Drained

[NSX100]

I mentioned previously on this site the problems I was having with the Clifford alarm system draining my battery during less than a week. The result was that since the car is parked in a non-secure underground park at my apartment I had to disconnect the battery when leaving it for more than a few days. Easily done but annoying.

So, finally, I took it across the street to Sextons in Wandsworth (literally) to have the Clifford removed and replaced with something that worked. They called me a couple of hours later to tell me that it was not the alarm system that was draining my battery. Something else was drawing a huge amount of current.

Does anyone have any ideas? What could draw 10 amps in a car with the ignition turned off?

As a postscript I was impressed with Sextons. They could have gone ahead and replaced the alarm system for £400 but didn't. Even better, there was no charge at all (no pun intended). "Its an NSX - we don't charge for class cars".

David

[Nick Graves]

Mine went flat too. But I realised it's almost four weeks since I drove the poor thing.

[markc]

They called me a couple of hours later to tell me that it was not the alarm system that was draining my battery. Something else was drawing a huge amount of current.

Does anyone have any ideas? What could draw 10 amps in a car with the ignition turned off?


Could be lots of things. Try taking the car back to Sextons and have them monitor the current draw while systematically removing fuses. This will at least tell you which circuit the offending item is on thereby narrowing things down a lot.

Cheers

Mark

[britlude]

has it got an after market head unit?

[AR]

Maybe the boot light is staying on?

[Nick Graves]

has it got an after market head unit?

I do wonder if the amps might not be switching themselves off properly, or something. They must draw quite a bit of power.

[havoc]

I do wonder if the amps might not be switching themselves off properly, or something. They must draw quite a bit of power.

That was the problem with the 406 Coupe a friend had - with everything off, if you listened very carefully you could JUST hear the hiss from them...

[Sudesh]

Is your car completely standard apart from the alarm that was/is in it?

[NSX100]

Completely standard - to the best of my knowledge.

I have checked the interior lights and all are off. Funny that the amps are mentioned - the thought had occured to me. I'll sit quietly in the car and listen carefully.

Thanks for the comments.

[Nick Graves]

Another possibility is the retractable aerial; I cannot remember if it's timed out, but if it's not retracting fully, it may still be trying to do so when in the "off" position.

[NSX100]

An interesting development. I have been transferred from London to Paris by my employers so drove the NSX to my home outside Aberdeen where it can be safe and secure inside my heated garage over the winter (and while I seek parking in Paris). Consequently, I was able to leave it unlocked inside the secure garage. 2 weeks later, this past weekend I was back in Aberdeen and checked the car. The battery was still fully charged and it started on the first turn of the starter. The only thing that was different from its sojourn in my previous apartment in London was that I kept it locked there resulting in the battery draining in less than a week.

The electrical problem that is draining the battery is to do with the central locking. But why? Any ideas?

And, btw, if any Scots members are thinking of organising a gathering please let me know.

David

[Sudesh]

Hi David,

Heres something I would try if possible.

Park you car as normal and leave for the same period of time that usually drained your battery.

When you lock the car, just lock it manually by the key and see what happens when you return after leaving it for the estimated time.

Double check first though that when you do lock the car manually that, it doesnt also arm the clifford alarm. Some cars are wired up this way and some are not.

[havoc]

Ah, it's a Clifford - I was going to suggest avoiding arming the alarm, assuming it was one of the old OE Hamilton Palmer jobs (which does drain the battery quickly - < 2 weeks).

If it's c/l related then it's likely to be the alarm system.

[Nick Graves]

The other difference is "heated garage"; cold discharges batteries.

Mind you, my garage is not cold (someone put the boiler in it) so I think the PoS alarm is the culprit. It is on S2000s that have them.

[NSX100]

To recap; I kept the car in an open underground garage in London and because of the battery drain (<1week) with the immobiliser set I then manually locked the car with the keys. No difference - it still drained the battery. I asked Sextons to replace the old Clifford system to be told that it was not this that was draining the battery. So, I kept the car locked with the battery disconnected. Now, in its new secure home, I leave it for 2 weeks unlocked - no battery drain. Ergo, it must be the central locking system, even when set manually with the keys, that is somehow draining the battery. This would also explain why the previous owner never had a problem since he kept the car unlocked in a secure garage.

The plot thickens - any more ideas??

Thanks
David

[Sudesh]

Are you sure when you lock the car manually it's not switching on the alarm/immobilzer in some way?

Good test:

Open drivers side window all the way down
Lock the car manually
leave for at least 30secs [I would leave for 1 min just to be sure]
Then reach in and open the door from the inside

See if anything goes off!


The central locking in general will pull a current from the battery but its only small, however if your clifford alarm locks the doors too which I assume it does then, it will also be "live" in a sense, so it too should be pulling a current from the system as it will be tapped into the OEM wiring.








To recap; I kept the car in an open underground garage in London and because of the battery drain (<1week) with the immobiliser set I then manually locked the car with the keys. No difference - it still drained the battery. I asked Sextons to replace the old Clifford system to be told that it was not this that was draining the battery. So, I kept the car locked with the battery disconnected. Now, in its new secure home, I leave it for 2 weeks unlocked - no battery drain. Ergo, it must be the central locking system, even when set manually with the keys, that is somehow draining the battery. This would also explain why the previous owner never had a problem since he kept the car unlocked in a secure garage.

The plot thickens - any more ideas??

Thanks
David

[Nick Graves]

Got a CTEK (yo!) conditioner cheap on Amazon.

