Vw golf won't start

Starscream25 · 28-09-2013 4:45pm #1

Hi everyone, I'm absolutely baffled about why my car is being drained of power,wondering would anyone have any ideas why this is happening?
Sorry about the length of this but have to add every bit of info.

I have a 1.4 golf 2006, bought the car about 4 and a half year ago.
About 2 years ago this problem first occurred, when I turn on the ignition the dash board light would be either very faint or not be there at all, sometimes when I turn the ignition there would be clicking sounds, as if it were struggling to start up which it wouldn't.
I went to my own mechanic, he plugged in the diagnostic yoke, couldn't find anything wrong, so he said it's probably the battery, I ended up buying one off him anyway. 2 weeks later same problem. I was well pissed off. Brought it back to look at the alternator, he looked at that, cleaned it, no prob there.

Luckily for me I was living on a hill at the time and could jump start it when I needed, I thought that it might be that I didn't use it that much as I used to cycle to work every second day which was only about 3km away.
After a few months of jump starting, I went into a vw dealership to get it sorted to get it once and for all fixed.

First they say the radio is drawing power throughout the night, so had to buy a new one. Same thing happens a week later, next they say my parrot hands free is drawing power, so that get taken out, same problem happens 2 weeks later, then they tell me it's the battery to which I reply I only got that that replaced a few months ago and can't be the problem, I ended up getting a new one again. A few weeks later same problem. It was getting embarrassing at this stage, they ended up replacing some ECU I think it was called from another car for free. Thought that would be the end of it but low and behold 4 months later, this morning the same thing happens.

Thanks for reading this far if you've made it down here, So any ideas what it could be?

biko · 28-09-2013 7:13pm

You say a fresh battery lasts two weeks? And then the dim lights and no start occurs?

This makes it sound like the alternator isn't charging the battery properly and the battery eventually doesn't have enough juice to turn the starter.
Have you measured the output from the alternator? The mech should have done that already.
www.google.ie/search?q=voltage+from+alternator+to+battery

Starscream25 · 29-09-2013 10:08am

biko wrote: »

You say a fresh battery lasts two weeks? And then the dim lights and no start occurs?

This makes it sound like the alternator isn't charging the battery properly and the battery eventually doesn't have enough juice to turn the starter.
Have you measured the output from the alternator? The mech should have done that already.
www.google.ie/search?q=voltage+from+alternator+to+battery

Hi Biko, thanks for reply, now that I remember, I went in with the original battery, he tested it and measured it, he said it was a bit low and would charge it overnight for me, when I collected and got in reinstalled the car was ok for another month or so, and when the issue was starting again that's when I got a new battery, the car was without any problems with the new battery for another 2 or 3months as far as I remember now. It was at this time I asked him to look at the alternator which he did and said it's working fine, he said he cleaned it aswell, But it was the same problem occurring.
I might add that it seemed to me if I left the car sitting in the driveway for over a day and a half it would go flat, where as if I used the car everyday it would start more often than not but not always,I remember once I left the car at Dublin airport for a week and was almost certain it wouldn't start when I got back but to my amazement it started (maybe because I drove from cork and it got a good run so to speak).

I think I'll get the alternator looked at again tho just incase something was missed although I would be surprised as the second crowd I went to said it the car was in perfect shape, looked at everything.first they said it was radio then parrot then battery then airbag I think. My head is hurting just thinking about it.

dieselbug · 29-09-2013 11:01am

Hi

Google "VW Golf parasitic drain" as most likely this is your problem. Yours appears to be intermittent so may be difficult to catch in the act.

wildefalcon · 29-09-2013 11:08am

What sort of driving do you do? Is it LOTS of short trips? How often would you do a 2 hour drive?

You have something that is draining the battery slowly, maybe a boot light, maybe an alarm, maybe a wire that is supplying something.

Going for a longer trip once a fortnight will allow the battery to fully recharge, assuming you don't have the radio, lights, wipers, heater on during the trip.

Try taking out the fuse for the radio and doing without for a while - see if it improves.

You can get plug in solar chargers, I use mine on a car I only drive once a month - it keeps the battery topped up, despite the various LEDs on alarms and radios.

Starscream25 · 29-09-2013 11:35am

wildefalcon wrote: »

What sort of driving do you do? Is it LOTS of short trips? How often would you do a 2 hour drive?

You have something that is draining the battery slowly, maybe a boot light, maybe an alarm, maybe a wire that is supplying something.

