mrmetallica Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 im using the second new battery on my car at the momment as the first new one was oing flat so i bought second better battery also a bluetooth device to keep an eye on the battery. i went out to my car friday and it was flat so i got the first new battery out and jump started the car with it went out it started up at the up ok when i wanted to come home.looking at the battery monitor on my phone and it was saying that my battery is very low it has a charging test on the software and it says the battery is charging at 14v is that too high and over charging the battery. im only driving the car twice a week due to the way things are at the moment and not going very far ive done a drainage test but nothing came up all help would be good its starting to drive me mad now. surely the battery should stay charged longer then say a week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 12 minutes ago, mrmetallica said: ... surely the battery should stay charged longer then say a week Yes, battery should hold charge longer than a week. It is obviously being drained, despite you believing it not to be. When you say you have tested for 'drainage', exactly how was that achieved? Did you test the voltage of battery prior to one of it's failures? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 14.4v is the ideal charging voltage. Can be slightly higher on Ford's due to SmartCharge but any lower and it won't charge properly. You need 'excess' voltage from the alternator to top up the battery, wouldn't work if they were both 12v for example. How short are the journeys you're doing, and are you using heated screens etc? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke4efc Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 17 minutes ago, mrmetallica said: it has a charging test on the software and it says the battery is charging at 14v is that too high and over charging the battery. Just over 14v is normal when the engine is running. Anything less than 12v and you'll struggle to start the engine (even the low 12s isn't ideal). I personally wouldn't trust the bluetooth device, get a multimeter out and check the battery yourself. Same goes for a parasitic draw (if that's how you tested it), there's no way it will be able to record current draw direct from the battery. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmetallica Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 9 minutes ago, StephenFord said: Yes, battery should hold charge longer than a week. It is obviously being drained, despite you believing it not to be. When you say you have tested for 'drainage', exactly how was that achieved? Did you test the voltage of battery prior to one of it's failures? i used a multimeter disconected the + lead and put meter inthe midle no drain. i didnt test the battery prior no on my phone its been saying its ok nearly 13volts it says it ok now showing 12.37 volts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmetallica Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 10 minutes ago, TomsFocus said: 14.4v is the ideal charging voltage. Can be slightly higher on Ford's due to SmartCharge but any lower and it won't charge properly. You need 'excess' voltage from the alternator to top up the battery, wouldn't work if they were both 12v for example. How short are the journeys you're doing, and are you using heated screens etc? shopping about 5 miles to my daughters about 10 miles i do use heated screens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Just now, mrmetallica said: shopping about 5 miles to my daughters about 10 miles That should be easily enough to top up after a cold start then. Thought you were going to say a mile or two lol. Looks like you have got a drain somewhere then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmetallica Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 2 minutes ago, TomsFocus said: That should be easily enough to top up after a cold start then. Thought you were going to say a mile or two lol. Looks like you have got a drain somewhere then. sorry shopping is about 3 miles there and back my daughters is 12 miles there and back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned_Mk2_1.8tdci Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 34 minutes ago, mrmetallica said: shopping about 5 miles to my daughters about 10 miles i do use heated screens Heated screen may be loading your alternator during these short trips, so try to use it as less as possible. Also ambient air temperature influences battery voltage reading, here's a State of Charge file, check for yourself. SoC.pdf 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wino Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 On a cold morning my plug in gizmo reads 15v once the car is started up from 11.8v to 11.5 prior to starting depending on how long its stood. It then drops to 14.9/8 during my trip to work. When I switch the engine off ( not the ignition) it reads 12.8v but starts to drop instantly 12.7/6/5 and so on. I presume that's the way it puts back what little charge if any it is putting back into the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmetallica Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 what is the symbol on the meter that you have to put it on for drain so i can make sure im doing it right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke4efc Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Just set it to amps. I imagine yours isn't an automatic adjustment type which sets automatically adjusts the current scale. Put it it on a range of around 200mA and if it reads 0, move the scale down to 20mA etc. If you set the multimeter to 20A then the parasitic draw will be so small, it will read it as 0. It's like you wouldn't use a meter ruler to accurately measure the diameter of a pea. Likewise you wouldn't use a 6-inch ruler to measure the length of a football pitch. