I am a newbie with a problem

[lazza63]

i just bought a 1991 delica starwagon last week. i have just had it in and had the alternator refurbished as the battery kept running down. i noticed that the door ajar light is constantly on even when the car is off. i am sure it is one of the reasons the battery runs down so i need to get it turned off. i was thinking pull the plug on the fuse but as i do not have a manual i have no idea where the fuse box is or which fuse it might be.

Can anyone help me or point me in the right direction.

many thanks
larry
Vancouver BC

[RichD]

I had a similar issue.

Start by turning off the dome lights. Not to the "door" mode but OFF. Even if the light isn't coming on.

The ajar light itself isn't going to burn any power of concern, but I have found a problem with mine where if there is enough humidity (rainy season...) the dome light switch will cause such a problem. Once it dries out, problem goes away.

Also, once the starter battery (I have a dual battery system) is drained flat, it can take some serious charging to restore it to normal health.

[FalcoColumbarius]

Do you have the original battery (ies) in your wagon? If so, I would consider changing them myself. The volts may read high but the Amps are likely gone.

Falco.

[RichD]

Do you have the original battery (ies) in your wagon? If so, I would consider changing them myself. The volts may read high but the Amps are likely gone.

If the battery can turn over the engine when charged (a 300A job), then its not dead enough to drain because of a door ajar light. But you should put the battery on a tending charger. When I drained my starter battery, it would recharge from driving but only when I put it on a proper charger did it really recover. The battery is the symptom, the problem remains finding the cause - a short (i.e. load).

Oh, btw, I suspect you will find that if you get the truck out of the rain for a while, the door ajar light will go off.

[FalcoColumbarius]

When I first got the Miss Lil' Bitchi (my beloved Starwagon) she came with the Japanese batteries. I would put the key in and switch on; wait for the second click; engage the ignition and she would start, everything good. Soon after I was in a shop and I had the radio on for about forty minutes, they when to start the engine: Switched on and waited the three or so seconds before hearing the second click; engaged the ignition and: Tick, tick, tick tick tick... Friend came over and commented that this was strange "let's take a look at the batteries" put the meter on them and they were reading 12 and a bit volts, each. Another guy came over and seeing the batteries exclaimed "wow, I haven't seen those in years, where did you get them?" So we hooked up a charger to boost them up and the amp meter was reading very low. I only had the radio on for forty odd minutes, I could understand if I had the radio on for three or four hours but not for forty minutes. A lot of times the volts read well but what is needed are the amperes.

The battery (ies) might retain three or four hundred amps when not being used for anything else but if they are old they get used up very fast and when it comes to turning the 21:1 compression ratio diesel engine over you might find yourself without the sufficient amperage.

If the battery is old then have the amperage checked before you start taking the engine apart, it's much cheaper. In fact all this could be due to corrosion on the battery terminals, which is very easy to remedy.

Regarding the Door Ajar light: The only problem you might have with it is if it remains on after all the doors are properly closed. As RichD noted it uses next to no power. You cold leave it on for a week and I don't think it would noticeably affect healthy batteries.

Falco.

[RichD]

12 and a bit? There is a world of difference between a battery reading 12.4 and a battery reading 12.7.

12.7 or better is nominal for my batteries; different battery chemistry can yield different numbers.


Amps are a measure of current. If you want to describe a battery's capacity in terms of amps, you need to add a time variable. For example, amp-hours or cranking amps. Those numbers are derived from a test with a load of X Amps for Y time. Amp-hours would be a slow drain, cranking amps is a peak load scenario (i.e. a starter motor).

All of this is a distraction from the actual problem, which is the circuit fault that is draining his battery.

[FalcoColumbarius]

Or just an old battery that needs to be replaced.

[RichD]

Or just an old battery that needs to be replaced.

How would that remedy the short?

[FalcoColumbarius]

Or just an old battery that needs to be replaced.

How would that remedy the short?

Why are we assuming that it's a short?

Are you referring to the door ajar light being on when the van is off?

....i noticed that the door ajar light is constantly on even when the car is off.....

I remember another discussion where I could have sworn that when the ignition was off my door ajar light didn't come on and people were saying "come on Falco, I think you should double check" so I did and they were right. Whenever a door is open, whether the ignition is on or not, the door ajar light is on. I still don't see how this relates to a short. If Lazza has new optima batteries and they keep draining then there is an issue that may be caused by a short but we haven't as yet established what the battery is. So often have I seen guys postulating a complete vehicle electrical overhaul when it turns out to be a thin layer of corrosion on the terminals that is enough to inhibit the charging system.... or an old battery.

Falco.

[TardisDeli]

I would first check my rear tailgate, the catch is a two stage catch if the tailgate i'snt closed all the way the warning light will go on.

[lopar]

a parasitic draw of more than 20mA is the standard rule of thumb that will create a problem...... just to note 20mA is ballpark for the "standard" LED which is not much at all. Most modern cars will have <10mA draw to maintain electronics and such (until flash came out)....... anyway....... rip off (or gently undue) either your postive OR negative cable from your battery and put an ammeter between the cable and post and see what you are drawing for current. >20mA = something (sounds like a light or other) is depleting your battery.

basically trying to say...... verify that something is draining your battery before you start chasing ghosts, after you verify it, call the ghostbusters and find out what is causing the draw... if you do find a draw, start pulling fuses until the draw goes away (BINGO!) then you find your problem.

Good luck!

[Firesong]

I noticed the comment of draining the starter battery. My dual battery setup
doesn't isolate a battery from the starter circuit and I don't think I would want it to.
Just curious if this is the case for all dual battery setups.

I wouldn't use an optima battery in a diesel motor vehicle. Total waste of
their application. The spiral 'innards' are for a fast and powerful initial
start, but don't do much help for the initial glowplugs and then the start
cycle. Not much reserve.

But to each their own.
FS

[FalcoColumbarius]

Cool observation regarding the Optima batteries, FS. The Miss Lil' Bitchi has the dual battery Winter package (Chamonix) and those batteries are set up in parallel, not isolated. I believe this is the case with all stock Winter packages. Not sure about the campers, perhaps Fred or Jessie could comment on that....

Falco.

[RichD]

I noticed the comment of draining the starter battery. My dual battery setup
doesn't isolate a battery from the starter circuit and I don't think I would want it to.
Just curious if this is the case for all dual battery setups.

My dual battery setup is modified from stock: http://www.delica.ca/forum/new-power-in ... 966#p63966

Isolating the secondary battery is a life saver, especially with problems like the OP's.

[Firesong]

Cool to know Rich, I didn't think there were stock setups like that.
If I could find a spot to put a deep cycle somewhere out of the way
I would definitely put an isolator in.

FS