Going for a longer trip once a fortnight will allow the battery to fully recharge, assuming you don't have the radio, lights, wipers, heater on during the trip.

Try taking out the fuse for the radio and doing without for a while - see if it improves.

You can get plug in solar chargers, I use mine on a car I only drive once a month - it keeps the battery topped up, despite the various LEDs on alarms and radios.

Ya it might seem that's the prob but the vw garage I went into said they plugged it in a number of nights to see what was drawing power, and that's when they first came up with the radio being the prob,then parrot then battery then airbag.
I might do 2-6 2 hour trips a year. Work was less than 2 km away and every second day I cycled. Tesco was less than a mile away when I needed it.on Friday drove back home 26miles and back on Sunday night, of then it would be flat on the Sunday before I drove back or even on the sat night if I decided to drive 10 miles into town. Would do the odd 5-10 mile trip during the week cinema, 5 a side etc,
I thought the lack of driving would be a cause so I often gave it a run after work on the days I had cycled ,10 miles or so but the prob persisted.
Ya Ill look into these solar chargers you speak of and ill try take out the fuse for radio and see what happens.

Starscream25 · 29-09-2013 11:51am

dieselbug wrote: »

Hi

Google "VW Golf parasitic drain" as most likely this is your problem. Yours appears to be intermittent so may be difficult to catch in the act.

Possibly but the car was fine for a month after I had the original battery charged.
Car was fine for another month or so after I had got a new battery.
Car was fine for another 4 odd months when the vw garage put in that ECU thing I think it was called. I thought it was fixed for good at this stage
Once the prob restarted at 3 of these times, it started to happen regularly, as in every day and a half or every 24 hours or so.
Ya I'll look into parasitic draining. I'm not holding out too much hope tho, the lads in the vw garage were saying it was one thing after another all this time and they had plugged it in for a number of nights.
I went into to get one problem fixed, they identified other unrelated parts of the car that needed repair and replacement timing belt, esp, clutch kit, wishbone,bump stops, ended up paying over 2 grand in the course of 7 odd months with them,

dieselbug · 29-09-2013 12:32pm

"Car was fine for another 4 odd months when the vw garage put in that ECU thing I think it was called. I thought it was fixed for good at this stage
Once the prob restarted at 3 of these times, it started to happen regularly, as in every day and a half or every 24 hours or so."

I suspect the garage changed the BSI module, but not a new one from your post.

If it's now happening every couple of days, that would say to me that the drain is now permanent and should not be difficult to track down.

Starscream25 · 29-09-2013 2:10pm

dieselbug wrote: »

"Car was fine for another 4 odd months when the vw garage put in that ECU thing I think it was called. I thought it was fixed for good at this stage
Once the prob restarted at 3 of these times, it started to happen regularly, as in every day and a half or every 24 hours or so."

I suspect the garage changed the BSI module, but not a new one from your post.

If it's now happening every couple of days, that would say to me that the drain is now permanent and should not be difficult to track down.

Thanks for the input lads, as yesterday was the first sign of similar sequences before, I will keep an eye on how often it will go flat. Drove up to cork yesterday and back this morning, so drove over 60 odd miles this weekend,I'm going to let the car sit in driveway and see what happens,i would suspect it will be flat if I leave it today and start it tomorrow morning, if this happens at least I'll know it's the same problem as before and off to the mechanic I'll go and talk to him about parasitic draining and what what not,I'll keep ye posted, and thanks again

Starscream25 · 30-09-2013 2:45pm

Right I think I'm going to keep a log of this for a while. Didn't use car yesterday but this morning car started fine, drove a round trip of 80 miles today.

biko · 30-09-2013 3:09pm

Do keep thread updated, it might help someone else with a similar issue.

ardle1 · 01-10-2013 2:23am

It really sound like alternator, now I know you've had it tested (that would be first suspicion), so bearing in mind alternator is good, I would check all connections between Alternator and Battery... Your new battery lasted 4 months,then you started to have problems 'again', there seems to be a very small problem between Alternator and Battery, so when power eventually drains to a point that car wont start, it only then takes a small amount of drain for your car NOT to start again.

whizbang · 02-10-2013 1:06am

Get yourself one of those cig-lighter voltmeters.

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/LED-Car-Battery-Electric-Cigarette-Lighter-Voltmeter-Voltage-Meter-DC-12V-24V-/181152132768?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a2d822ea0

If your alternator is working ok, this will read 14-15volts.(engine running)
12.5-13.5 volts is not charging.
less than 12.5 v is discharging.
less than 12.0 is serious.

