ipod stuff or anything in the cigarette lighter? Had the alternator tested? Clean the ground wires for the alternator/battery. Disconnect the stereo for a few days by pulling the fuses.

Then you will be down to the alarm, the proximity sensor and that can be a tough one but at least you know it is happening at home and seemingly not at work? It goes dead parked 8-12 hours at your home, but not 9-10 hours at work? Could another car parked close by be "waking" your car up during the night? Or something else, a tree branch blowing in the wind that can hit your car? Feral Cats? Can you park somewhere else for a few nights, away from strong EM sources like utility boxes or if in your garage, leave the home alarm off for a few nights.

I had to stop parking my Range Rover at airport parking when I went out of town, every single time the battery would be dead when I got back. Some frequency saturating the area was right on the 335-7mhz that the remote alarm worked on screwing it up every time.

 

It almost dies at work aswell and I park in a pretty empty parking lot, and my house is a private driveway... When I turn the key I hear tick tick tick for like a couple seconds then the starter barely kicks in slowly turning the engine over, then it starts, a close call, except when I give the battery a good charge at home, then it starts up no problem. I don't know much about the security system, I hope your not right about it being that :s. I did pull the remote fuse, so it shouldn't be that however... Could it be the starter solenoid or starter aswell? I don't know where the solenoid is though?
Nothing aftermarket, nothing in cigarette outlet,
My altinater puts out 14.5 volts so that looks like it's working?
I will look into the starter first, and hope I can find the solenoid, and let you know what I find, plus pull the radio right out. Slowly eliminate cct by cct :s
Thank you very much for your help

 

The starter does pull a lot of amps, and when it is going out it pulls even more just before it dies, but I really don't think that is it. You have a parasitic drain, something in the car is still on when you shut it off, and by design there are a few things that will do that and are supposed to without creating this problem. Obviously, it used to not be a problem for you at one time, so something changed. Work/home environment, seems like you have that covered so back to the car. I would go for the radio next after cleaning the ground wire from the alternator which could put out 14.5v but still not charge your battery if it isn't efficiently grounded. Does your car have Bluetooth? How old is your battery?

There is a simple test you can do in one night. Charge the battery with your charger in the evening and then disconnect the negative post all night. Have the code to enter if your car needs one in the morning. Will it start? If yes, then the battery is good and you are back to looking for the cause of the drain - or not! Sometimes this clears whatever lunacy the on board computer has got stuck in its programming!

 

Just thought I would update; I put a new battery in, and noticed my old one was bulging, and it has been working fine ever since :s
Cheers and thanks for your inputs

 

A bulging battery often means an overcharging battery. Double-check the system voltage while the car is running, if you can. If you see over 15V, you have a voltage regulation problem.

 

Our 2011 Clubman is currently at the dealership for a drained battery discharged light that has recently been coming on the last few weeks. Took it to the dealer and was told it needed some part called a smart harness. Unsure what that is but they told my wife that the part won't be in for a week but it's safe and ok to drive it until then. Mind you the battery discharge light was still on when she left the dealership. Well the very next morning guess what happened? Yep the car wouldn't start and the battery was dead! My wife called mini mobile service for a jump start and drove back to the dealership. They SA look surprised that the car is back in within 24hrs of leaving. Thankfully they offered her a loaner mini countryman until the part comes in.

Did someone mention that having the Ipod adapter plugged in could be the cause of the battery discharge issue?

 

Any further reports on this? Our dealer is not giving us any answers, insisting that we need to spend $1600 on a new radio PLUS another $400 on a new battery.

My argument with them is that when the car's battery died in January, they just replaced the battery and didn't do a full energy diagnostic, so no root cause for the sudden battery drain was found. Only after we brought it in the second time was a diagnostic done, which found the fault in the radio. All they've offered us is $100 off labour charges... not satisfactory, when they didn't catch the error the first time. The replacement parts warranty doesn't cover the battery.

 

Currently my wife is getting a Battery Discharge message in the morning. Her commute is short. In looking at the diagnostic screen it states something about resetting the date and time - Have not done this yet - 350 miles and a day (or two) off work to take it to a dealer, so I am trying to resolve without having to do that. Would appreciate any other information.

