Fuego Flat Battery

alpinesau

alpinesau

Active member
Fellow Frogger
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Messages
314
Location
Adelaide
The battery in my Fuego goes flat in a day or two. It seems to go flat even if the car is not being used. I think there was a recent thread on this topic, but can't remember the root cause.
Can anyone steer me in the right direction.

Robert
 
Turn your lights off :D :D

Seriously though there have been known drains from stereos, alarms etc ... if you're not electrically minded, pull some fuses and see if the drain stops, otherwise a short is a possibility.

- XTC206 -
 
Get the alternator tested by an auto elctrician - the Paris Rhone alternators to tend to go through regulators relativly quickly (does the battery light flicker on a bit whilst idling?)
The interior lights can sometimes stay on, as the rocker mech gets sloppy and it will turn on on its own.
This is all assuming a good battery...
 
Robert

Usual reason is problems with the Paris Rhone alternator and lack of charge. Have an auto elect check to see if the Alternator is delivering sufficient charge when engine running.

Also on the Fuego, I have found that the main leads that come from the Alternator come into a junction (plastic electrical connector) on or near the engine bulkhead on the near or kerbside of the engine bay, examination of this connector often shows signs of burning or melting and usually indicates that connection is failing.

It is usually the larger (Yellow) wires that show up problems, but any of the others may have signs of heat developing from a poor connector.

Easily fixed by snipping the wires on either side of the connector and then reconnecting them with either a screw type connector or the crimp on bullet connectors (male and female) so you can get them apart if you need to disconnect the wiring.

While you are at it, check your connections on the
main circuit board (under the dash) for any signs of burning that would indicate a poor connection. The fix here is to resolder any fuze points that look burnt and lightly build up the circuit coating with resin cored solder wiped on it, or if the connectors to the card look dodgy and burnt, cut the wires either side and solder in a pickup wire at the fuzed end,(this is done so the fuze still does its vital work of protecting the system from short circuits) crimp on a connector to both wires and this will bypass the dodgy connector.

I usually drill a small hole in the card so that
the bare wire can pass through the card and be soldered to both the card circuit and the fuze connector to ensure a good contact is made for the pickup wire.

Finally if your Paris Rhone alternator needs attention, it is often better to have the auto elect install a Bosch Alternator replacement, as they rarely have any trouble and parts are MUCH cheaper.

We spent heaps of money on my sons Paris Rhone and it still played up! Touch wood the Bosch alternator installed some time ago hasn't missed a beat and the batteries haven't need changing or recharging which is a godsend to both of us!!!

(Dad my cars conked out at.....can you come down...)

Also there are often modifications done to the
Fuego circuits (my daughter's car has the window winders wired so they can be operated with the ignition off, but if left standing without use for a long time the minute drain flattens the battery)
and my sons car had the full stereo treatment and that seems to have hastened the demise of the Paris Rhone alternator. The Bosch replacement seems to cope with the extra power drain o.k.

Hope this helps.

Ken. :)

<small>[ 29 October 2003, 10:23 PM: Message edited by: Kenfuego ]</small>
 
You have of course, tested the battery (and terminals) haven't you?
Batteries going flat when not in use would most likely be due to a faulty battery but could be due to some sort of power drain while the car is not running, eg. boot or interior lights left on, clock, etc.
A healthy battery should be able to handle a boot light left on overnight and still be able to start the car.

Ren
cheers!
 
You can check if there is current drain by disconnecting the + terminal and connecting an ammeter (ie. multimeter on Amps) between the battery + (black meter wire) and the + battery terminal (red meter wire) you've taken off. If there's a drain somewhere, it'll show a current flow on the meter.
 
In addition to all the above, check that it isn't something really simple like a warped glovebox lid not contacting the switch, or a dead cell in the battery.
 
Thanks to all who offered suggestions. I have removed 3 fuses and the problem has gone away.
1. Radio/clock
2. Interior lights
3. Rear wiper/demister.

#1 suspect is the radio which was behaving stupidly, with the signal rising & falling with the indicator on/off.

I'll replace the fuses 1 by 1 to trace the problem.

Robert
 
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