Power Drain of 0.23A

I have recently noticed that I have a power drain on my 04 C3.

I have had two new batteries in the last few months and they do not seem to last. The first was replaced as I did not think it was any good and now the second is lasting about 2 - 3 days without running her and then the battery is dead, she will not start.

I put a multi meter inline and got a reading of 0.23a.

I just wondered if anyone has had anything like this before or can point me in the direction to look at.

Recently, I have had the alternator reconditioned and put a USB charger in. I disconnected the USB and the drain was still there.

Any direction would be great or I will have to take her to a auto electrical place near me.

Your C3 should have a DIN44 battery. That's a theoretical capacity of (about) 44 amp-hours. At a discharge rate of 230milliamps, that's 8 days before the battery is (theoretically) "flat". That doesn't mean it wont turn the engine over, it means the battery has attained a point where the individual cells have reached an industry standard terminal voltage.
My C2 goes for weeks without the battery failing to start the car. It's a bit of a garage queen, LOL!
230milliamps seems a bit high but I have never measured the quiescent current draw. However it's irrelevant, the battery should not go flat in the 2-3 days you mention @ 230 milliamps.

Check that the battery is getting voltage to the terminals. With the engine at idle the voltage AT THE BATTERY TERMINALS should be 14.2 to 14.8 volts. That's measured at the lead posts of the battery not the battery clamps! A typical "resting" voltage for a battery is between the high 12 volts to the mid 13 volts. A (theoretically) fully charged battery is 13.8 volts. They never attain that! I would expect yours to not come close.
How long ago did you have the alternator reconditioned? Battery problems start soon after that?
Do you do short trips? Do you do a lot of night driving? Air-conditioning? Are these brand new batteries?
Do you have a battery charger? Can you charge the battery over night?
Options: Batteries are faulty. Alternator is unserviceable. Faulty wiring. Poor quality workmanship from service people. Battery not being charged enough during runs (electrical load exceeds alternator capacity).
Some things to think about.

Hello Ukphiltr7

Just a comment on measuring battery drain on a C3.

230mA is very high which suggests that the BSI isn't 'sleeping'.

To get an accurate measurement you need to make sure the car is closed and locked, this includes the bonnet if you have an alarm fitted. I found a good way to do the measurement is to pass you meter leads through the front grill so you can close up and lock.

Then wait, say 10 minutes for good measure and then take your reading. You may hear a relay click a few minutes after closing and locking, that is the BSI turning off the power.

One caveat, make sure your manual driver's door lock works just in case you loose power while doing the test and can't unlock the car using the central locking.

Another question to add to Ozvtr's list, does your car have the factory fit radio or an aftermarket replacement?

Hi guys, thanks fir the replies. This morning I went to start the car and she was flat. She was running yesterday, so the battery is not lasting one day now.

All the answers are addressed below:

How long ago did you have the alternator reconditioned?
The alternator was reconditioned just before Christmas
Battery problems start soon after that?
Cannot remember
Do you do short trips?
Generally normal size trips but recently have been doing shorter trips yep
Do you do a lot of night driving? Air-conditioning?
Generally no, not much night driving and never have the aircon on
Are these brand new batteries?
They were brought as new from the garage
Do you have a battery charger? Can you charge the battery over night?
I have yes and I could if this will help

Does your car have the factory fit radio or an aftermarket replacement?
Yes currently my car still has the factory fitted radio

Sometimes when I connect the multi meter inline with the battery I can hear the clicking mentioned. With 1 click it is showing 1.35 and then other flicks it shows 0.23.

Currently I have disconnected the battery.

Does anyone know where the power to the bsi is as I want to disconnect it to see if that stops the power drain.

I left the car for about 10 minutes and the meter reading was still 0.22

I was going to disconnect the alternator and see if that stopped the drain, but I could not find a way to disconnect it as it was not like my Triumph where I could pull out a connector.

This is the reading that I am getting.

I don't recommend connecting or disconnecting the battery too often but I guess you don't have a choice. Are you waiting 60 seconds before disconnecting and 60 seconds after reconnecting before doing anything? This doesn't have anything to do with the battery, just the com system.

While I'm not sure what would happen, I wouldn't recommend cutting power to just the BSI. If the other ECUs are powered up but cant communicate with the BSI, they might not like it. I'm not saying anything would "blow up" but you might upset the com port protocols and you would have to disconnect the battery to reset the system anyway!

I recommend fully charging the battery. If it's an auto charger, wait until it goes into float charge. If it's a manual charger wait until you can hear the battery hissing and bubbling. This may take up to a couple of days!
If your alternator is putting out the correct voltage, see how long it takes before your car wont start again.
If this is the case, either you have another dud battery or the trips you are making are too short to recharge the battery.
The funny thing is the battery should "accumulate" enough of a charge over night to start the car. I don't get it.
Does the car start first go? Need to crank it over a bit?
Are you sure the alternator out put voltage at the battery is OK?

Looking at your replies, I'm starting to think you are on the right lines with an alternator problem, possibly a faulty regulator.

The BSI appears to be behaving as it should, ie you hear a click and power drain drops.

I think it has to be something that is connected to the battery all the time and I think the alternator is first on the list to check.

With the battery disconnected can you measure the resistance between the two battery leads (one lead can still be connected to the battery, so long as there isn't any power to the wiring to damage your meter). Measure it twice swapping the meter leads over between measurements.

Corrosion between earth straps and bodywork can be an issue that prevents good battery charging but it wouldn't account for the excessive battery drain.

If you know someone with a battery tester it would be good to test it after charging, if it's good then at least it's something eliminated from your fault finding.

Did you get any voltage measurements on the battery with the engine off, running at idle and then running with a few revs?

I have recently been having more issues with my little C3.

The battery has not been lasting long at all, I do not think the cold weather has been helping much though. I have not checked the battery but I am sure that it is OK as it is new and the second one at that. I brought a new battery as I was having battery de-charge issues. I had the same issues so I took the battery back and got another of. Guess what, the same issue.

Recently with the cold she has been having issues starting and on the checker it says that there is a glow plug issue. I have taken her in and waiting to see if the glow plugs need changing.

With the battery I do have to crank her if she has been standing overnight. When you crank her you can hear the battery power going down. When she starts you can stop her and then she will start again straight away. I have to take her out for a drive on the evening, a nice long drive to charge her up to ensure that she will start the next morning. If I do not go for an evening drive and leaver her overnight from 4pm, she will have great issues and probable not start in the morning.

I am waiting to see what the garage come back with and hopefully resolving the issue, but I am not holding my breath.

Glow plugs won't be your issue if you are in the UK.

They Glow plugs will be used in pre-heating mode to reduce the emissions but not used for starting on the common rail.

Don't get taken for a ride of new Glow plugs and Glow plug relay only to find it makes no difference to the starting.

Are you in a country with heavy minuns temperatures?

If you have to crank a lot then this can be due to a lazy starter or poor battery or a combination of both. Then you have the possibility of worn injectors that leak off too much that cause difficult (extra cranking) starting.