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Model specific boards => Golf mk2 => Topic started by: bluestreak56 on 04 January 2009, 15:05
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Im not sure if this issue is compounded by or is causing the battery drain issue im experiencing but currently my MFA is returning some correct and some incorrect figures.
Miles Driven
Average Speed
Average MPG
Are the results all coming back as 0 or near to.
I have obviously been disconnecting the battery alot recently and have disconnected fuse 3 to see if this would help.
The last time these instruments seemed to be working correctly is before my battery change on the 16th December.
A week later when I drove to a Mini Meet in Cov the MPG started at 10 and kept declining till it reached 1.
Anyone know what could be the issue - all the tube lines seem ok or is it just the drain on the batt is causing it to go haywire?
Thanks.
The battery issue Im experiencing is a drain while the car is standing. Not sure whats causing it - have removed the stereo.
If the fuse has gone for the MFA and clock etc would this cause the drain do you think?
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First step would be to get the battery checked (even though you say its new) as it might have been a duff one. Halfords check your battery for free.
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pull the clock fuse or battery -ve for 30 seconds, that will reset the clocks. They really dont like loosing power. That being said all the functions you mention are controlled by the speedo sensor in the back of the clocks, maybe this has decided to pack up!
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pull the clock fuse or battery -ve for 30 seconds, that will reset the clocks. They really dont like loosing power. That being said all the functions you mention are controlled by the speedo sensor in the back of the clocks, maybe this has decided to pack up!
Cheers rubjonny - I've disconnected the battery numerous times recently (when its been low on juice) sometimes for overnight periods but still no good.
I'll try and check the sensor behind the clocks if I can get them off..
cheers
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Had the same problem, still have as well, changed clocks and it made no difference. stumped me completely :(
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Had the same problem, still have as well, changed clocks and it made no difference. stumped me completely :(
Did you try changing the fuse monza?
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Check the flat brown earth cable on the head, near the dizzy. My Dad's had similar problems and once that was cleaned up everything worked fine.
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Check the flat brown earth cable on the head, near the dizzy. My Dad's had similar problems and once that was cleaned up everything worked fine.
Couldnt point me in the right direction could you Mew?
Heres a shot of my inlet, head and dizzy
(http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n116/bluestreak56/?action-view¤t=P1000577.jpg)
(http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n116/bluestreak56/?action-view¤t=P1000578.jpg)
Its not the negative battery earth cable you're referring to is it? (This connected to my geabox housing)
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hes on about the black chunky braided one from the back corner of the head to one of the coil mounting bolts, can just see it here:
http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n116/bluestreak56/?action=view¤t=P1000578.jpg
edit: just out of interest which way did you go for PAS in there, TSR or Nissan? :grin:
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Yep, what John said :smiley:
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hes on about the black chunky braided one from the back corner of the head to one of the coil mounting bolts, can just see it here:
http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n116/bluestreak56/?action=view¤t=P1000578.jpg
edit: just out of interest which way did you go for PAS in there, TSR or Nissan? :grin:
Thanks guys - all the work was actually done by the previous owner - he told me the PAS was a Nissan / Metro combo..
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Update on my issues
1) I finally managed to get the MFA working again after removing the fuse a few times.
However it seemed to work for one / two runs and now isnt updating as it was before just seems stuck until I switch between position 1 & 2 - even when I do switched it sits at a very similar level to what it was at before.
Havnt tried resetting it yet or removing the fuse again.
2) With regards to the battery - I left the car standing for 93 hours (everything switched off & stereo disconnected) it didnt go below 12.08v.
Anybody think the two issue could be related? Perhaps the relay for fuse 3 is on its way out? (If there is one)
3) The last issue I have is on cold starts. - When starting cold for the first 15/20 seconds the idle really struggles to keep the car going, generally I give it a little throttle to prevent it from cutting out but then its fine. This only happens on a cold start - as on a warm it travels straight to 850 revs and stays there.
Im going to get some stp injector fuel cleaner and see if that helps with this...
PS I get quite a tappety sound when Im giving it a bit of juice 3000 + revs is this normal for an old 16v?