Will see if it de-sulphates the battery. Or just laughs at me...

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, David.
As another member recommended in the earlier post, it would be best to measure the current consumption. There is defiitely something not quite right yet not enough to blow the fuse on your NSX resulting in flatterning the healthy battery within a week.

If your nearby security place has DC current clamp tester, then they should be able to investigate the issue for you.

If you want the DIY method, then you can get hold of quick current tester at about GBP10. It will simply plug into the fuse terminal so that you can identify which fuse circuit is draining the excessive current. It is normally rated up to 20A so should be enough for most of the circuit.

Central locking sytem fuse on your NSX would be inside the main relay box which is under the bonnet. It is rated at 20A so you can start from there.


Kaz

[Justin]

Another possibility is the retractable aerial; I cannot remember if it's timed out, but if it's not retracting fully, it may still be trying to do so when in the "off" position.

That's really interesting to know - my nsx is fine, but the prelude's arial (which I'd assumed was very similar, if not the same... anyone?) never retracted the final link. It would just make 5 quick mechanical clicks at the end of it's retraction cycle and then give up: never drained the battery with me.

[havoc]

That's really interesting to know - my nsx is fine, but the prelude's arial (which I'd assumed was very similar, if not the same... anyone?) never retracted the final link. It would just make 5 quick mechanical clicks at the end of it's retraction cycle and then give up: never drained the battery with me.

My ITR aerial does that when dirty - again the same type of aerial. I've never had any battery problems with it.

[atrgirl]

That's really interesting to know - my nsx is fine, but the prelude's arial (which I'd assumed was very similar, if not the same... anyone?) never retracted the final link. It would just make 5 quick mechanical clicks at the end of it's retraction cycle and then give up: never drained the battery with me.

I have also found this problem on my 5th Gen Prelude and 2 out of the 3 ATR's I have owned. Although I've always had Andy to look at it so I cannot tell you whether its dirt affecting it, sorry :redface:

[Sudesh]

The aerial retracting and "clicking" at the final stage is to do with the teeth on the plastic cable inside the mast. The teeth can break or wear away and also dirt and grime build up inside the mechanism which causes failure and that "click" noise. It does happen on the NSX also, but not a cause of the battery being drained.

[Justin]

The aerial retracting and "clicking" at the final stage is to do with the teeth on the plastic cable inside the mast. The teeth can break or wear away and also dirt and grime build up inside the mechanism which causes failure and that "click" noise. It does happen on the NSX also, but not a cause of the battery being drained.

The problem on the prelude was that the final link on the arial had a slight bend, so the other links could not retract back into it - the motor clearly had some kind of clutch mechanism (via the teeth, or electriconic or mechanical I dunno) to stop it burning out when met with a certain level of mechanical resistance - as would also be caused by dirt.

Anyway, it was never an issue for me and the car's long gone - I was just making the point that the motor didn't drain the battery, even though it never got to complete a retraction cycle it just quit after 5 attempts.

Happy to say the NSX's arial is working perfectly :cool:

[m666 edd]

Happy to say the NSX's arial is working perfectly :cool:

Oh that's a shame. This must mean you're driving around with the aerial at full height ;)

[Justin]

Oh that's a shame. This must mean you're driving around with the aerial at full height ;)

Andrew was trying to persuade me to buy the half-height arial that originally came on his car... luckily there's no space in the console ;)

[Nick Graves]

I thought that the NSX was Honda's first EV. Unfortunately it only worked like that at fairgrounds, so never caught on:

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u286/BlackS2K/2010-08-11001.jpg

[Justin]

I thought that the NSX was Honda's first EV. Unfortunately it only worked like that at fairgrounds, so never caught on:

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u286/BlackS2K/2010-08-11001.jpg

That post is way over my head Nick :overhead:

But anyway, looking at your satnav setup, does that long box with the shiny edges happen to be an iPhone by any chance? And if so, what clamp are you using?

I got a griffin windowseat for mine, and it's pants on the NSX (you need both extension arms fitted because the balljoint design does get you the right angle otherwise, and then the vibration renders the whole thing useless!)

Thinking of dropping big money on the TomTom iPhone holder so - if tht is indeed an iPhone you have there - would b keen to get your recommendation!

[NSX 2000]

That post is way over my head Nick :overhead:


Justin, Nick is refering to the aerial looking like the back post on a bumper car you get at a fairground. Now do you get it?

Paul

[nobby]

Bit slow on the old uptake there Justy! :)

Tbh, very happy to get rid of my areial, even though I was able to run it at half length


Justin, Nick is refering to the aerial looking like the back post on a bumper car you get at a fairground. Now do you get it?

Paul

[Justin]

Justin, Nick is refering to the aerial looking like the back post on a bumper car you get at a fairground. Now do you get it?

Paul

D'oh!!!!!!! :doh:


Bit slow on the old uptake there Justy! :)

Tbh, very happy to get rid of my areial, even though I was able to run it at half length

Alright, settle down... It was a long morning!!! :rolleyes:

[Nick Graves]

:D

The sat nav is actually a Snooper S2000 (what else?). It's very slim, has bluetooth & stuff & battery life is reasonable. The USB upgrades (I have it on for scameras, rather than a poor sense of direction) are easy too. Think I bought a lifetime sub, which means they're coming round to kill me next year.

It does fit incredibly discreetly in the NSX for some reason; probably because it's so far away, compared to the S2000.