Battery Going Flat

[Bluemini]

I have a 2013 c1 and the battery keeps going flat when left for a week have carried out a battery test all ok also carried out a drain test and it is reading 0.06 of an amp to 0.08 is this right be grateful for any feedback thanks

[paul.h]

Welcome to the forum.

 

60 to 80 mA seems high. Our C5 is about 15 mA and that goes flat over about 4 weeks if not used. Do you have anything such as a phone or sat nav plugged in or an aftermarket radio/alarm/camera ? You may need to remove fuses from different circuits to find out what is using the current.

[Bluemini]

I thought it was to high but the citroen dealership i took it to are saying its fine. I do have a dab radio witch is a accessory fit radio from citeoen and it was fitted by them. Thanks for replying

[paul.h]

I do not know which model/engine your car is, but different capacity batteries are fitted depending on the model. Your dealer should sort out the problem under warranty but also a higher capacity battery would help it last longer. It looks as if ones from about 30 Ah to about 60 Ah are used. So if yours is 30 Ah and using 0.08 amps an hour, then to completely use up 30 Ah would take 375 hours but far less than this to be unusable. Usually cars can be left for several weeks whilst on holiday and the batteries are still charged enough to start the car as normal.

 

To get some idea of how current drainage may affect the battery voltage I have found charging up the C5 battery (70 Ah I think) with a 4 amp charger increases the voltage by 0.1 volts an hour. So 4 amps use approximately uses 0.1 volt. So in your case with about a 35 Ah battery, 2 amps use would be about 0.1 volt. So a drain of 0.08 amps an hour will lose 0.1 volts in 1 day and over 1 week a charged battery at 12.7 volts will drop to about 12 volts which would not be enough to start the car. So if these estimates are valid, it clearly shows your current drain is far too high.

[Bluemini]

The battery fitted is a 35ah so the calcolations make sence. The dealership have had the car for two days now and now they tell me there is a drain witch is coming from the audio system/dab and a part has been ordered and they hope it might fix it iam not holding my breth. Thanks for the information

[grin factor]

Hope you get it sorted. Cold weather is also hard on batteries & if its low on charge will not help it at all.

[Johndouglas]

Usually cars can be left for several weeks whilst on holiday and the batteries are still charged enough to start the car as normal.

Last year when I came over to Spain in November, I left my Saxo on the drive at home. When I returned in early March, I expected the battery to be sluggish - if not even flat. But no - the engine turned over fairly quickly and started first time.