Thanks all
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1) fuse will work or it wont, I'd say its more likely an earth issue
2) battery sounds fine, but what was it under load (cranking)
3) swap the WUR, I had exactly this problem and another WUR fixed it.
edit: actually 850 is a bit low for a valver, raise it up to 1k :)
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Battery voltage of 12.08V sounds a bit low to me :smiley:
Have a read of this http://www.iol.ie/~kilkennyhockey/BentleyManual/EE01/ch4.1.2.html (http://www.iol.ie/~kilkennyhockey/BentleyManual/EE01/ch4.1.2.html) :smiley:
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Ordered a new WUR
Upped the Idle to 1000 revs
Removed fuse 3 last night after I drove the car (Voltage 12.53v) going to check it 24 hours later to see if its still draining...
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Right, update on my battery issue.
The battery is draining approximately 0.4v every day.
I have checked the current running through the circuit and the pull is 0.02mA (this is because I have removed the stereo)
I have added an extra earth on the negative battery post.
Reading about this issue - everyone states that if you have a parasitic drain then you should see an increase in current running through the circuit - but as mine sits as 0.02mA so this cant be true for my car?
I have tested both batteries and the old one even has held a charge above 12.63v for over 2 weeks while disconnected from the car.
So I can safely rule out -
Battery,
Alternator not charging (as it is),
Drain on Current,
Earth from battery
Anything being left on,
I'm at a loss now - if the battery is draining but theres no pull on the current then what could be causing the drain?? :?
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PS how can I test the alternator diode to see if its draining the battery while the car is off?
Thanks
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to test for a parasitic drain get an ammeter (capable of 10a or more) and disconnect the +ve from the battery and bridge the ammeter in between battery +ve and +ve wire, it should be less than 0.07, although with an alarm a load of 0.1A can be tolerated. remove fuses one by one until the current drops to 0, then find what on that circuit is draining the battery. easy peasy.
happened on my car recently, and it turned out to be the parcel shelf covering the boot close switch, so the boot light was continuously on drawing 0.35a. your alternator is only for topping up a healthy battery, not charging it from being flat, if it ever goes flat, it needs charging properly. its also worth checking the levels in the battery and topping it up with some distilled water when charging.
(http://z.about.com/d/autorepair/1/0/L/a/cur_draw_test.gif)
Disconnect the +ve terminal, whilst having the multimeter set to I (current - a 10A setting should suffice), connect the +ve lead of the multimeter to the disconnected +ve lead from the car, and the -ve lead of the multimeter to the +ve battery post. That will give a readout in amps which will tell you the rough drain. It shouldn't be more than 0.05A (within reason), finding the parasitic drain is the main issue.
Finding a parasitic drain (http://autorepair.about.com/library/faqs/bl470f.htm)
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Yep - tried that watched the connection for over 2 minutes.
Rating of 0.02mA never went above that so I have no idea why its draining :undecided:
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If its only 20 mAh, then its not draining clearly!
If the voltage on the battery is going down with only a 20 mAh draw, it sounds like the battery is dud.
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If its only 20 mAh, then its not draining clearly!
If the voltage on the battery is going down with only a 20 mAh draw, it sounds like the battery is dud.
The problem is the voltage is reducing by 0.4v a day so something is draining it :cry:
I bought a new battery and charged the old one up and left it standing for 3 weeks - both hold their charge outside of the car but when in the vehicle both drain at a rate of 0.4v per day ..
The only other thing ive thought of since is to add petroleum to the positive connector (replaced the negative one with the new earth yesterday)
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You've got two choices, a new battery or a new multimeter - because one of them is faulty!
Voltage doesn't mean a huge amount to be honest, you can have a battery that reads 12V, but only has 1A of current in it. Off the car, it will read 12v all day and night - but the moment you connect it to the car, or even a test lamp, you'll find the voltage dropping to almost nothing.
If your battery is draining and you've said theres only a 20 mAh draw - it *must* be the battery or a faulty multimeter.
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Update on my issues
PS I get quite a tappety sound when Im giving it a bit of juice 3000 + revs is this normal for an old 16v?
Hi
Do a compression check.
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You've got two choices, a new battery or a new multimeter - because one of them is faulty!
Voltage doesn't mean a huge amount to be honest, you can have a battery that reads 12V, but only has 1A of current in it. Off the car, it will read 12v all day and night - but the moment you connect it to the car, or even a test lamp, you'll find the voltage dropping to almost nothing.
If your battery is draining and you've said theres only a 20 mAh draw - it *must* be the battery or a faulty multimeter.
ok fair enough
I doubt its the battery though as Ive tried them both and the same thing is happening - Ill see if I can find another multimeter..
