battery flat all the time

[green123]

hello i have had my morris minor for a while now i put a new battery on the car as it kept going flat,so i bought a new 1 and put it on the problem still assists.so i think it is something draining the battery it isnt the interior light or the radio so what else could it be eny ideas would be great

[bmcecosse]

Faulty alternator can drain the battery when not running, as can faulty regulator(with a dynamo). Otherwise - must be something switched on - do you have a wireless in the car - or an alarm?

[mike.perry]

Charge the battery, disconnect it and then see if it goes flat.

[orb596]

I had a lot of problems on the MM with the battery. Once the regulator was set up correctly though the problem was solved. I always disconnect the battery though even now. I can leave the car unstarted for now for over a month and once the battery is reconnected she always fires up first time.

[beero]

Take one of the battery terminals off and then, when you touch the terminal on the battery post do you get a small spark?
(Best done in the dark) If you do then something is drawing current.

[green123]

hello i have checked the regulator and replaced it so im shure its not that i have no wireless or alarm fitted so it cant be that.but i dont want to keep diconnecting the battery we have another minor and that is fine so i dont know whats wrong with this 1.i will try the spark and let you know many thanks

[green123]

no it dint spark when i did tht today so what could it be?

[katy]

The new battery may be defective. Suggest you take it back to where you purchased it and have it tested and/or replaced.
From what I've seen, the quality control on new batteries leaves a lot to be desired.

[beero]

Go with mike.perry's suggestion then.

[bmcecosse]

Are you SURE it is charging when running ??? You need to tell us the battery voltage when the engine is running at decent revs - and then again with the heater and lights switched on - again at decent revs.

[green123]

13.64v with engine running and small amount of revs and 13.12 with lights and heater on the igntion light goes out so im shure its charging i have redone the dyanmo and put new control box on hope this helps

[bmcecosse]

Well - it's not bad although on the low side with lights on - should be right up there at 13.8. However - assuming you run it a decent distance after starting it should charge up alright! Just check the fan belt is tight enough.

[green123]

yep fan belt is tight as just replaced it so nice and tight i think it is something draining the battery

[bmcecosse]

Are you sure it's not just a starter problem? Struggling to start when cold? What are the symptoms of the flat battery ? Dim lights ? Or just slow starter action? Try rigging a new earth connection from the engine to a good clean chassis connection. You say there is no 'spark' - ergo there is nothing dis-charging the battery.

[green123]

just slow starting action but fine once started struggling to start when its cold it does but does go eventually could the battery not be powefull enough ? nope no spark when tryed this afternoon and this morning so i myte but a new earth strap as thts connected next to battery covered in paint could this be the problem i will get the starting amps of the battery to see if its powerfull enough and will rig up a new earth terminal tomorow and see what happens thanks alot everybody

[bmcecosse]

ANY newish battery will start an A series. I used a tiny Varley on my track Mini. My 2 litre TR7 has a v small battery (and it's at least 5 years old that I know of) and it starts up fine. Yours is either needing a good earth path - or attention to the starter.

[beero]

Might be worth checking you have an earth strap from engine/gearbox to chassis. I put a second strap on my MG and solved sluggish starting.

[green123]

i have cleaned up the earth supply and where it tightens to the body so its nice shiny mertal and brass for earth terminal and got the clamps to grip to the battery properly and now the batterys on charge hopefully no more flat battery i will let u know

[bmcecosse]

What you probably need is a new earth strap from the engine block to the bodyshell!

[green123]

hello i have now put to easrth straps on and it starts on the button so hopefully the battery dosent go flat now