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Relay race when ignition is turned on

3K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  FormulaDynamics 
#1 ·
Can anyone help with a starting problem I have with my 2003 plate, 4200 GT? I foolishly left it in the garage without starting for about two months and the battery went flat. It is a new ( less than 6 month old battery) which I have charged. When I turn the ignition key there is a clicking of relays that sound as if they are racing each other, and the lights in the dashboard pulse on and off in time with the relays. The car won't start. It behaves in the same way when I also try attaching jump leads from another vehicle. Any suggestions on where to begin checking please?
 
#3 ·
Yep, low charge on the battery or a faulty battery, you don't have enough output there for everything to be working correctly so the relays will flutter and the car will not start.

Best Regards
 
#4 ·
Thank you both for your replies. I have removed the battery and will take it to a garage to get it load tested tomorrow. I have also dug out the receipt for the battery Ceron Feb 1st 2019 which details a 5 year warranty. I'll let you know how I get on.
 
#5 ·
A conclusion at last....... I got the battery tested and the garage said it was defective. I then took it to the supplier that I had purchased it from who disputed that it was defective. There has been a lot of back and forth on it since.
In conclusion:-
I have fitted a New battery, the "relay race" has gone when I turn on the ignition, and the car started fine. - Result!!!!

However, I measured the current draw on the battery with it parked up in the garage, unlocked. It was more than 0.5 Ampere !! So a 72Ah battery would only stay charged for 146 hours in theory. When I switched the battery isolator off the current drain dropped to almost zero. I suspect the battery was not defective, it was my miss management of the coupe's electrical system that was the cause of the battery going flat. This was further compounded by a cheap battery charger.

In summary, I need to take more care to either regularly turn over the car to keep the battery charged, get a decent trickle charger, to keep it topped up, or use the battery isolator switch to almost eliminate battery drain when the car is not being used for a few days, or a combination of these. All of which are an option when the car is garaged, things are somewhat different if the car is left in a car park or public place, due to the effect isolating the electrics has on boot opening and alarm function.

Thank you all for your input.
 
#6 ·
That's too high a drain, you need to locate the source and fix it. Unfortunately, the electrical system is a monster to work on. One way is to start disconnecting things like the alternator and see if the current drops or pull fuses to accessories like the information center and cd player. Parasitic draw should be somewhere in the area of 30 mA, I think.
 
#7 ·
A .5 amp drain should be pretty easy to find as it is huge and something should be warm...I would feel around the relays and modules you can reach after the car has sat a bit...You do need to trick the trunk switch or disable the trunk light do check the drain with a meter correctly...Jason
 
#8 ·
You should measure the draw when it's locked and compare. I learned a while ago that most modern cars have a higher standby current draw when unlocked. When you lock the car it kind of goes to a sleep mode. It made a noticeable difference how long the charge would hold with my old Qvale. Ever since then I always lock my cars, even when they are in my locked garage.
 
#10 ·
Spend the time to find the drain... start with any aftermarket electronics, see how they're wired in and make sure it makes sense. After that, it's good old fashion trouble shooting. Good Luck, hope you can find it

Best Regards,
 
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