Help needed with Mum's Micra having starting problems

V

ValiantUK

Hi everyone, I'm need of assistance at the moment as my Mum's '98 1.3 16v has a rather odd starting problem. If my Mum uses the car everyday, it will start fine. If she leaves it for a few days without using it (or it's cold) it won't start and needs a "jump" to get it going (The battery runs flat) So far I have changed the HT leads, battery and fan belt. I mate of mine has checked the alternator and it seems ok. the new battery has also been checked and seems ok too. What could be causing the problem? I even checked the interior light!

Many, many thanks in advance : )
 
it sounds like you have a drain somewhere, if you take a battery lead off it should barely register on a meter
(.001 A ?) :grinning:
 
How would I check for a power drain, Frank? Take one of the battery leads off and check it on a multimeter? Sorry to ask stupid questions :blush:

EDIT: I did take the fuse out of the radio in the car and interior lights a while back to see if that was the problem. What else could be causing it?
 
ValiantUK said:
How would I check for a power drain, Frank? Take one of the battery leads off and check it on a multimeter? Sorry to ask stupid questions :blush:
Click to expand...

yes mate, set your meter on 10A and put the leads on the loose lead and vacant battery post eh :grinning:

edit i think alternator drain is pretty common
 
frank said:
yes mate, set your meter on 10A and put the leads on the loose lead and vacant battery post eh :grinning:

edit i think alternator drain is pretty common
Click to expand...

Does it matter what lead it's attached to? One of my friends has already check to see if the alternator's working ok. What does this check test for? Thanks : )
 
ValiantUK said:
Does it matter what lead it's attached to? One of my friends has already check to see if the alternator's working ok. What does this check test for? Thanks : )
Click to expand...

no, either lead, and an alt can charge ok, but still drain (with a diode problem iirc) :grinning:
 
Manny said:
no problem mate. good luck on finding out the problem.
Click to expand...

I've just bought the MM that you linked to, and I'm a bit lost how to set it up. The main dial needs to be on 10A, right? And I've a bit of a problem attaching the red and black prongs, as there are three inputs. One red one is marked "10ADC" the other "V(odd looking sign)mA" and the black one is "COM"

Which ones do I need to use? Many thanks : )
 
Sorry to double post, but I've just had a go with the multimeter and these are the results:

Black probe on earth with red on battery -0.99
Red probe on earth with black on battery 1.00

Red probe on positive with black on battery -1.00
Red probe on battery with black on positive 1.00

Does any of that mean anything to you guys? That was with the MM set on 10A. On a side note, I have noticed that the earth lead on the battery isn't very tight, but I can't get at it without finding a 10mm socket. Would this caused the battery to go flat?

Many thanks in advance : )
 
yes you will get a minus value with the leads reversed, if thats showing a 1 amp drain your battery will be totally flat in about 50hrs (and flat enough not to start the car in about 10 to 20 hrs :eek:).
so if it is a 1 amp drain, i would try disconnecting the alternator first and see if the drain drops right down (to near zero)
 
frank said:
yes you will get a minus value with the leads reversed, if thats showing a 1 amp drain your battery will be totally flat in about 50hrs (and flat enough not to start the car in about 10 to 20 hrs :eek:).
so if it is a 1 amp drain, i would try disconnecting the alternator first and see if the drain drops right down (to near zero)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the quick reply, Frank. Sorry for another stupid question, but what's the easiest way to disconnect the alternator? And what could be causing the 1 amp drain? If I disconnect the alternator and it drops to zero, it will be that, right? So new alternator time?
 
i think there could be various causes (central locking maybe, ice, leci windows) ? and theres a fat charge lead and some signal/energiser leads on the alt iirc, disconnect them one at a time eh :grinning:
 
k11micra said:
On some vehicles, a sticking brake lamp switch can drain the battery!
Click to expand...

How could I check to see if this is the problem?

Also, if I went and removed fuses for certain things in the car (radio etc) would the 1 amp drain go away if I found the one thing that's causing the problem?
 
frank said:
i think you would know if your brakelights were on 24-7 tbh :p
Click to expand...