This will not tell you if you have a bad connection to the battery. I.E. Earth straps

-does anyone know if this car have a permanently live socket ?

Starscream25 · 02-10-2013 6:36pm

whizbang wrote: »

Get yourself one of those cig-lighter voltmeters.

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/LED-Car-Battery-Electric-Cigarette-Lighter-Voltmeter-Voltage-Meter-DC-12V-24V-/181152132768?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a2d822ea0

If your alternator is working ok, this will read 14-15volts.(engine running)
12.5-13.5 volts is not charging.
less than 12.5 v is discharging.
less than 12.0 is serious.

This will not tell you if you have a bad connection to the battery. I.E. Earth straps

-does anyone know if this car have a permanently live socket ?

Cheers wiz, I have ordered that today,
Didn't have to use car yesterday or today but car turned on without a problem a while ago, I'm thinking possibly because of the 80 mile round trip the other day. Only time will tell

visual · 02-10-2013 7:34pm

Parasitic draws are difficult for mechanics to track down as most (not all) just don't understand electrical systems.

You need to find out what current is used in normal standby mode. The receiver for central locking alarm all draw current. A typical standby current is about 50mA your car could be higher or lower than this.

Once the standby current is known a amp meter is placed in series with battery. If the current draw is above normal then each fuse is pulled to discover what circuit the fault is in.

Starscream25 · 04-10-2013 1:16pm

20 miles yesterday
3 miles today started on both days without a problem

Starscream25 · 07-10-2013 4:39pm

6/10/13 10 miles
7/10/13 15 miles no problem starting up.

Starscream25 · 11-10-2013 10:02am

8/10/13 0 miles
9/10/13 0 miles
10/10/13 4 miles, no problem starting

wildefalcon · 12-10-2013 8:55am

With the shorter days and the colder temperatures it will give trouble soon, if it is going to ever.

A long day time trip is required, or a solar charger.

Starscream25 · 13-10-2013 7:25pm

11/10/13. 21 miles
12/10/13. 45 miles
13/10/13. 10 miles no problems starting.

Well so far so good, I am driving more lately tho compared to before, so that might be post-poning any dead battery that may occur.
I have ordered one of those cigarette lighter voltmeters and awaiting its arrival, so I'll be keeping tabs on the volt readings each day and I'll put up the readings along with my daily mileage.

Interslice · 14-10-2013 3:35am

Providing your altenator checks out this video explains how to look for whats draining your battery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF1gijj03_0

You can pick up a cheap multimeter in maplin for about 15 quid.

Starscream25 · 14-10-2013 11:02am

Interslice wrote: »

Providing your altenator checks out this video explains how to look for whats draining your battery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF1gijj03_0

You can pick up a cheap multimeter in maplin for about 15 quid.

Great video alright, nice one inter slice, I'll be picking one of them up I think. I'm not the best at DIY but ill five it a go at some stage

Starscream25 · 18-10-2013 11:13am

14/10/13 0 miles
15//10/13 5 miles
16/10/13 14 miles
17/10/13 11 miles no problems starting

I'm still awaiting cigerette volt meter.sent fOr it over a week ago.

Esel · 18-10-2013 5:58pm

Starscream25 wrote: »

I'm still awaiting cigerette volt meter. sent fOr it over a week ago.

From Hong Kong....

Starscream25 · 18-10-2013 6:01pm

Esel wrote: »

From Hong Kong....

Ya I've a habit of not checking from what country I buy things from the odd time I buy from eBay. I'll be patient

JohnBoy26 · 18-10-2013 6:24pm

It doesn't seem like alternator trouble like some have suggested. If that was the case the battery would of been ran flat ages ago from lack of charge.

Starscream25 · 18-10-2013 6:31pm

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

It doesn't seem like alternator trouble like some have suggested. If that was the case the battery would of been ran flat ages ago from lack of charge.

I'm not too sure what my first point of call should be, I'm going to dabble with the cigarette voltmeter and see what that comes up with, after that I'll look into getting one of those maplin diagnostic yokes and probably delve into checking fuses myself

ardle1 · 18-10-2013 8:55pm

Is your car negative/ground cable bolted to the body just below battery? Mine was(2001 Passat) ... It became corroded over the years lying in water because of bunged up plug holes, I was constantly getting 'bad connection'.... Anyway if it is, get a new one from any auto shop and replace to a higher part of the body....

