Battery Drain

After changing the radio, the previous one was also an aftermarket, we're having battery drain problems.

I haven't been able to do any checks on the car yet as it won't be home until next weekend. What I'm after, if anyone can help, is information on systems not shutting down and causing flat batteries so that I'm ready to go when the car is here.

When the radio was changed this time I didn't have to change any of the wiring on the car, I'd already got a Connect2 adaptor so it was a simple swap of the ISO leads. I am sure that the switch and permanent 12 volt supplies were and are correct.

What I'd like to know is detail of the mechanism that causes excessive power drain and how the BSI monitors the radio circuit. From the diagrams I have, the permanent live is a straight connection to the supply and the switch live is supplied by a relay?

What would also be really useful, if anyone is willing to do some measuring, is to know what a typical figure for battery drain is for a locked up car in sleep mode.

Missing Lincs wrote:What would also be really useful, if anyone is willing to do some measuring, is to know what a typical figure for battery drain is for a locked up car in sleep mode.

This sound like a good idea. I will see what I can do, but I won't have access to a C3 for a day or two.

Thanks Arfur. No problem with the timescale, ours isn't back until the weekend.

I was checking some vids out on this the other day. Think my 807 may be suffering from this, and the magic figure quoted for modern cars, with ecus etc is 50milliamps max drain. Any more than this and you have a problem. I tried to find the official figure from Peugeot, but they either don't know or unwilling to say. Well apart from the usual, book it in, and we will run some tests. This is the video i watched,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF1gijj03_0

Missing Lincs wrote:Thanks Arfur. No problem with the timescale, ours isn't back until the weekend.

Its not as easy as I first thought. I can measure the standby current draw with the car unlocked, but I have to work out a way to get the car locked, then measure the current.

I can't lock the car with the bonnet open, and I can't lock the car with the meter connected (maybe I need to make a better connection to the battery?)
This is 27mA with all the doors closed and the car waiting for me to press the lock button. The car won't lock though

Thanks for your efforts Arfur.

The current you measured was about what I was expecting, so I guess anything less is a bonus. At least now I have something to use as a comparison.

I'll let you know how I get on with locking.

The results so far.

With radio disconnected, all doors closed, about 25mA. With the doors locked and alarm on, about the same.

I ran test leads in a similar way to Arfur. To cope with the door locking current I fitted two extra test leads to the positive battery terminal and connector, when I wanted to lock, I shorted the two leads together which then by-passed the meter. I did it this way to avoid having to remove the meter from the circuit and then re-connect, this would break the power supply, I have no idea what state the car would be in with the battery reconnected while locked, it also triggers the alarm which messes up the readings just a little!

I also checked the battery and charging circuit, all good.

Next was a look at the radio connection. I think I found the problem, with the switched 12 volts completely disconnected, the permanent 12 volts draws 250mA, about 6ah per day. The current did briefly drop to about 10mA every 5 seconds or so. I'm wondering if the radio is trying to go into sleep mode but not succeeding?

A quick call to Halfords where the radio came from, they suggested that my switched live might not be completely off, I explained that it was better than off, it was disconnected! Off to town this afternoon to swap the radio.

Watch this space as they say.

Incidentally, there is no mechanism in the BSI that prevents it 'sleeping' if the radio is wired with the 12 volt switched and permanent connection reversed, all that happens is the the switched live input on some radios will draw relatively high current if connected to a permanent supply, even though the 'permanent' input is disconnected.

A quick update:-

It is the radio doing the draining but its not the radio that's the problem. It's my Connects2 interface.

The interface is itself drawing current from the battery when the car ignition is off, its only a small current and also its in the form of a short pulse, about 25mA once every couple of seconds. The interface is also causing the radio to draw current, I'm not sure exactly how other than its through the remote control connection.

I think that the interface has been drawing extra current since I fitted it, its relatively small and doesn't seem to have caused a problem in the past so I've never been prompted to look for it. Its only since the new radio was fitted with its 0.25 amp draw that I've started to investigate.

I've tried a different interface, one branded as T1, I believe it to be a Connects2 in disguise. It also causes a current draw from the battery and the radio. From this I'm thinking that the original interface wasn't faulty as such, just not 100% compatible with the C3.

I have three possible ways forward:-

1) Remove the interface and not have any stalk controls. I don't like this as we'd also loose the trip computer.

2) Find a different interface. I've tracked down an Autoleads PC99-213 which some sources say will work although I'm not entirely sure what functions it would give and how it works. From what I have found out, it attaches to the audio controls on the stalk rather than reading signals from the VAN bus. I don't know if it would operate the trip computer. I also don't know if it generates a signal for dash illumination.

Has anyone fitted one of these and have any information?

3) Modify the Connects2 interface so it is isolated when the ignition is off.

I've taken the original interface out of the box and from what I can see it produces a new switched live to the radio rather than using the one that the car already provides. What I'm thinking is to use the cars switched live to feed the radio's switched live directly and also use the switched live to isolate the interface by disconnecting the permanent live feed to it when the ignition is off.

At the moment without more information on the Autoleads adaptor, 3) is the preferred option. Before I do this though, I need to look at the effects on the interface of powering it up and down and how this affects the VAN bus. I may have to isolate it from the VAN bus at the same time as isolating it from the permanent live.

Any thoughts?

3) Modify the Connects2 interface so it is isolated when the ignition is off.

This would be my first choice as it looks like the least cost option. Connect2 doesn't need to be powered up permanently, only when you are driving.

Can you power the Connects2 from the switched live for the radio?

What I'm thinking is to use the cars switched live to feed the radio's switched live directly and also use the switched live to isolate the interface by disconnecting the permanent live feed to it when the ignition is off.

A job for a relay


relay available here