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned_Mk2_1.8tdci Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 11 hours ago, mrmetallica said: what is the symbol on the meter that you have to put it on for drain so i can make sure im doing it right Symbol on the Digital MulitiMmeter selector switch is A. Also make sure you plug the leads on the DMM properly, black to COM and red to A plug. It takes approx. 15 mins for the PCM to go to sleep mode so you can measure if there's drain or not (all over 0,25 - 0,3 A). Also make sure DMM fuses for current measurement are not burned, cause if they are you measure 0A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmetallica Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 4 hours ago, Ned_Mk2_1.8tdci said: Symbol on the Digital MulitiMmeter selector switch is A. Also make sure you plug the leads on the DMM properly, black to COM and red to A plug. It takes approx. 15 mins for the PCM to go to sleep mode so you can measure if there's drain or not (all over 0,25 - 0,3 A). Also make sure DMM fuses for current measurement are not burned, cause if they are you measure 0A. when battery is disconected isnt the car off or does it awaken when you connect the meter ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmetallica Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 thats what ive been putting it on will do what you say see how it goes the car started ok this morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke4efc Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 2 hours ago, mrmetallica said: when battery is disconected isnt the car off or does it awaken when you connect the meter ? Yes it probably will 'wake' some stuff up. Connect the multimeter to the battery before switching everything off, locking the doors and leaving it for 15 minutes etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmetallica Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 1 hour ago, Luke4efc said: Yes it probably will 'wake' some stuff up. Connect the multimeter to the battery before switching everything off, locking the doors and leaving it for 15 minutes etc. ok will give it 15 see how it goes i need my car due to arthritis in my hips so im hoping to sort it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmetallica Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 im still having problems charged the battery monday and today wednesday its flat. done a drain test not showing any signs of drain the multi meter shows 0 so im lost at what it is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 17 minutes ago, mrmetallica said: im still having problems charged the battery monday and today wednesday its flat. done a drain test not showing any signs of drain the multi meter shows 0 so im lost at what it is Hate to point out the bleedin' obvious. but if your battery on Monday was fully charged to 13v+. then 48 hours later it won't start the car, it is draining somewhere despite the 'result' of your drain test. I would do your 'drain' test again, and if you are still getting nothing, be prepared to pony up for a professional auto spark (not a Ford dealer), who should get to the bottom of it pretty soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexp999 Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 The multi-meter shouldn't show zero unless the battery is completely disconnected. It should record something even without a "bad" drain as the car is always using a tiny bit of power when stationary. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke4efc Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 If your meter is showing 0 and you've tried all the different scales on the amps setting, then it's likely the internal fuse in the multimeter has blown. Fortunately you handily have a multimeter at hand to test the fuse! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waggy Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 1 hour ago, mrmetallica said: im still having problems charged the battery monday and today wednesday its flat. done a drain test not showing any signs of drain the multi meter shows 0 so im lost at what it is 0 what? Tell us exactly what meter you are using, how you have connected it and what range you have it set to. It could always be something intermittent, like leaving the radio on and it's permanently connected to live, or something similar which only happens depending on how you switch off and leave the car perhaps? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmetallica Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 52 minutes ago, Waggy said: 0 what? Tell us exactly what meter you are using, how you have connected it and what range you have it set to. It could always be something intermittent, like leaving the radio on and it's permanently connected to live, or something similar which only happens depending on how you switch off and leave the car perhaps? iconnect the positive lead from multimeter to the + battery lead and the - lead to the + terminal set it on amps set to 200ma and the down to 20ma and all it reads is o as in pic i hope im doing it right ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmetallica Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 52 minutes ago, Waggy said: 0 what? Tell us exactly what meter you are using, how you have connected it and what range you have it set to. It could always be something intermittent, like leaving the radio on and it's permanently connected to live, or something similar which only happens depending on how you switch off and leave the car perhaps? iconnect the positive lead from multimeter to the + battery lead and the - lead to the + terminal set it on amps set to 200ma and the down to 20ma and all it reads is o as in pic i hope im doing it right ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 At a quick glance, shouldn't the red lead be plugged into the other side? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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