battery draining - 1998 Fiat Punto

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Sun 22 Oct 2006 14:01
battery draining - 1998 Fiat Punto - noisytappets
helo all,
iv got a `98` punto and the battery went flat overnite with no warning,it allways span the engine over fine before then. I bought a new battery and the old one was the original so at 8 years old it was gona die anyway. A month later and after not driving the car for 2 days the battery was barely starting the car so i took it for a good run (nite time-lights and heater fan on) and disconected the battery overnite...the battery was fine next day so im presuming the alternator is fine and i must have something draining it with ignition off. How do i find out what is draining the battery? There is a flashing led on the stereo but i doubt its that... thanks for any replies alan
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Sun 22 Oct 2006 15:41
battery draining - Hamsafar
If you think the battery is being drained while the car is not being used, you need a digital multimedia, such as those at maplins for around £20.
tinyurl.com/ykehln
The cheaper ones tend to have poor DC current measuring capability which is what you need.

Set the meter to 10A then disconnect the battery negative lead, and then fasten one multimeter lead to the battery -VE and one to the -ve cable clamp. The display will now show the current drain of the car in Amps such as 0.24A this is 240mA.

The reading 0.24A multiplied by 12v will give the wattage (12 x 0.24 = 2.88W)
This shows the drain is low, so no point looking at high wattage items such as rear screen, more likely a small lamp or electrnic fault, although 2.88W is probably normal drain anyway, as the ECUs, clock, alarm etc.. will use some.

If you get a drain reading, then get someone to watch the meter while you pull out each fuse in turn, when the reading drops suddenly, you should check the equipment supplied by that fuse.

Good luck!

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Sun 22 Oct 2006 20:24
battery draining - 1998 Fiat Punto - Big John
Remove the parcel shelf and check the boot light is being turned off when you close the hatch.
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