Severe parasitic drain!

[RonK]

Hi All.

My first post!

I bought a 2003 Bluewave Roadster from a local garage who was retiring and it was just sat in the car park, flat tires, dead battery, non runner and covered in leaves.

Engine light on and 3lines on the speedo…..I hear you cry why! …..It was cheaper than my cars service bill and cute so I bought it.

new brake light bulb fixed the 3lines….but my luck ran out there. (Thanks to evilution for all the info so far)

A new battery wouldn’t hold charge overnight. I did an amp test and it was pulling 2.8amps and that didn’t change after completely removing the Sam and Ecu.

so what’s still live after Sam is removed and any tips on where to look first? Otherwise I entering into the biggest puzzle.

This must have happened to someone else….alternator is my next check.

thanks all.

Aaron.

 

 

 

[Willys]

Welcome to the club, site. You are in for a few head scratching days and sleepless nights chasing electrical issues I'm sure but as they say everything is repairable if you have the patience, something I'm short of..lol.
I tel everyone check every grounding point, pin and clean them well by removing the eyelets and removing any signs of corrosion. Then check as many connectors as you can find for possible shorting wiring. Pushed in pins, bent pins etc.  Check for water ingress as these cars are well known for leaking. I think all Smarts are sponges....lol.
Yes Evilution is a fantastic site and well worth their initial donation to get into the deepest sections of their knowledge base. I still use it when needed. IMHO, their only weakness is the lack of a chat type room to allow owners to speak and help each other like we have here. Sometimes it is very hard to find exactly what it is you require to solve your issues and a simple chat with someone who has been down the same path is all you need to solve your problem. We here have just that, there are many very knowledgable members who are more than willing to speak up and share their experiences to help anyone in need.

Keep us informed on your progress and hopefully we can help solve your issues.

[MikeT]

Put an ammeter on the battery to measure the drain and remove one fuse at a time until it stops. That would be definitive in pre-multiplex days but will provide clues even now.

[Mjolinor]

Disconnect the alternator completely.

[LooseLugNuts]

i would also suspect alternator diodes have rotted and/or shorted out

[LooseLugNuts]

i dont know if the roadster alternator is buried as bad as our 450 diesels but a 3 amp draw should be more than enough for a heat sensing camera to find quick if you have access to one

[RonK]

Hi all. Thankyou for your help.

I have removed the alternator and the power drain has stopped!

As there isn’t even an Earth terminal I assume I don’t have Diodes to worry about.

I bench tested the alternator and it spins freely when disconnected.

With the battery  + connected to B+ (same battery connection as when it’s in the car) and the battery - grounded to the alternator body (this must be the same as when it’s fitted on the car because it has no Earth terminal)

the alternator then has significant resistance when I try to spin the pulley and the multimeter shows 2.8amps which is the same draw I was getting on the car before I started disconnecting anything.

So I feel the problem is sorted 👌👀?

 

Next problem is which alternator to buy!

any advise?

Has anyone fitted a NAPA NAL1402?

some of the alternators that match my alternator numbers are showing as 95A

is this correct for other Smarts and not the Roadster or is it ok to fit a 95A instead of the 75A that I’m replacing?

thanks everyone….I really don’t want to have to fit this more than once!!

[LooseLugNuts]

the diodes are internal ...part of the regulator

 

if your alternator case is good you could probably save a few dollars by bringing it to a rebuilder 

[Mjolinor]

There is no rocket science in there, just rip it apart and replace the bits yourself.

 

New bearings are cheap as chips and the regulator / rectifier is probably a sealed lump or at most two pieces that can easily be replaced as lump or if not potted you can replace the components individually. A pair of new brushes and it will be like new. Total cost maybe £40 at most.

 

[RonK]

Thanks for replying

I did consider that but the case is cracked and some small fins are missing, so I felt it was better to get a new one.

I will let you all know how I get on.

 

[Mjolinor]

Well there is no point mending that.

 

I seem to remember that you can get a freewheeling pulley for the Smart alternator and they are well worth fitting while you have it off the car if you can find one.

 

[Willys]

5 hours ago, Mjolinor said:

Well there is no point mending that.

 

I seem to remember that you can get a freewheeling pulley for the Smart alternator and they are well worth fitting while you have it off the car if you can find one.

 

I have a free wheeling pulley sitting on the shelf I bought and didn't use. I bought two when I got mine....brand new still in the box, dust is free.   Ask Nigel for a price as it is his.....which he isn't planning on installing...why I don't know, lazy maybe...???lol......IF you can't find one on that side of the pond.  I may be coming over soon to bury my mother's ashes so the shipping will or could be far less..

 

[RonK]

I’ve not even heard of a free wheeling hub!! Sounds interesting 

 

Update.

NAPA NAL1402 Iro £107 is working well.

No drain and engine light is out!

 

unfortunately I now have esp, abs and airbag lights on 🤯

 

Although I had never had the car running before those lights weren’t on before I started looking for the battery drain.

 I spent most of yesterday rooting around checking everything and I now stuck again coz in the UK we can’t get the car passed for the road with any warning lights on 😬

I probably need a better OBD scanner, which is a whole different problem!