Does this sound Dodgy - Auto Elec

[Moggy]

I have a Mazda BT50 4wd dual cab. I bought it new in Sept 2013 but it was a Dec12 build.

When i bought it i had heard that there could be some issues with the electrical on these vehicles (not the variable alternator issues) just general elctrical faults, so i had the dealer install the redarc dual battery & anderson plug + the Tekonsha P3 brake controller.

Anyway about 6mths later i go to start car one morning & click click, a flat battery, ok i hadnt been driving the vehicle that much so charged it up & went on my way.

About 4mths later same thing + the gps unit failed & only half the instrument light pane worked. I take it in & they replace the gps & instrument panel and tell me they have checked the battery & such and there are no problems.

During the next 8-10 mths i have 3 or 4 flat batteries (sometimes i may not drive car for a week so put it down to that) but vehicle was due for service so i take it in & mention this issue. At this point i might also add that i discovered that the Redarc isolator was incorrectly installed (actually that happened when the battery went flat one time) & they had to rewire the isolator.

When they look at it during service they tell me the elctronic rust thingy has shorted out & is not doing what its supposed to but is drawing current from the battery & the brake controller isnt installed correctly. Ok well you installed the brake controller so fix it & replace rust thingy, which they do & tell me all is good.

Then the other friday i go to start ute & NO GO...Shit i'm going to Townsville to watch the Cowboys the next day, I ring the dealer & let them know of the problem. I charge the battery & make the trip with no problems, so car has had a good run to charge battery. I get back drive around for a week, car sits for a day & i go to start it & guess what.... NO GO..

So by now i'm starting to get pi$$ed off, ring the dealer, "Bring it in" they say, "Well i f%$kin would if it was going" i replied, anyway charge battery, take car in & they test & tell me its stuffed & not covered under warranty. I say i've checked the warranty & couldnt see where it excluded batteries. They quote me $320 for a battery & i tell them no, i'll take it to a independant Auto electrician & have them check all the electrical installations & ask his opionion about the battery... Leave it with me they say & i'll give you a call back.....OK we'll replace the battery under warranty.

So this is the dodgy part, when i go to collect vehicle, the service depatment tell me the battery was stuffed because the vehicle isn't driven enough (has 16000 kms) & likely that its only driven short distances, that and the accessories are constantly drawing power from the battery whilst not getting enough of a recharge.

I tell them i think thats the biggest load of bullShit i've heard cos if that was the case then everybody would have a flat battery & i reckon its from the incorrectly installed accessories THEY fitted & the constant drain on the battery.

It seems to me they would tell me anything to get me out the door, but am worried if it is a fault & they havent fixed it then i will still have the same problem or should i seek an independent 2nd opinion

Anyway its academic now as they replaced the battery, but has anybody else had any similar experience with battery being drained by accessories (i might add the only accessory is the dual battery, brake controller & a pissy little reversing camera & other than that the ipod that stays in the car) or is there an Auto lecky that could shed some light for me 

[kylarama]

elctronic rust thingy

I assume you mean electronic rust protection?  Is this the cause of the power drain? 
Correct me if I'm wrong, I thought these were constantly powered?

[me217]

they are constantly powered. but as far as im aware they draw very little. i wouldnt think sitting a week would be long enough, unless its a fairly small battery or the battery was on its way out.

[ATC]

I have a 2011/2012 BT-50, had a flat battery a few times.

I have a Couplertek Electronic Rust prevention thinmajig
everything else is kept switched off (UHF, Lights etc...) the DCDC charger kicks in when the alternator is running.

It's the way they are wired, leaving the doors open will drain the battery.
Had it in a panel shop 2 weeks ago, they had it for 2.5 days, but must have had the doors open when working on it, it was hard to start (but ticked over)

If I leave it for 2-3 weeks it's gone flat, not all the time, just twice.

Mazda put a stupid small battery in it, on the NewRanger.net forum the battery thread there talks about changing over to an SBI-75, fits with a small mod - I haven't done it yet, but when the factory battery craps it self.....

[gronk]

A new battery isn't going to solve your problems..

Next time you intend to leave the 4wd idle for a week or more, disconnect the rust thingy and see if it makes any difference.
Get someone to measure how much current the rust thingy uses ?
Then with the rust thingy disconnected, measure how much current the rest of the 4wd is drawing while turned off and nothing running.

