Battery Draining

[mccorms]

Hi

I have just bought a 2000 X reg alto 3 dr manual petrol. I dont use it on a daily basis and last week went out to it and the battery was dead, I mean dead not even a click when turning the key. Got it to a garage who tested the battery and said that there was a faulty cell because the voltage was dropping when tested. Got a new battery today i have gone out to the car again same issue. breakdown have come and jumped & tested the battery with a multi meter and said the alternator is putting out fine, but someting is obviously draining the battery have checked all lights cigarette burner etc. Has anyone had an experience of this or knows what it could be? a friend has said they knew someones Y reg alto eneded up needing a new starter and relays when this happened to them. Please advise if you can! I have only had the car 2 weeks and its got a full svce history and 27.000 on the clock

Any help much appreciated!!

[vorlon]

difficult one this, normally Fords are the main culprit for this....

As you have changed the battery and the alternator appears fine then you are left with a drain on the battery itself. These are pigs to find however......

Check:-

1 the main earth connection at the battery. if it isn't making a good connection to a metal part of the body then that will drain the car batt.

2 check the radio, its a small load but can flatten a battery in no time.
is it truly turning off?. remove fuse overnight on fuse board see it if holds power in morning.

3 check lights system for corrosion, especially around the bulbs, fairly large load and could be a possible.

4 failing all that remove one fuse per night until you get a car that runs. find the circuit thats causing the problem. then find its earth point. that'll show up the fault.