Help Needed Please Urgently

Tracker units can be fitted anywhere, it is up to the installer to find a discrete spot for the unit. 100mA for a tracker seems too high for me, It could be faulty though.
 
The tracker on my works van is fitted behind the glove box as it was on my previous van too
 
If a supplier fits trackers for a company, like they do where I work (loads of Tranny vans), if they find a handy location for the tracker allowing easy fitting they will fit them all there, again, usually behind the glove box. No idea how much current draw they might have though.

Tony.
 
Jack Ratt said:
The tracker on my works van is fitted behind the glove box as it was on my previous van too
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t-tony said:
If a supplier fits trackers for a company, like they do where I work (loads of Tranny vans), if they find a handy location for the tracker allowing easy fitting they will fit them all there, again, usually behind the glove box. No idea how much current draw they might have though.

Tony.
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Putting the tracker units in easy to access areas defeats the purpose of the unit, it can be withdrawn easily, I used to fit them in the mid 90s for tracker. I suppose as everything these days it comes down to a low price per install so the people fitting then need to do a fair number a day to make decent money.
 
oldcarman said:
Interesting that no one thought of this possibility before this! How many mA would something like that draw? Perhaps you're onto something @ smiffy. JIM
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quite a few mA, ok things have move on abit since the early 80s, but i had a handheld CB, took about 12 AA battery's to run.

i see you can buy them now at the size of a 10p, but do they ping in the same way?
 
smiffy said:
...I'd be very interested to hear from anyone with a multi-meter who fancies measuring their drain...
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Had a play with the Zed this morning to measure the parasitic drain and came up with the following figures:

Immediately after the car is locked the drain was about 325mA for about a minute and then it dropped to 17mA. I assume the delay is while the alarm sets itself. I then removed the head unit and disconnected the wiring but the drain only dropped to 16.4mA.

Hope this helps someone in the future;)
 
smiffy said:
that looks like the drawings I'm working from. Tracy's looks like it has the basic stereo loom in it so doesn't even have the cd changer and amp cabling. Apart from the iPod adaptor and a non standard head, it is all standard and un-molested which is why I looked so deep trying to locate the problem.

Jammed CD, I wish, but as the drain was their with the head unplugged! nope!

It is a lovely clean example of a zed, that hasn' t been messed with or abused.

It does seem that 30mA is the expected drain, which will still knock it flat in 2-3 weeks though. Clearly designed to be driven!
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That's fantastic news. You're an absolute star!
The current draw didn't drop when the head was removed. So it's a cable/loom problem or something else drawing current.
Was the non-standard head wired using the existing loom or has any changes been made by adding extra wiring or conversion cables?
It's possible that could be the cause. A solder filament between two connectors or insulation worn on an edge somewhere.
Is the head unit back in and memory supplied from elsewhere?
 
It could be as simple as a wire not being earthed correctly through the car body work. A few years aga I had that problem with battery discharging, this was caused by earth from rear light not connected. I hope this is helpful. Phkrs
 
Phkrs said:
It could be as simple as a wire not being earthed correctly through the car body work. A few years aga I had that problem with battery discharging, this was caused by earth from rear light not connected. I hope this is helpful. Phkrs
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With a helpful post like that you're going to fit in well around here. That's what makes us all tick.:thumbsup:

Tony.
 
It certainly could be a loose ground somewhere, now it's time to find it and stop the drain forever @ Tracy Dee! JIM
 
Tracey, whats the latest with the car ? what was causing the drain ? as I still have the problem if car is locked after about 10 days and think it is something to do with central locking that is not working correctly.
 
smiffy said:
evening all.

arranged to meet at my mates garage as rain threatened. Mine needed an MOT so that was to be done while I looked at Tracys. Sods law, mine had a flat battery so had to break out the jump leads! Arrived late :D

Started by testing the battery was still sound and it looks like it has survived the deep discharges.

then checked the parasitic drain and measured about 135mA. Over 100mA more than expected. Excess drain traced to fuse 9. Always live stereo fuse.

removed head unit and unused ipod system, re-measured. still got 100mA on f9. :(

checked circuit diagrams, f9 also puts constant supply to cd multichanger and subwoofer options neither of which are fitted. :(

Nothing left on that circuit.

removed f9 and picked up permenant live from cigar lighter circuit to use as memory supply.

parasitic drain then measured at 30mA.

The only thing I can put the drain on f9 down to is an insulation breakdown in the loom somewhere, unless anyone knows of something else not shown on the drawing that runs on f9?

oh, when measuring parasitic drain, remember to close the doors and bonnet!
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Top effort mate!
 
Sorry guys for no reply.
I have been in Spain for a week and saw 2 Zeds one in silver and a beautiful white one in mint condition
Cars been running starting like a dream.
I will start it tomorrow as only just got back so fingers crossed.
Tracy.
 
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Must have been nice to get away @ Tracy Dee and recharge your batteries, no pun intended, hope all goes well now you're home! JIM
 
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