LarryH57 Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 A mate of mine who I am going to see in a couple of weeks, has a Series 3 LR, which drains the battery with no obvious cause; no lights left on etc. So any clues as to what the cause might be, before I get to see it? Thanks in advance Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroman Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 My boss has Volvo Duett with the same problem. It turned out to be an the voltage regulator that drained the battery. Car was converted to an alternator but one connector of the regulator was used to connect the wires... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxy Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Google on the words - "parasitic battery drain" , you will find lots on test procedure , use of basic logic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmmoMan Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Just throw on a battery isolator and the problem will magically go away and may even act as a theft deterrent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryH57 Posted November 5, 2021 Author Share Posted November 5, 2021 I was thinking a battery isolator would be a kind of solution, without finding the problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatchFuzee Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 Is it a battery that just can't hold a charge? To check, charge the battery, and disconnect from the Land Rover then check the voltage drop over a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiomike7 Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 2 hours ago, MatchFuzee said: Is it a battery that just can't hold a charge? To check, charge the battery, and disconnect from the Land Rover then check the voltage drop over a few days. Had one do that on a Shogun a couple of years ago, two year old reputable make battery checked out fine on an expensive battery tester, cold cranking amps were fine but would lose its charge over a week if not used. New battery fitted and all sorted. An old Land Rover has very simple electrics, the main culprits to look for are any aftermarket gadgets or faults within the alternator. Easy way to find the issue is to disconnect a battery lead and connect a multimeter set at 10A in its place, then find what is causing a draw by pulling fuses and the alternator plug until the meter reads zero. Do not switch any circuits on while the meter is connected for obvious reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tankdiver Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 I agree with Ammo man put in an isolator on all my military vehicles the batteries drained and was sorted with this mod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiomike7 Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 11 hours ago, LarryH57 said: I was thinking a battery isolator would be a kind of solution, without finding the problem! Agreed, it is what we call the redneck approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryH57 Posted November 13, 2021 Author Share Posted November 13, 2021 I've been told my mates LR is a Series 2A with two 12v batteries fitted in series, which I thought was a 24v FFR but apparently not? I'm seeing him on Monday, so will find out the set up but what does two 12v batteries do for a 12v vehicle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiomike7 Posted November 13, 2021 Share Posted November 13, 2021 Let us know what you find but connecting batteries in parallel is not a good idea. A 12V centre tap from a pair of batteries in series is also bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroman Posted November 13, 2021 Share Posted November 13, 2021 I had a belgian army minerva land-rover that had two heavy 6 volts battery's in serie. It had a lot of radio equipment so more power needed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxy Posted November 13, 2021 Share Posted November 13, 2021 Series or parallel - always best to have a matched pair , purchased at same time , same brand, same capacity, batch - otherwise they will be fighting against each other in a effort to equalize. Infrequent use - a discarnect is always best. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david1212 Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 22 hours ago, ruxy said: Series or parallel - always best to have a matched pair , purchased at same time , same brand, same capacity, batch - otherwise they will be fighting against each other in a effort to equalize. Infrequent use - a discarnect is always best. Indeed but as radiomike7 says above connecting batteries in parallel is best avoided. If to power two different systems these should be isolated and a suitable split charge module fitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 On 11/13/2021 at 2:16 PM, LarryH57 said: I've been told my mates LR is a Series 2A with two 12v batteries fitted in series, which I thought was a 24v FFR but apparently not? I'm seeing him on Monday, so will find out the set up but what does two 12v batteries do for a 12v vehicle? They make everything go bang if they're connected in series! Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 Why would you need two 12v batteries if it was a 12v vehicle? I think this person may have a 24v FFR, so batteries between seats, someone has changed the ignition system to a normal unscreened distributor and coil, but retained 24v for started, generator, etc. Running the ignition from one 12v battery. If so, bodge seems the operative word. If it were a 12v Land Rover it would have one battery beside the engine, so where would the second battery be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxy Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 So little info. I had pondered on a adapted FFR , however it could be a civvy or military 12 volt with a 'split-charge' relay for winch / camper leasure battery etc. Or even a S2A civvy with a pair of 6 volt batteries in series (+ earth) and IIRC they were not all diesels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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