Eco Mode / Wiring

[Guest Chilie]

Hi Paul thanks for the advice, sadly though I have now part exchanged the car. I will be quite sad to get rid of the car and im sure the power drain is something and nothing if it can ever be found but I just got to the point where I had had enough. Im selling the car in a much better state than when I bought it and have fixed a list of minor issues and replaced the DPF. The C5 has cost me dear and im about £1200 down over the months i have owned it but I have certainly learnt a few things along the way.

 

I would like to thank everyone who has helped with advice over the months especially Random Bloke, sorry I didnt keep the faith and stick with it longer but I cant aford the time and hasstle, i need something dependable for work so it had to go.

 

So Long Guys - Hope your DPF's never clog and your wheels never wobble!

[DaveHerns]

What have you replaced the C5 with ?

[PICASSOCONVERT]

Well over two and a half years on and some things don't change. I have come back to my C5 (2003 2.2HDi) twice now in recent months to find the battery flat after the car has been unused for 2-3 weeks. I replaced the battery first time thinking the battery had conked (bought the car second-hand in May 2009 so did not know history of battery). The battery needle in the car has always been slightly higher than in my fist C5 (2001 2.2HDi) so I assumed charging was normal with engine running.

 

Current draw ar rest (car unlocked, bonnet open) is 0.36 amps, so I shall be checking the condition of the alarm battery and pulling a few fuses when the weather warms up as explained in this thread. So, thanks to all contributors especially Random Bloke.

 

My short-term fix is to put the battery on charge overnight.

 

I hope I don't end up having to get rid of my C5 like Chillie did because of this problem.

 

I'll report back if I find anything next Spring. Tow bar wiring could be suspect, of course, as it was a DIY job!!

[paul.h]

If I do not run our 2.2 hdi 2004 mark 1 every 3 weeks the battery voltage drops too low to start the engine. A few times I have jump started it, this time I took the battery off and have given it a full charge. I did buy a Jump Start 900 from Machine Mart but that is not powerfull enough to start the car. It has been like this all the time we have had the car, 4 years. The towbar relay box has a red LED on it so maybe that gives a small but constant drain so I may pull the fuse and measure the current draw on it. Also having read the above again I may investigate the alarm battery.

[paul.h]

I have measured the current to the towbar by using a meter in place of the fuses - 1 was 23 mA and the other 5 mA so over a month this could be equivalent to about 20 Ah out of the battery. The battery is supposed to be about 70 Ah so the towbar loss despite small, is significant over a few weeks. I have left the fuses out until needed again. In the car handbook it says to disconnect the battery if the car is not going to be used for a month - the battery going flat may therefore be a design feature.