Battery Dead - Short? - Other?

[ninja-uk]

Hi Guys , this is my first post on the forum, I am a total n00b when it comes to car mechanics, but as a thank you will be spending a few hours in your general > computer section and return the favours ! Please feel free to PM me with nay computer problems.

 

ANYWAYS .... MY N REG FORD GALAXY PROBLEM.....

 

Firstly the battery is less then 2 months old and was checked over the counter and shown as fully charged, secondly I have reason to believe this is not a battery issue, other than the fact the battery keeps going flat...

 

When I turn the ignition ON , the BACKLIGHTS on the dashboard all light up (as they would if you turned the head lights on), now I know this shouldn't happen unless the headlights are on. They definitely are not On

 

Also when I turn the key to start , all the dials go up to maximum, almost as if the polarity has been reversed on the battery, they shoot up then go back down.

 

I have no stereo connected and have checked to make sure nothing is shorting out, every morning since this has started happening I smell the engine before starting and the 'cockpit' area and smell no electrical smells.

 

So when I go to start the vehicle, Nothing, I hear something 'warm up' for a second then nothing when I turn the key, so I set the jump pack up on it and vroom it starts instantly. Up until today , it was fine charging itself up so as long as the engine was started within 30 mins of stopping, it would - JUST ABOUT- turn over and start, today however, i stopped for 2 minutes and had to jump pack it.... So without a doubt the newish battery is dead, Tonight the battery will be on charge (so will the jump pack!) , and I will refit the battery tomorrow, but I already know its going to be a week MAXIMUM until I am back in this situation... Something somewhere is shorting it , or staying active.

 

I have checked all the obvious , like lights , fans and so on , and nothing is running when I take the keys out of the ignition, the car is daily use as I use it for business, (see pic!)

 

I would be extremely grateful f someone could come up with some advice what to do ... I have been to an auto electrician today who told me it would take up to 2 days to find the fault and would cost me over

[Bigjeeze]

The battery does seem to be flat - The dials shooting all the way over ususally happens once you re connect the battery - I am not sure why. The dash back lights are meant to be on regardless of the lights being on or off. What you don't mention is whether or not you have checked the charging of the battery in the car. Do you have multimeter? The battery should have a voltage when fully charged and not connected of at least 12 volts. The car should charge at 14.2volts - If it is not charging then that might well be your problem.

[ninja-uk]

The battery does seem to be flat - The dials shooting all the way over ususally happens once you re connect the battery - I am not sure why. The dash back lights are meant to be on regardless of the lights being on or off. What you don't mention is whether or not you have checked the charging of the battery in the car. Do you have multimeter? The battery should have a voltage when fully charged and not connected of at least 12 volts. The car should charge at 14.2volts - If it is not charging then that might well be your problem.

 

Thanks for the reply , although I would have noticed the actual dash back lights before , (or would i ?) , I dont mean the individual lights for the icons, I mean the WHOLE dashboard night light.

 

So the issue with reconnecting the battery , could lean towards telling me there is a short somewhere, agree ?

[chrispb123456]

Hi Guys , this is my first post on the forum, I am a total n00b when it comes to car mechanics, but as a thank you will be spending a few hours in your general > computer section and return the favours ! Please feel free to PM me with nay computer problems.

 

ANYWAYS .... MY N REG FORD GALAXY PROBLEM.....

 

Firstly the battery is less then 2 months old and was checked over the counter and shown as fully charged, secondly I have reason to believe this is not a battery issue, other than the fact the battery keeps going flat...

 

When I turn the ignition ON , the BACKLIGHTS on the dashboard all light up (as they would if you turned the head lights on), now I know this shouldn't happen unless the headlights are on. They definitely are not On

 

Also when I turn the key to start , all the dials go up to maximum, almost as if the polarity has been reversed on the battery, they shoot up then go back down.

 

I have no stereo connected and have checked to make sure nothing is shorting out, every morning since this has started happening I smell the engine before starting and the 'cockpit' area and smell no electrical smells.

 

So when I go to start the vehicle, Nothing, I hear something 'warm up' for a second then nothing when I turn the key, so I set the jump pack up on it and vroom it starts instantly. Up until today , it was fine charging itself up so as long as the engine was started within 30 mins of stopping, it would - JUST ABOUT- turn over and start, today however, i stopped for 2 minutes and had to jump pack it.... So without a doubt the newish battery is dead, Tonight the battery will be on charge (so will the jump pack!) , and I will refit the battery tomorrow, but I already know its going to be a week MAXIMUM until I am back in this situation... Something somewhere is shorting it , or staying active.

 

I have checked all the obvious , like lights , fans and so on , and nothing is running when I take the keys out of the ignition, the car is daily use as I use it for business, (see pic!)

 

I would be extremely grateful f someone could come up with some advice what to do ... I have been to an auto electrician today who told me it would take up to 2 days to find the fault and would cost me over

[scooper1]

Let me take a guess that you fitted a calcium battery ....

N reg needs a old type battery - plain lead acid

calcium batteries without updated alternator will take more then 10 hours to recharge

 

Also once a battery has been almost flat for a period of time then battery never fully recovers

 

also on the N reg the lighting computer has a very long time before turning off the lights - so if a door switch is knackered it can flatten battery

 

Another one to be on look out for on N reg is the rear load light are independent of the main door lights - if rear switch does not turn lights off they never time out

[ninja-uk]

Thanks for the answers guys, I have the battery on charge, its not a calcium battery just normal lead acid, battery on charge overnight, definately no lights on as I make sure I have everything switched off, will update by tomorrow night if fault returns , although it was not like this when I bought it...

SIDENOTE - Central locking does not work, just normal put key in and turn to unlock the one door, also sun roof does not work....All lights on dash that should light up do light up, plus the back light which i didnt think should light up :S

 

Watch this space...

Thanks for the welcome !