Starscream25 · 18-10-2013 9:12pm

ardle1 wrote: »

Is your car negative/ground cable bolted to the body just below battery? Mine was(2001 Passat) ... It became corroded over the years lying in water because of bunged up plug holes, I was constantly getting 'bad connection'.... Anyway if it is, get a new one from any auto shop and replace to a higher part of the body....

Nope, no corrosion or any water pooled up anywhere inside bonnet as far as I can see.

ardle1 · 18-10-2013 9:36pm

Starscream25 wrote: »

Nope, no corrosion or any water pooled up anywhere inside bonnet as far as I can see.

Water does pool and disperse through the bungs, so tomorrow when it's bright check cable and bolt 100%... It will eliminate that 'design flaw'......

Starscream25 · 18-10-2013 9:38pm

ardle1 wrote: »

Water does pool and disperse through the bungs, so tomorrow when it's bright check cable and bolt 100%... It will eliminate that 'design flaw'......

Will do ardle, cheers

Starscream25 · 21-10-2013 1:00pm

whizbang wrote: »

Get yourself one of those cig-lighter voltmeters.

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/LED-Car-Battery-Electric-Cigarette-Lighter-Voltmeter-Voltage-Meter-DC-12V-24V-/181152132768?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a2d822ea0

If your alternator is working ok, this will read 14-15volts.(engine running)
12.5-13.5 volts is not charging.
less than 12.5 v is discharging.
less than 12.0 is serious.

This will not tell you if you have a bad connection to the battery. I.E. Earth straps

-does anyone know if this car have a permanently live socket ?

18/10/13 5 miles
19/10/13 0 miles
20/10/13 0 miles

Ok a bit of info from today 21/10/13, the car wouldn't start, this is the second time now since I started this thread. Coincidentally I received the cigarette volt meter today aswell, it read 9.5 before I jump started the car, which means it's serious as you mentioned yourself whiz. I took it for a 15 mile trip which the volt meter was giving me a range from 13.6- 14.2 but it was mostly staying at a 13.8 reading. When I got back home, car turned off, I was getting a 12.4 reading.

I also checked to see was there any wires sitting in pooled water under the hood to which there wasn't as far as I could see.
Ill keep an eye on readings for the next few days I think and from there will look into checking individual fuses to locate the power drain.

Am I going about this the right way?

Starscream25 · 21-10-2013 9:54pm

Interslice wrote: »

Providing your altenator checks out this video explains how to look for whats draining your battery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF1gijj03_0

You can pick up a cheap multimeter in maplin for about 15 quid.

Hi lads, could anyone link me a multimeter that includes what the guy in the YouTube video mentions that is needed for a parasitic draw test, he says it must be amp capability which goes up to 10, better if it goes up to 20 and goes down to 200milliamps, I didn't want to buy the cheapest one available just incase I get the wrong one.

Interslice · 21-10-2013 10:16pm

http://www.maplin.co.uk/ut-30b-digital-compact-multimeter-46498

There ye go man, half price. It only goes up to ten but you battery would be dead overnight if its drawing that or more. The next one down(ut50c) goes up to 20 but it's 30 quid.

You can use this to test your altenator too. Never the cig lighter thing. The calibration of anything of ebay can be dodgy sometimes.

edit: sorry just seen your earlier post, ye basically look for a drop in the amps being used as you pull the fuses.. Your altenator looks OK from those readings. See how you get on with the drain test. Just follow the video. He expains it pretty well.

edit2: just for reference your battery holds about 50 amp hours(50Ah or something similar written on the battery) so a 5 amp draw reading on the multimetre would drain it in 5 hours.

Starscream25 · 21-10-2013 10:20pm

Interslice wrote: »

http://www.maplin.co.uk/ut-30b-digital-compact-multimeter-46498

There ye go man, half price. It only goes up to ten but you battery would be dead overnight if its drawing that or more.

You can use this to test your altenator too. Never the cig lighter thing. The calibration of anything of ebay can be dodgy sometimes.

Cheers inter slice, you are da man, now I'm Fairly ****e at DIY to be honest but once I get the multimeter I'm gonna give it my all. Sound man.

whizbang · 21-10-2013 10:25pm

Deffo getting to the bottom of this...!

I would be happy enough with the charging, but 12.4 is quite low for a charged battery.
-so basically the 15 mile trip wasn't enough to charge it fully.