LOL :grinning:

I thought that the post meant that the switch gets stuck on, not the light itself. And what do you think about my "removing fuses" idea, Frank? Would removing a fuse cause the offending item/thing to stop drawing the 1 amp?
 
ValiantUK said:
LOL :grinning:

I thought that the post meant that the switch gets stuck on, not the light itself. And what do you think about my "removing fuses" idea, Frank? Would removing a fuse cause the offending item/thing to stop drawing the 1 amp?
Click to expand...

only the (few) fuses that are live with the ignition off, yes :grinning:
 
im trying to think what this could be, i had a problem where my battery wouldnt charge at all and it was a fuse in the front fusebox at the battery marked altenator. maybe a boot light? aftermarket cd player or aftermarket alarm?
 
frank said:
only the (few) fuses that are live with the ignition off, yes :grinning:
Click to expand...

What fuses will be live when the car is turned off, Frank? And my Mum has just phoned me up to tell me that the car's battery is dead again (so what's new, eh?) She hasn't started it since Friday though...........
 
frank said:
i think you would know if your brakelights were on 24-7 tbh :p
Click to expand...

My neighbour didn't, her A3 had a flat battery 4days in a row!!!!!

The switch wasn't continuously stuck, it released after a while. She only found out when the rozzers pulled her over to inform her!!!!
 
Now I'm in trouble! The car won't start at all now. I've even tried to jump start it off of a neighbours car, but with no luck. It sounds like the car is only running on three leads. Could I have blown something when I took the battery leads off? (I have checked some of the fuses for the fuel pump etc and they seem ok......) One other thing, when I try to start the car, the battery light on the dash stays on very faint. What could that mean?

PLEASE HELP!!!!! Many thanks in advance : )
 
Sorry to double post, but the car has just started. Is has, however, just dumped a large amount of black water out of the exhaust and it's not idling very well. The car exhaust fumes smell like egg. Is this bad? What could have caused this? Many thanks : )
 
Hi everyone, and sorry to double post, but my Mum has got it into her head that she needs a new alternator. I have been told that there is a way to test that the alternator is putting out enough power by puttting the probes from a multimeter onto the battery posts whilst the car is running. Is this true, and what setting should the MM be on? Thanks : )
 
Right, I've had another go at checking the power drain in the usual fashion (MM on the lead and battery post) and the drain's now down to 0.35 from 1.00! I took one of the leads off of the alternator (red power lead) and the drain was still at 0.35. I did try to get a voltage reading off of the alternator when the car was running, but it was coming out at zero. I have replaced the plugs as well (To aid with sluggish starting in the mornings)

Thanks for all the help BTW : )
 
.35A is a pretty high drain (bootlight maybe ?)
and the battery voltage should be at least 13v while running :grinning:
(with MM set at volts DC)
 
frank said:
.35A is a pretty high drain (bootlight maybe ?)
and the battery voltage should be at least 13v while running :grinning:
(with MM set at volts DC)
Click to expand...

the bootlight only comes on when the boot isnt shut properly, not all the models have the boot light.
 
frank said:
.35A is a pretty high drain (bootlight maybe ?)
and the battery voltage should be at least 13v while running :grinning:
(with MM set at volts DC)
Click to expand...

What would cause the drain to drop from 1A to .35A though, Frank? Why has it dropped? It just seems so odd..........
 
Sorry to back this thread "back from the dead" so to speak, but my Mum's Micra is now alive and kicking thanks to (another) new battery. The old one had a dead cell. I just thought I should share this info just in case someone else has the same problem. Thanks again : )
 
i had this exact same problem with my cabriolet, the battery had boiled all its water away but i got a new battery anyway. the drain seems to be from the stereo as far as i can make out but i am not 100% sure, so at the moment i keep the battery disconnected.

but i know that i have had my car do all kinds of things when it has a semi flat battery. one time i started it with a battery booster and it just wouldn't idle or drive properly and the engine light was on, and all i did to fix it was turn it off and turn it back on again and it was fine.
 

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