Battery drain - need Auto electrician

I'm experiencing a drain on my battery which occurs when the car is left for 2-3 days without use and proving difficult to identify what's causing it. Local garage has checked major components/likely culprits but can't seem to get to the core problem and was wondering if anyone could recommend a good Auto electrician in Central Scotland. Thanks.

If you have an hour or two to spare, get a cheap multi meter & measure the battery drain with the car locked, should be seeing less than 0.1 of a volt. If you have a high drain, sit in the car with the doors shut & locked, & pull each fuse out in order, seeing if the drain drops off. Usual suspects are interior/ engine bay/front luggage compartment lights staying on, central locking components & heater fans etc. Always worth sitting in the car when it's quiet to see if you can hear anything running that shouldn't be!

Have you had anything done to the car recently? I had a similar problem last year and was a failed ign switch

be aware that the Lambda sensors do a burn cycle for up to 30mins after the car has been on - this can make chasing any potential battery drain quite difficult! Demort knows the ins and outs of it and explained it in my exhaust fitting "trying to find a switched live in the engine bay thread" http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=116061&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=20 Toohey

Has it got an old 'tracker' fitted :?: See this thread => http://www.911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=98437&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=tracker Note particularly what came out of my car.

Op if you want a run through of what to check and how then im happy to write one .. but i get the feeling you are more after an electrician in your area . Im the opposite end of the country im afraid so have no suggestions there . Im not sure if Locosaki knows anyone though , hes in Fife i belive .

Thanks guys. Whilst I've undertaken some major jobs on cars in the past when things were so much simpler I.e. Mark 1 Escorts & old MG's, Electrics are a bit of a black art to me so will continue to seek out a decent Electrician.

Apologies to the OP for the hijack...., I have the same issue with my C2. I haven't got round to investigating the problem yet, but have checked where the drain is coming from by pulling fuses. E7 appears to be the culprit. Its the circuit for the instruments and a few other things. 2 amp draw means the battery doesn't last long! I'm thinking it's an old tracker as there are documents which relate to one being fitted in 2005. Any ideas where these are usually fitted? Im was going to look in the front luggage bay, or under the dash. Anywhere else to try? Cheers

Ill pm you as i cant say Tracker locations on here .

Cheers Demort

Cheers Demort

Mine has developed the same problem. Battery has been checked by a battery specialist with a discharge ammeter. I recharge it, drive it and all seems fine, park for 2-3 days and the remote blipper wont unlock the car. Unlock with the key and the window won't drop, then the alarm goes off. I'm competent with a test meter but would appreciate any tips on common faults please. Thanks

I had exactly this problem - battery dead after 2 / 3 days Weirdly in my case the on/off buttons for the heated / fan cooled seats are actually on the seats, rather than on the dashboard as the manual says Had the car around my brothers house with my two nephews pressing all the buttons and noticed a whirring noise after I got back to the car... Turned out they had turned the fan button on the passenger seat, so I turned it off and noticed that my drain was that the heater button was also on! Turned it off on the seat - all fixed ever since Obvious I would have thought, especially as I know quite a lot about electronics, but worth checking just in case c:

Mine doesn't have heated seats so this can be ruled out. I have ordered a DC clamp on ammeter and will have a go at the fuse pulling trick. I have read some accounts of the voltage regulator (part of the alternator) can develop a fault whereby current can flow back from the battery - diode failure? I'm thinking about order a regulator pack to change as a precautionary measure as I believe these are around £40 or so for a genuine Bosch item - although not sure how easy it is to change and if the alternator needs to come out for this........

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/400mm-automotive-current-standard-blade-type-tester-n48cy A blade fuse ammeter is useful for these sorts of jobs. You can get cheaper and more expensive ones (and ones for micro fuses), ir just a lead set for a multimeter _ I am sure you get the idea...