battery drain

[gezza]

Being an A to B driver, please excuse using your site.. My 75 diesel has a drained battery every morning. The battery is only 2 months old and I trust my garage. During the past week the display unit for the Satnav and radio continually switches on and then off when the ignition is on.. The regularity of the switching is such that it cant be a loose connection. The SATnav has not worked for over a year, which has never bothered me.

Can this thing be a drain on my battery, if so can i disconnect the dispaly, or remove a fuse easily.

I would be grateful for any help from anyone.

thanks

[steve00117]

First thing to check is the boot for water, thats where the Satnav "brain" lives.

[gezza]

There is no sign of water in the boot, the brain as you call it, is mounted in what i assume is the usual place ie on right hand side of boot..Can this thing still come on when the ignition is off. ?

[David3807]

There is no sign of water in the boot, the brain as you call it, is mounted in what i assume is the usual place ie on right hand side of boot..Can this thing still come on when the ignition is off. ?

Its not supposed to stay on but if its not displaying properly there is something wrong and it is possible that its causing the battery drain. Its been known to happen.

I do not have Sat Nav myself but I believe there is a red light on the unit which shows when it is powered up. It should go out within a minute or two of switching the car off. Identify the light and leaving the boot open switch off the car. Do not open doors or do anything else with the car cos this may reactivate the electrics. Wait 5 minutes to see if ithe Sat Nav light goes off.

The other thing to check is the fuel burning heater if you have it. Only fitted to some diesels this comes on before the car is started to make cold starts a little easier and the car more comfortable on cold winter mornings. Its about this time of year that these problems show up cos not normally used during summer months. You could try disconnecting the Fuel Burning heater.

Hope this helps

[JohnDotCom]

:welcome: Gezza to the Club.
Oh yes indeed.
Easiest way to check, leave boot and panel to computer open,
then switch off ign etc.
The light on Unit should go Red then off within a couple of minutes max.
If it comes back on or does not turn off at all, that is the item making your battery go flat.

[gezza]

thanks, everyone, I have pulled the unit out of the car, so here's hoping it starts tomorrow.

just in case, how do i disconnect the fuel burning unit, and how do i find out if i have one.

[Simon]

The fuel burning heater is located in front of the battery. You will see a few pipes going in and out of it (fuel and exhaust as well as coolant pipes). It will almost certainly have the word "Webasto" printed on it because they are the manufactures of them. If you're still not entirely sure, post a picture of your engine bay on here and we'll identify it for you ;) :)