Vauxhall Astra G Diesel - Battery drain whilst driving

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Sat 24 May 2014 14:26
Vauxhall Astra G Diesel - Battery drain whilst driving - leebee61

Astra 1.3cdti estate 2006. Battery fully drains within 1 mile of driving with fully charged battery. Battery and Alternator have both been exchanged with same result. When fitting a new battery the car will start and drive for about 10 minutes, then the engine light will come on and car will stop. Starter will then not even click or turn engine over.

If I refit a substitute battery, the car will start immediately and then die again 10 minutes later with same fault.. Checked battery and charge rate, all OK. I have exchanged both battery and alternator ... same fault.. This fault also happened a year ago but seemed to cure itself and has been fine since which makes me think of bad earth or loose connection. Anyone experienced a similar problem and could point me in right direction? Many thanks

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Sat 24 May 2014 14:29
Vauxhall Astra G Diesel - Battery drain whilst driving - Railroad.
This is very difficult to see beyond a simple charging fault. You say you've replaced the alternator, but have you actually checked the operation of the charging system? More to the point, do you know how to do it?
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Sat 24 May 2014 14:56
Vauxhall Astra G Diesel - Battery drain whilst driving - leebee61

Had local auto electrician discharge test battery and check charge rate ... all ok. I had previously changed battery and alternator as process of elimination ... Fault exactly the same. Thought starter may be locked in mesh but car has been ok since the same problem first came to light a year ago. Problem repeated itself only this week after being fine for 12 months

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Sat 24 May 2014 15:31
Vauxhall Astra G Diesel - Battery drain whilst driving - elekie&a/c doctor

Firslty,I think you will find this is an astra H fitted with the Fiat 1.3 cdti engine.For a fully charged battery in good condition, to discharge in 10 mins,means something must be getting very hot or smoking.If there was a charging fault,then the power steering would not work.Are you sure the starter motor is ok,and are the main power and earth leads to battery /starter/chassis clean and tight?

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Sat 24 May 2014 19:00
Vauxhall Astra G Diesel - Battery drain whilst driving - Peter.N.

I would agree, I'm sure you would see some smoke somewhere if you were to loose about 1kw in 10 mins. Have you checked to see if the battery is actually flat, do the panel lights or cabin lights still work, do you get at least 12 volts across the battery? Does the car actually stop or just refuse to start?

Sorry just reread your post, it does stop, sounds an odd one but checking the battery voltage will confirm or otherwise that its flat.

Edited by Peter.N. on 24/05/2014 at 19:02

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Sat 24 May 2014 19:43
Vauxhall Astra G Diesel - Battery drain whilst driving - leebee61

Cannot see smoke, no evidence of starter cable or battery leads getting hot. It will drive until engine service light flashes, and then car cuts out and wont even turn over.... usually after about 10 minutes. A quick voltage check on battery confirms that it has drained. It cant be tow started when the fault occurs, and a booster pack is also ineffective. However if it is rested for twenty minutes and a replacement battery is fitted it will start and idle forever, but as soon as it is driven it will cut out after a few miles with exactly the same problem. This is why I thought starter could be locked in mesh to drain it so quickly, but the starter surely would burn out spinning at engine speed? If it is rested the starter will work perfectly when battery replaced or recharged. Totally confused

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Sat 24 May 2014 19:17
Vauxhall Astra G Diesel - Battery drain whilst driving - Railroad.
If the starter motor was engaged while the engine was running and being driven by it then it would fail very quickly due to the overspeed. It would almost certainly then not work to crank the engine the next time you tried, so it's probably not that. A battery drain is caused by something drawing current, and it would have to be big to flatten the battery this quickly.
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