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You've got two choices, a new battery or a new multimeter - because one of them is faulty!
Voltage doesn't mean a huge amount to be honest, you can have a battery that reads 12V, but only has 1A of current in it. Off the car, it will read 12v all day and night - but the moment you connect it to the car, or even a test lamp, you'll find the voltage dropping to almost nothing.
If your battery is draining and you've said theres only a 20 mAh draw - it *must* be the battery or a faulty multimeter.
that pritty much sums it up
10.5V is considerd completly flat with lead acid batteries, they arn't 12 volts ether they charge at about 14.4v and should have 13.5v at the terminals
to test your battery, put the multimeter across it and tunr headlights on if voltage starts voltage will drop a tiny bit but if it falls rapidly the battery is duff. then do a drain test as sugested previously then do a more specific drain test, this involves modifying a blow fuse, connect a piece of wire to each of the contacts on the fuse then connect these to the meter, and then test all the fuse locations in the car with it, this will tell you where the issue is, but as said 20mA is classed as leackage and to be expected
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Thanks for the advice guys - im going to book it in with the mechanics this week as I have 4 issues I'd like sorted:
1) Battery Parasitic Drain
2) Lumpy Idle on Cold Start (first 20 seconds)
3) Pinking / Knocking with heavy load at low revs
4) Oil leak possibly from the sump
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3) Pinking / Knocking with heavy load at low revs
thats a dead knock sensor ( if a digi ) or over enthusiastic ignition timing with 95 ron petrol
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3) Pinking / Knocking with heavy load at low revs
thats a dead knock sensor ( if a digi ) or over enthusiastic ignition timing with 95 ron petrol
Most likely the latter as mine is k-jet :smiley:
Thanks though - thought it was the timing..
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I had a similar problem with my battery draining too.
The problem was my electric seats. I wired the seats live so the motors were basically on all the time.
Sounds silly but it drained the battery. I have disconnected the seats for now. My next step is to install a seperate relay and inline fuse to the ignition system and battery... :smiley:
Have you wired up anything else in your car that is on a permanent live?
Good luck.
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I had a similar problem with my battery draining too.
The problem was my electric seats. I wired the seats live so the motors were basically on all the time.
Sounds silly but it drained the battery. I have disconnected the seats for now. My next step is to install a seperate relay and inline fuse to the ignition system and battery... :smiley:
Have you wired up anything else in your car that is on a permanent live?
Good luck.
The only things Ive wired up since I got the car are fog lights (on a fuse) and the stereo which is always live on sciroccos but I took it out for a long period of time and the car was still draining.
Ill check these again though, thanks for your input :smiley:
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Ah no problem geeza,
Good luck on this one.
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Right - update on my battery woes:
Last week I switched the new battery in my car for the old one which I charged on the 6th Jan and left it in the house for 3 weeks. (It held charge of above 12.63v.)
I left it to stand 5 days and the voltage dropped from 12.51v to 12.35v which isnt too bad.
I then drove it one day so it recharged and left it to stand for 6 days (when it snowed etc)
I checked it again this morning and it was 11.82v (close to fully discharged)
I did the open - circuit voltage test as dictated here : http://www.iol.ie/~kilkennyhockey/BentleyManual/EE01/ch4.1.2.html
and got a reading of 11.85v
I then continued to check the voltage with an OPEN circuit, the voltage kept creeping up and is now close to 11.98v just 3 hours later. - Battery still disconnected from circuit.
Did the headlight test (turn on lights while car is off) voltage dropped from 11.82v to 11.62v dropping about 0.01v per minute is that rapid?
Tested the amps again 0.24 is the reading (with the stereo in).
Took the car for a run for about 15 mins (main roads) and when I came back I checked the voltage was 13.53v (engine running)
So now I think possibly the alternator is not charging as it should be and something is draining the battery that cant be seen - possibly the alternator voltage regulator?
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Just incase anyone was wondering or does a search to try and help them troubleshoot their problems in the future, the cause of my battery issues was from the stereo.
Apparently the power feed to some stereos on a scirocco needs to be reversed? As soon as the electrician cut the wires and reversed them the battery drain disappeared!
Thanks to everyone who helped out in this thread.. now I need to fix my mfa :wink: