Rob350 Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 Hi, went to start my 04 350 this morning not had problem in 2 years and all I get Is a click. Turn key, all lights come on, pump primes, press clutch, turn key to start and it just clicks once. I can hear the pump priming, I've tested the clutch switch, and now bypassed it temporarily. The internal voltmeter is half on the 12v line. Multimeter on terminals says its 12.14, so maybe a touch low? Its a new s4 or s5 battery in march, ive cleaned both terminals and connectors. I'm guessing it's the starter possibly?? But would it go from working no problem to absolutely nothing, broken?? I've tried rocking it in gear but I am on my own. Its pissing with rain at the min so dont want to be crawling under to test voltage on starter and whack it with a hammer. Any help or advise would be great.. it's my daily so need it sorted asap. Cheers guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrison140 Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 That voltage does seem low to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewal Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 12.1 could be too low to operate the starter. If it's 12.1 at rest it will be a lot less under the load of cranking...... My first option would be try jump starting it from a good battery to rule that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr v6 Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 Definitely try a jump pack, if that fails then whack the starter, can't be much else. If you're under it the voltage should drop on the starter during cranking (or attempted cranking). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob350 Posted December 28, 2022 Author Share Posted December 28, 2022 Cheers guys, I did think its probably too low, but I also thought it's a good bosch s4 or s5 6month old battery, it started fine everyday apart from today for some reason. Anyway just jumped it and started straight up, drove it for 20mins, got back, it's at 14.4 whilst running so alternaters working, turned off and it's at 12.68 so plenty in the tank. I'll see what it's at in the morning to see if theres a drain for some reason. If so I'll take battery out and recon it on my ctek. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADPHONES Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 Hopefully it was just the cold spell and short trips that drained it and a good charge gives you a free fix👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodgeevans Posted December 31, 2022 Share Posted December 31, 2022 Do you have a voltmeter? Could test for a system drain. Set to amps remove negative battery cable and then put meter leads between battery cable and battery post, you want a reading of 50 milliamps or less any more and I would say you have a parasitic drain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob350 Posted January 7, 2023 Author Share Posted January 7, 2023 So... charged the battery in my house on cteck, it held for 3 days on full charge, put it in the car, 24hours later.. no starty. So pretty sure my battery is good, I've been doing drain tests today, multimeter on 10amps between the neg terminal and neg wire, I'm getting -0.14 drain. So too much. It's weird that its literally come out the blue suddenly having a drain, I've done nothing to the car and theres no aftermarket head unit or anything. Anyway. I pulled all the fuses 1 by 1, and nothing it's still at -0.14, I did the fuses next to the battery aswell as the fuses below the steering wheel. I disconnected the alternator aswell to see if that was drawing but no. I'm completely and absolutly lost now.. I cleaned both terminals and wires for good battery connection... I've looked at the left and right side earth to chassis connection they look good. Any ideas guys. Its proper pissing me off now as I cant find anything wrong and I really need my car. Appreciate any help or ideas guys. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G1en Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 This is prob not the case but check to see if your boot light is on. when I used bedliner paint on the rear boot floor I left the boot latch ajar so the fumes could vent out and escape. 2 weeks later when i next went to start the car, it was dead. I knew the light was on but didn't think a tiny little bulb would drain enough power to worry about it but it did. Obviously you wont have your boot open but there may be an interior light thats staying on somehow and causing the low drain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodgeevans Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 So for reference this is mine about 30 secs after removing the key and locking (sleep mode) its 2mA. If you are getting 140 then something is on somewhere but you really need to wait for the car to do its thing you should see it dropping, not sure if you done this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 You are looking for a reading of 50 milliamps or less, any more and you will have a parasitic drain. Pulling the fuses methodically one by one will identify the demon. Did you pull the fuses from the IPDM unit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azurez33 Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 Not to scare you or anything this is completely a horror story, we’ve had a 15 plate merc at work with a bad power drain similar to this level, had it in for a while, found out the module for the in tank fuel pump one of the transistors had bit the bullet and was allowing a constant feed for the intake fuel pump for about 10-15mins after car had been turned off and left so it was running the pump until it burned the pump out. only reason I mention this is you’re not going crazy, have you had anything else non Oem electrical done to the car? also when you say non start do you mean it’s slow and sluggish or literally nothing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azurez33 Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 Also, is your multimeter auto ranging just got to ask the question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob350 Posted January 8, 2023 Author Share Posted January 8, 2023 So I've got the doors open, door latches closed, bonnet open, bonnet latch and switch closed. Locked it. Left it for 30mins, then put multi metre on between the neg wire and neg post, on 10 amp setting, you can see the reading vary for 30seconds then it settles at 0.14 and doesnt move. The only fuses I havnet pulled are the big 1s, the big square 1s ect. I've pulled all the flat 10 and 15 amp 1s 1 by 1, next to the battery and the 1s in the drivers football and the metre still reads 0.14. When I pulled the rear lights fuse at 1st it dropped to 0.1, then put it back in, it went to 0.14 again, so checked and I had a license plate bulb out, so I put a new 1 in, tried again and it's still at 0.14.. pulled the fuse, it just stays at 0.14. Pulled the new bulb out and tried the fuse again and it doesnt drop anymore. And this is why it's frustrating me so much, I thought I found abit of an issue, went to solve it and it's not dropping amps anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob350 Posted January 8, 2023 Author Share Posted January 8, 2023 I've just pulled a 15 and fuse under the foot well, labelled "elec sys" and the ampage drops to 0.08, just googled that fuse and it's like 15 different systems. 🤮 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 I will ask again. Have you pulled the fuses from the IPDM unit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewal Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 I think you may be chasing your tail here. A drain of 140mA means in 24hrs you are draining just 3 or 4 amps out. That's peanuts for a decent battery of say 70 plus Ahr. If your car will not start after 24hrs with a fully charged battery then I would question that battery. Just because it is relatively new does not mean it is good. Try another battery or get yours load tested: just because it reads a good voltage does not mean it's up to starting the car when massive current load is required of it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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