 

You mention that this problem takes place with the Alpine radios. Anyone know if this ipod cable problem takes place in Coopers with the Harman Kardon stereos as well?

 

+1 disconnect the negative cable at the battery overnight(s) and in the morning connect and go.

This should be with a fully charged battery.

A battery isolation switch could be used to assist in the test... http://www.zoro.com/i/G2699243/?utm_...FZPm7AodkU8AVQ

...something like this, no tools required once installed.

It sounds like there is something that is parasitically draining the battery, I have seen this happen on several makes and models, the best practice has always been prior to turning off the car, turn off all the devices and switches making sure all the relays and circuits close then turn off the car.

Best of luck.

Motor on!

 

Thanks JABowders.
But does the switch plan you describe involve completely disconnecting the battery from the vehicle? That would knock out any setting you had in the radio and clocks. And where would one install a switch like that? It would be a pain to install it in the trunk near the battery (as you would need to climb through the backseat to re-connect it) and I'm not sure where you could install something like that within the cabin.

Also, you mention that this would be a test, but this seems like more of a temporary fix rather than a test? Am I missing something?

 

Yes, but it will isolate the battery, and provide you with the first step in finding that Yes, there is or is not something draining your battery. (I also made the assumption you would be parking in a garage where you could keep the hatch open).

I also would re-state if you take it out for a good drive 15 minutes or so, then when you get back and park... before turning off the car, double check all the switches make sure everything is turned off, unplugged and nothing drawing power. Do a power check how many volts is the battery holding... then the next day prior to doing anything do a power check again looking for the same number. In most cases most good batteries will recover in a off state (nothing drawing from it) so before starting the car the reading should be as high or higher then the voltage reading at shut down. if it is lower then you have something drawing power when the car is off, then the next step would be trying to identify what is pulling power... you can start by pulling fuses one at a time to see if there is a change in power draw. (This can be done by placing a voltmeter between the battery and cable) measure the amperage draw on the line...OK, this does require a high quality multimeters... so...we are back to pulling fuses.

Electrical problems have always been time consuming and most dealerships dislike doing it because there is no real way of estimating how long it will take... 1 hour or 10 hours, and at $75+ an hour what service guy wants to hand a customer a bill for $750.00 and then tell you they didn't find anything wrong ... not that anything IS, they just didn't find it. And if the current Warranty Work coverage is like it was when I was pulling wrench, the dealership is paid for the repair not the hours and hours of diagnostic work to discover the fault.

OK, so I have been ranting for a while...

Last bit... yes, if needed a kill switch could be added in the cabin, but would be for the testing phase and not a great long term repair.

I think the main point is to:
1. Determine if there is a unexpected drain on the battery
2. Identify the unexpected drain on the battery
3. Determine how to repair the unexpected drain on the battery
4. Repair it
5. Validate the repair is working properly and the unexpected drain on the battery is gone.

Best of luck.

Motor on!

 

Thanks JABowders for the great post. Indeed, electrical problems are the worst. I've known about the parasitic drain for a while now and have been waiting for the opportunity to do the fuse-pull or voltage-testing tests for a long time (I'm in medical school and finding the time to do that stuff ain't easy).

I've found a bunch of posts that point to the ipod adaptor as a source of many electrical problems and drains. My 2005 MCS has such an adaptor, and I will have time this xmas break and plan to start there.

 

I have this same car/issue, and have had diagnostics run twice. I will try the advice from an earlier reply, amd unplug the ipod cable while motor is on, since they say it is def the battery drain. I replaced the battery already. Did your issue ever get resolved?

 

I am having this issue as well with the iPod cable in my car being dead when I go to restart. Did you find a fix for the same issue?

 

I have never fixed the issue and it is still a major problem, especially in colder months. If the car sits for more than 24 hours, the battery will be toast and require a jump. I replaced the battery a few months ago and it started dying in the usual fashion about 3 months after replacement.
There is definitely a parasitic drain; I just have no idea where. I need to do the fuse-pull diagnostic test but haven't found the time to do so.