Mk3 56 Plate 1.8 5 speed diesel Galaxy Battery Keeps Draining

[RonnieRocket0]

Hi All, I have been reading through some of the other posts on this really helpful forum. My 56 plate Galaxy has only completed 45K, and the battery keeps draining after a few days. The AA have reiterated that the battery is fine and that perhaps the problem lies elsewhere with the car. Last year the Dual Mass Fly wheel and clutch were replaced, so after speaking with some other ford owners, it was suggested that perhaps some debris had got into the starter motor causing a short to ground to drain the battery. More recently the airbag light came on due to the lack of 12volts to the airbag system. Another area that was pointed out to me was that maybe the ECM was playing up, as when the key was in the off position, the background light to the stereo was remaining on. The technician I had look at the car has removed the ECM fuse (15amp??, although looking through the fuse box diagram this should be 10amp), This has also disabled the electric windows around the car, as well as disabling power to the stereo.  I am in the process of driving the car as my wife normally would on a daily basis to see if there is still a loss of charge. Before I go down the expensive route of changing starter motors/ecm's/stereo's etc.... I wonder if anyone else had any other ideas to throw into the mix???
Kind regards
Ron

[RonnieRocket0]

I have now gone through the entire fuse panels, all 3 of them. Upon further investigation I have found that when the car is locked and not turning over, the date and time display on the stereo are remaining on, which I suspect is causing the battery to drain if the car is not used for a 3 to 4 days. Some time ago my infant children decided it would be a great idea to post some coins into the CD slot of the stereo, thus preventing CD's from being used. I wonder if the coins have caused some components to short, hence the display remaining on. I have looked at other similar ford's in the car park and all of their displays are blank when locked. In the meantime I have removed the 15amp fuse for the stereo and I'll see how the car behaves. Failing this, I wonder if it is the ECM (hopefully not) or perhaps a wiring loom that is failing from the engine compartment fuse box to the central fuse box under the glove box. If anyone else has similar experiences or could provide any helpful hints, it would be greatly appreciated.
Kind regards
Ron

[Chrispb]

hello Ron 


I think I would be inclined to measure for discharge by using an ammeter in line with the battery earth lead, then with keys removed and doors locked and giving about 20 mins for circuits to power down.

iirc anything up to 50ma is acceptable (Mirez will correct me if i'm wrong) if it's more then individual circuits could be disconnected by removing fuses, albeit time consuming.

Common things to look at would be door and tailgate wiring, there could be bare wiring which can lead to all sorts of issues' this is a really common issue on most cars not just galaxy's.

Incidentally starter and alternator can be disconnected separately and tested the same way using an ammeter, this will avoid changing expensive things unnecessarily.

[RonnieRocket0]

Hi Chris,

Many thanks for your reply. I forgot to mention in my earlier post that upon checking the fuses myself, I may have corrected or re-seated the fuse that was preventing the windows from functioning. Your first suggestion was completed by the AA technician. I think this is something that I will need to spend some time on. I have managed to locate a replacement stereo at a reasonable price, however in the meantime, I will use the vehicle as usual to see if there are any continuing issue with the battery. Must admit that the help found here on the forum is great and it certainly gives you the confidence to look beyond the plastic covers and have a look at things yourself. Many thanks for your help and I will keep the posted of my findings.
Kind regards, Ron

[RonnieRocket0]

Hi Chris and fellow forumer's. I have looked at the car in more detail now. I have checked the voltages with the car locked, and immediately after using the car and locking it, I have a voltage of 12.5v. After about 30 minutes this drops to 12.1v, and checking once again for a further 30 minutes it remains at 12.1v. I have used a clamp meter for both the lead to the alternator, and to the fuse compartment under the bonnet. With the engine running, the alternator draws about 1.8amps whereas the lead to the the fuse box is drawing about 0.6amps. Once the engine is off, keys removed and vehicle locked the car draws 0.2amps as and when relay R2 activates for about 10 minutes after the car is locked, before becoming 0amps once again.
I am beginning to wonder if it is only due to the age of the battery (7 years) is really the root problem in all of this? Any suggestions would be welcome.
Kind regards

Ron

[RonnieRocket0]

I forgot to add that the airbag light is now coming on more regularly.

[Mirez]

Hi Ronnie, apologies for only just picking up on this.

12.5 immediately after switch off is low, target would be upwards of 12.6 and the closer to 12.8V the better. 12.1V is considered a discharged state so if it's resting here then I would suggest one or more cells within the battery are dying.

The amp readings seem a little off but did you have anything on in the cabin? 0.2A is unacceptable if the vehicle is asleep but you say it drops down to 0 after minutes? 0 is highly unlikely to be honest but that could be the meter isn't capable of measuring a small draw.

A 7 Year old battery will have certainly seen it's day though, general target life is 5 years so anything more then this is a bonus

[gregers]

  ron,

i too missed this so i apologize aswell.

there has been mentioned of problems with the alarm module,which iirc is situated under the passenger front wheel arch?
just wondering if its worth checking this out?

[RonnieRocket0]

Hi All,

Many thanks for your suggestions. Late yesterday, I decided to go ahead and buy a decent new battery for the Galaxy for Ã,£125. The results were a vast improvement. The initial voltage of the battery was 12.84v and after installation. I measured the voltages again after 30 minutes and 1 hour and the drop in voltage was barely registering. This morning approximately 14 hours after installation, and no turning over of the vehicle the battery was measuring 12.56 volts. Additionally the airbag warning indication extinguished after the battery had been installed after 30 minutes.
In this instance, I should have really gone with my initial view/train of thought and changed the battery and not been so quick to listen to the 3 AA technicians informing me that the battery was ok and that I possibly had an issue elsewhere. However that said, this was/is a good exercise in becoming more familiar with your vehicle, drawing good advice and suggestions from fellow owners. As Mirez mentioned 7 years is good for a battery and at less than Ã,£20 per year or less than 50p per week, it is not too bad an investment. The only problem is these things happen when you really do not need it to  . Thank you all once again for your help and suggestions. Kind regards, Ronnie

[Chrispb]

How annoying is that, your paying good money to these services and they can't diagnose an end of life battery.