Next thing to get checked is to measure and compare both cig voltmeter, and directly at the battery. There should be no more than 0.2 volts difference. If its more, then there's a connection issue. Remove, clean and replace every single connection you can get to.

Some meters dont do Amps, most will do 10A, very few will do more than that. A 3-1/2 digit meter will read down to 10mA on the 10Amp scale, so no worries there.

But at the end of the day, it maybe just a combination of slightly weaker than normal charging, slightly larger than normal loads, and not enough driving to charge fully.

Starscream25 · 21-10-2013 10:35pm

whizbang wrote: »

Deffo getting to the bottom of this...!

I would be happy enough with the charging, but 12.4 is quite low for a charged battery.
-so basically the 15 mile trip wasn't enough to charge it fully.

Next thing to get checked is to measure and compare both cig voltmeter, and directly at the battery. There should be no more than 0.2 volts difference. If its more, then there's a connection issue. Remove, clean and replace every single connection you can get to.

Some meters dont do Amps, most will do 10A, very few will do more than that. A 3-1/2 digit meter will read down to 10mA on the 10Amp scale, so no worries there.

But at the end of the day, it maybe just a combination of slightly weaker than normal charging, slightly larger than normal loads, and not enough driving to charge fully.

In the meantime while I wait for the multimeter I think maybe next time it goes flat, I'll take it for a longer trip, maybe 40 50 miles or so and after plug in volt Meter to see what read out I'm getting, hopefully it will be fully charged and higher than 12.4. But ya, next stop multimeter.

Starscream25 · 23-10-2013 7:04pm

22/10/13 0 miles would start though
23/10/13 it wouldn't start, this is the third time now and it seems that it's becoming more regular, anyway, jump started it, had to pop into town for a few different things, drove about 35 miles today, voltmeter was reading 14 while driving along.
Got a multimeter today, was ready to jump into it but the bonnet lever is broken now, tried ripping off a few panels and trying to get at it but will have a better look tomorrow. Also the engine light came on yesterday, I don't know was it anything to do with messing around with the voltmeter, Murphy's law I suspect.

JohnBoy26 · 23-10-2013 7:13pm

Starscream25 wrote: »

22/10/13 0 miles would start though
23/10/13 it wouldn't start, this is the third time now and it seems that it's becoming more regular, anyway, jump started it, had to pop into town for a few different things, drove about 35 miles today, voltmeter was reading 14 while driving along.
Got a multimeter today, was ready to jump into it but the bonnet lever is broken now, tried ripping off a few panels and trying to get at it but will have a better look tomorrow. Also the engine light came on yesterday, I don't know was it anything to do with messing around with the voltmeter, Murphy's law I suspect.

Why not take it for a long spin, then test the battery and take down the reading. Then disconnect the battery and leave overnight and take another reading in the morning before reconnecting the battery.

This should tell you if it's the battery that's at fault or not. Keep in mind though that disconnecting the battery will mean losing the code in the radio(if it has one).

Starscream25 · 23-10-2013 7:20pm

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Why not take it for a long spin, then test the battery and take down the reading. Then disconnect the battery and leave overnight and take another reading in the morning before reconnecting the battery.

This should tell you if it's the battery that's at fault or not. Keep in mind though that disconnecting the battery will mean losing the code in the radio(if it has one).

I don't think it's the battery as this has been happening with 3 different battery, my original battery, the battery my mechanic gave me when he just assumed my battery was a bad one, and then wehen I went to the Volkswagen dealership lads, first they were saying it was my radio drawing power, then hands free, then they wanted to replace my battery to which I said that it can't be the battery as it's relatively new but got it changed anyway.
I think I'll go down the route with the YouTube link inter slice put up and check the fuses but I'm up for suggestions.

wildefalcon · 25-10-2013 7:27am

If you do the above test on two nights - one leaving the battery in, and one taking it out, you'll learn if something IS draining the battery.

Battery drops charge when in - drain,

battery keeps charge when out - no drain.

Then you know that you have to do the drain search.

I still think the solar charger is the handiest way out.

Starscream25 · 25-10-2013 9:59am

wildefalcon wrote: »

If you do the above test on two nights - one leaving the battery in, and one taking it out, you'll learn if something IS draining the battery.

Battery drops charge when in - drain,

battery keeps charge when out - no drain.

Then you know that you have to do the drain search.

I still think the solar charger is the handiest way out.

