DT

I have a MY01 and on two occassions now, having been away for a week, I've returned to find the battery completely dead. Not even any juice to flash the alarm LED.

I have a Sigma alarm and Navtrak - would these be enough to flatten it that quickly or is something else amiss? Seems daft to have security systems that make themselves inoperative when you leave it???

DT

stevie c

there must be something else draining battery,either that or battery itself is knackered.

if in doubt get an auto spark to check it out for you,he will be able to tell you if its the battery,or if not,he will isolate diff circuits in the car until the drain is found.

steve

boomer

Check your boot light?

mb

DT

Thanks for the tips chaps. Will be out there in the freezing cold tomorrow seeing what I can find out. I can obviously see if any lights stay on in the boot etc, but I haven't a clue what current an alarm & a Navtrak should be drawing - any ideas???

I'll ask that bit in security might be someone in the know.

Dave T-S

DT
Funnily enough, I have exactly the same....I am not using my MY01 much at the mo, it is always garaged, ran it for 20 mins or so on Tuesday, and the battery was flat again on Wednesday and it wouldn't start.....put a voltmeter on it - 9v.

I am not convinced the battery is ok, I could just jump start it but it would do the same again, so Subaru Assistance are going to collect it on Saturday and cart it off to the dealer to check it over...

Interestingly, I also have Navtrak fitted, but as I understand it it only draws current when the ignition is on.

I had an interesting chat with a breakdown chappie last night (before I told him I didn't like his attitude and I didn't want him near my car ) who said that the battery would go flat in a week with a "demobiliser" (sic) fitted - when I said, well what happens if you leave your car in an airport car park and go on holiday for two weeks? - his reply was you will have a flat battery when you get back.

So, I was always of the opinion (and in my experience) that you could leave a fairly brand new car for several weeks, come back and start it with no bother - but is the MY01 an exception to this???

ptholt

Ive had two clifford alarms in the past and both were terrible for this.
Battery would be flat in 5 days.

DT

Thanks chaps - glad I'm not the only one!

Got mine going again this arvo - had to buy a charger from Halfords. Never done this before and the instructions were almost non-existant. I set it to "Fast" - it didn't say how long Fast/Normal should take??, kept padding outside every hour in the freezing cold last night, and about six hours later (11pm) it was nearly charged that's Fast!!! called it a day at that and it started ok this morning. Rather worringly Navtrak could not locate the vehicle after I checked 4hrs later.

They said the GSM signal was ok but the GPS had not found me yet. They advised to drive around and call back tomorrow - might be worth checking yours Dave if you've had a similar problem.

Asked about current drain in the security section and was advised that the alarm should draw about 0.015amps and that the Navtrak shouldn't be a prob as it has its own battery and goes into a sleep mode.

Will check the currents tomorrow.

DT

Mark.S

Had the same problem with mine! Had it drop tested whilst i was up TSL and the battery wasn't holding charge. Next day took it to my Subaru dealer who replaced it under warranty with a decent Varta battery instead of the tiny Jap battery orinaly fitted. Seems fine since then.

AlanG

Guys......just a thought....

see my other thread i posted a couple of days ago.......

www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/thread.asp?threadid=62199

A

DT

Thnaks for the info. Alan, read your thread which is worrying, alarm is only 11mths old & I did think that there ought to be some back up battery. Think I may have the same problem - will check tomorrow.

DT

MARK MORRIS

i often leave my p1 unused for 9-10 days, never had any probs with the alarm and tracker on
mark

babber

OMG

I left mine overnight the other day, and when I came back to collect it, it took 5 mins to start Starter was running very slow, I just couldn't believe it. Car is almost a year old!!! It was absolutely freezing cold though.

Anyway, someone has made the point about the light in the boot being on all the time. Check it cause I think a few people had the problem a couple of month back. Worth a try.

Cheers Phill C

PS "They all do that sir!!!"

howardb

Just to add a little info, though off at a bit of a tangent.

If you have a tracking system and power is removed for some time (read flat battery), the GPS system may loose the downloaded satellite almanac. Once this has happened it effectiely knows nothing and has to re-acquire, for this it needs full sky visibility, wont happen (easily) in a garage. It normally takes approx 5 minutes for this process.

As suggested above, take the car for a drive and check with the tracking company on return.

Finally, can I stress how important it is to test your system on a regular basis.

joy

cold temps have a huge effect on batteries

DT

Dave, How can I test for dead cells??

Dave T-S

David
Get your local friendly dealer/auto electrical specialist to stick a battery tester on it

ski

I know that alarms imobilisers do cause the battery to drain,but it does seem extreme.Do check that all interior ligths do turn off.
Does the starter turn slowly in normal conditions?
It may be worth trying a heavy duty battery,I have heard that the Subaru batteries can prove unreliable.

[Edited by ski - 1/2/2002 10:55:54 PM]

stevie c

if you have a good accurate meter,you could check how much(amps)is being pulled off battery with ignition off.

shouldnt be very noticable,just minor stuff for memories and security.If there is a big drain,pull the fuses out one by one until you notice a difference,then you should have a better idea where to look.

steve

[Edited by stevie c - 1/4/2002 1:04:24 AM]

Phil

No prob's for me

I have left mine at the airport for 3no. 2weeks spells last year (LUCKY ME)

Started 1st time each time?

Guess I'm lucky

Phil

edit to change this year to last year before there are any smart **** responses

[Edited by phil_stephens - 1/6/2002 11:17:44 AM]

Dave T-S

Well, it's cured!!

Had a dead cell in the six month old battery.....now has a nice heavy duty Varta 60ah job under warranty

[Edited by Dave T-S - 1/7/2002 7:48:27 PM]