Dis-charging Circuit?

[Matt7c]

Okay, my last question was about the charging circuit, thanks for the responses; that problem is fixed. This time the problem is discharging! Ever since I've had the engine running I've had to disconnect the battery and re-charge it manually, but have always noticed that if I left the battery connected, it discharged. Now the charging circuit works, I left the battery connected up last night, and tonight it has completely discharged.

Each time this has happended, I have checked the basics: lights off, all electrical items switched off, ignition switch switched off etc. So where is all my electricity going? What can drain the power with everything switched off? I'll bet somebody out there has and idea...?

[nebogipfel]

Matt, Sorry not sure what model you have but assuming your battery is OK? The usual culprits are boot or glove box lights staying on when they should be off (When the lids are shut

I suppose faulty headlamp microswitches, but I'm pretty sure you would notice that one!

John

[hatman]

Although I do of course realise that it's a head-in-the-sand non-engineering surrender-monkey approach (my CV in just a few words!) have you thought about fitting a 'Dis-Carnect' to the battery terminal? It's a brilliant idea for Loti especially; it can hinder potential theft; it negates the possibility of a short-circuit induced fire while the car is standing about and, in your case, you'll have no more problems with losing your electrickery while you're asleep.

[Matt7c]

<!--QuoteBegin-hatman+Mar 24 2005, 10:21 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (hatman @ Mar 24 2005, 10:21 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Although I do of course realise that it's a head-in-the-sand non-engineering surrender-monkey approach (my CV in just a few words!) have you thought about fitting a 'Dis-Carnect' to the battery terminal? [/quote]
Heehee! That was actually the first thing I thought of, too I plan to do that aswell, but thought I ought to at least attempt to find the snag, although I'm doing more head scratching than anything else. Being on early S2, there is no light in the boot to drain things, indeed, there's not much of anything electrical! I am concerned that I have a short, but I have abosultely no idea how to find it...

[type26owner]

A short which drains the battery overnight should be easy to find with a test light.
<a href='http://mypage.direct.ca/k/kdomries/testlight.html' target='_blank'>http://mypage.direct.ca/k/kdomries/testlight.html</a>
Just connect the light between the battery terminal and the cable and if it lights up when eveything is shutoff then it's a short alright. Start disconnecting parts of the electrics watching for whether or not the test light goes off using the circuit diagram out of the manual. Bet in under five minutes I could isolate the short to the specific circuit if the damn bullet connectors weren't buried under the dash. Test lights are dirt cheap. One of the handiest tools there is.

[Matt7c]

Thanks Keith now I have an idea how to begin, I'll got on it. Might take me a bit longer than 5 mins, though!

[type26owner]

The S2 wiring loom is about as simple as they come. I've installed two looms in my car in the last ten years so I've got a pretty good idea where to look for all the connections. There are several relays for the headlights which have contacts that spark while working. Those are subject to corrosion and probably should be replaced to be safe. I was too cheap and paid the price by burning down the first wiring loom after about two years. It's one week's worth of effort to replace a loom if you really haul ass. I had to do it in 100+F heatwave outside under a parasol. What a pain!

Here's some things to know about the bullet connectors which will life easier for you. Don't ever tug too hard on a wire to dislodge a male bullet out of a female connector. Best practice is to slide the blade of a jewelers screwdriver underneath the rubber insulating sleeve and pry open the longitudinal seam of the metal rolled up tube in the connector to free the bullets. It can be easily bent back into shape to reuse if necessary. With a little practice you can do this by tactile feel only without even seeing the connector. By purchasing some spare connectors you can greatly make the process much more user-friendly for yourself by reassembling the connections in a smarter way. Lotus would butt two bullets into a single hole connector to make a wire to wire hookup. However you should put it back together so only one wire goes into one hole of the connector only. This allows you to next time push the bullet back out with a pin from the farside rather than having to bend it open each time. So to do a wire to wire hookup use a two hole connector instead which has a common metal conductor and only insert one bullet into each hole by itself. They make two, three and four hole connector to suit every type of hookup possible. Doing this makes the bullet connector sexless with no blinded hookups that have to pried apart and as a result it's far superior to the spade type. You should probably just purchase the bullet connector repair kit which includes the swageing tool to install the bullets too.

The other thing you need to know is not all the black gound wires are fully interconnected inside the wiring loom. Some have to be grouped together with a common female connector because they are terminated with bullets on the outside the loom to save on adding extra wire. Look for places in the loom where several black wires with bullets stick out next to one another. They might have to coupled electrically together inspite of the fact some other ground wires for circuits also obviously hookup there too.

[Matt7c]

Thank you for the advice Keith. You can work some things out for yourself, but every now and then, you need some information that you just don't have, or have forgotten. This was the case with the test lamp - I had forgotten that they existed, although I now remember my Dad working with one when I was young. So armed, I have found and corrected my short circuit. Thanks for the tip about connecting the battery post and its earth lead through the testlamp, too, that was the most useful thing. Like you said, I had identified the circuit with the snag in under 5 minutes. It took me a while to work it out from there, but the circuit diagram eventually showed me that the whole thing was entirely self-induced. I had wired up the control box wrong after I fitted the new one last week. As Homer Simpson would say, Doh!

[type26owner]

Glad to have been able to help you. By posting the outcome you've closed the loop and not left everyone wondering what happened. That is excellent forum etiquette! I only wished more folks would catch on how it's properly done by your example.

No one knows everything, all the time. Making mistakes is just part and parcel to getting the job done. Just don't repeat them.