Ya I'll get round to doing this alright, monsoon down here so I'll wait a few days, decided to go to local mechanic for the engine light that came on other day sorted and also the bonnet lever that broke other day, tried fixing it myself but can't. While I was there I asked him about athe parasitic draw, he didn't seem to know much about it, how rare are parasitic draws? he described a similar issue with a car a few decades ago but he didn't have long to work on it.i spoke to him about carrying out a parasitic draw test referring to the YouTube video which I think has hit the nail on the head but he said he's never done it befor, I said I'd give it a go myself

31 miles yesterday no problem starting, voltage 14.2 with cigerette volt meter.

Starscream25 · 30-10-2013 7:28pm

Hi lads, I'm going to jump into this tomorrow so, and I'm just wondering am I getting my wires right on the multimeter, picked this one up locally other day.
The black lead goes into the middle black COM
The red lead goes into the left 10A DC, and when I touch the wires off the negative battery wire and terminal the setting on the multimeter should be at V20 at the Tenno clock position on the multimeter.
Got the battery fully charged at local mechanic today, bonnet lever is fixed.
No problems since I reported the last one, travelled a good 150 miles since last update.

Interslice · 30-10-2013 9:02pm

Use the red socket on the right to measure voltage. For the amp draw start with the socket on the left first then swap over to the one on the right IF you can't get a reading using the socket on the right. The right hand port is fused 200mA max(.2A) for measuring small voltages with more delicate circuitry.

If you look at the symbols above the socket the right hand one is V ohms and mA 200mA max, and the one on the left is just for amps, 10A max. Set the sockets and the dial to the correct setting before you connect the probes up to a battery or whatever your measuring.

Interslice · 30-10-2013 9:06pm

Starscream25 wrote: »

The red lead goes into the left 10A DC, and when I touch the wires off the negative battery wire and terminal the setting on the multimeter should be at V20 at the Tenno clock position on the multimeter.

Close, right setting, but the wrong socket.

Starscream25 · 30-10-2013 10:03pm

Interslice wrote: »

Close, right setting, but the wrong socket.

Nice one

Starscream25 · 30-10-2013 10:24pm

Interslice wrote: »

Use the red socket on the right to measure voltage. For the amp draw start with the socket on the left first then swap over to the one on the right IF you can't get a reading using the socket on the right. The right hand port is fused 200mA max(.2A) for measuring small voltages with more delicate circuitry.

If you look at the symbols above the socket the right hand one is V ohms and mA 200mA max, and the one on the left is just for amps, 10A max. Set the sockets and the dial to the correct setting before you connect the probes up to a battery or whatever your measuring.

Feeling excited now, measured an aa battery there, got 1.22 readout, I'm getting into it alright.

Interslice · 30-10-2013 10:42pm

Starscream25 wrote: »

Feeling excited now, measured an aa battery there, got 1.22 readout, I'm getting into it alright.

Best of luck with it. One of them and circuit diagrams will pinpoint any electrical problem really.

Starscream25 · 31-10-2013 5:44pm

Interslice wrote: »

Best of luck with it. One of them and circuit diagrams will pinpoint any electrical problem really.

I don't know have I hit a brick wall or am I misusing the multimeter but my draw test is giving me a read out of .51 then drops down to .44 and stays there.
I have the red lead on the left 10A DC input and dial at 10A when I carry this test out.
Does this suggest there's no significant draw coming from car?

When I checked the voltage (red lead into right terminal and dial at V 20 I was getting different read outs throughout the day, last night it was 11.9, after a 10 mile drive today it was up to 12.7, after another 10 miles or so I'm getting and just 2 minutes ago I'm getting 12.59.

Starscream25 · 31-10-2013 5:56pm

The only fuse box I've went near so far is the one under the bonnet.
When I have my amp read out of .44 and use the leads while taking out one fuse at a time, 3 fuses have made the amp readout go down.
One fuse I pulled brought it down to .33 from .44, the other down to .37 and another to .41, should I not be concerned about this and move onto fuse box inside car or do these fuses look like culprits?

whizbang · 31-10-2013 7:14pm

It sounds like you are on the right track there.

0.44 is lower than i would expect for a draw thats discharging the battery.

However if the fuses you are pulling, each mean a current draw of 0.11, 0.07, and .03.
That looks about right. But keep going to see if you can find a bigger change.

Also check on the fuses you are pulling, to see if that circuit should be using any power at all.
i.e. headlights, fuel pump, etc, etc

Vw golf won't start

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