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Put a new alternater in but battery still drains

 
BMWDoc's Avatar
  • Answered by:BMWDoc
  • Independent BMW shop owner
  • Positive Feedback: 99.3 %
  • Accepted Answers: 220
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Customer Question

Put a new alternater in but battery still drains

 

Country: Australia
Make: Bmw
Model: 318is
Year: 2004

Already Tried:
New alt new battery

Submitted: 340 days and 22 hours ago.
Category: BMW
Value: AU$35
Status: CLOSED
Picture
Expert:  BMWDoc replied 340 days and 22 hours ago.

Hello, I'm Jason.
I will do my best to answer your question quickly and accurately using the information you have provided.

Do you have a multimeter that will measure amperage, up to about 10A?

Customer replied 340 days and 22 hours ago.

Yes

Accepted Answer

Picture
Expert:  BMWDoc replied 340 days and 22 hours ago.

Ok, good. It sounds like you have a key-off battery draw, and here is what you need to do to narrow it down.

1) remove positive battery cable from battery
2) attach multimeter leads between cable and battery post.
3) set meter to read amps, or milliamps, depending on the size of the drain
4) open the door to get to the fuse panel
5) make sure all doors and boot are either closed, or manually latched using a screwdriver, so that the interior lights are off and the car "thinks" everything is closed
6) wait about 5 minutes
7) record the reading on your meter.
8) start removing fuses one by one, until the amp draw reading drops significantly
9) find out what components are on that circuit, as it's one of those causing the draw.
10) unplug any components on that circuit, and there is your offending part
11) once you get down to 40-50mA, you're within range of normal

Expert TypeIndependent BMW shop owner
Category: BMW
Pos. Feedback: 99.3 %
Accepts: 220
Answered: 5/8/2012

Experience: 20 years of experience working with BMW's. Independent European shop owner and technician.

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