Most or all modern cars will use power.....alarm systems etc, but they should last approx 4 or more weeks before the battery gets down .

[kizza1]

So you only have one battery in the car or two?
You need to. Measure the current draw to work out what the problem is. Set your multi meter to amps. Disconnect all positive terminals off the battery and run them through the multi meter with the car off to find out the draw.
Do  not turn the ignition on as it will draw more than the multimeter can handle

[nab]

Try disconnecting the brake controller. The Tekonsha had an issue (may have since been modified?) where it would randomly turn the brake lights on even when you are not in the vehicle. If this happens overnight it would easily make the battery flat by the morning.

As above, may have to disconnect things one at a time to try and eliminate the issue.

[RebsWA]

Try disconnecting the brake controller. The Tekonsha had an issue (may have since been modified?) where it would randomly turn the brake lights on even when you are not in the vehicle. If this happens overnight it would easily make the battery flat by the morning.

As above, may have to disconnect things one at a time to try and eliminate the issue.

The Tekonsha issue was only with the Voyager model as far as I am aware and that was some 10 years ago.

[HEM19X]

Moggy, you are right, it's the biggest load of BS ever.

Fact is THEY installed the Redarc/brake controller incorrectly. Personally I would take it to a reputable Auto Electrician & check with them, find out exactly what is drawing the power, get a written report & shove it in their faces.

I am not a sparky BUT I do have a 2014 BT50 & HAVE NEVER HAD ANY BATTERY PROBLEMS!!!! I have only done 16,000ks but 12,000 of those were in one trip. I have a Redarc brake controller, isolator, 2nd battery in the tray plus UHF. I sometimes leave the tug, undriven for weeks - 3 or 4. Some experts say that you need to lock your vehicle to shut everything down, I don't - I actually leave the key in the ignition [1/2 pulled out].

Check out www.ozmazda.com.au site if you haven't already.

Regards

Hem

[rotor138]

What sort of Redarc dual battery controller do you have?

Does your BT have a variable voltage alternator?

[Goose]

Get one of these clamp amp meters. Put it on the negative strap of the battery and leave the car idle and see whats going on.

This device will show how many amps is being drawn when the car is off. From here you can work out how long to drain a 80Ah battery.

In my Nissan workshop manual it recommends to do this procedure and it says any reading over 50mA is a problem. You also have to remember devices like clocks and central locking use also constant power. Another thing is whether you have a USB socket or phone charger plugged into a cigar outlet that is on constant power (as opposed to ignitiion power). It all adds up. Its called parasitic draw i think.



http://www.jaycar.com.au/Test-%26-Measurement/Multimeters/Clampmeters/400A-AC-DC-Clampmeter/p/QM1563

[loanrangie]

What sort of Redarc dual battery controller do you have?

Does your BT have a variable voltage alternator?

Read line 2 in the first post.

[jetcrew]

Most likely a combination of multiple factors causing your issues IMHO.

I remove a lot of the rust protection units ..I pulled the one out if my crusier the day I got it home ..they draw power and when they play up the draw the batt down ..modern cars don't suffer from rust like they did 15years ago ..so I would disconnect that unit.

Prob combo of small batt and infrequent driving .,also worth testing the charge voltage and isolator function .and connections
Also test the aux battery
Finally check the type of battery installed is suited to the charge voltage if it's a true calcium then it may never be getting a good charge and this combined with the other things mentioned above could be causing your issues.

Jet 

[BaseCamp]

If you decide to pull the plug on the Couplertec to "fix" the problem whilst the truck's parked up - a word of caution...

If Couplertec learn about this - your lifetime rust warranty is void...    Their fine print states - must have the annual inspections; and the thing must have power 24/7/365..

I have a Couplertec 6 Head unit..   I get the annual look and tickle; (free) - and the undercarriage respray - (ie touched up) .... ($95) ..... 

[gronk]

If Couplertec learn about this - your lifetime rust warranty is void...     

Ha ha, they're laughing all the way to the bank.....probably never had a warranty claim for rust !!

If you align 2 Hiclones at exactly 90 deg, the resultant vortex negatively charges the air around your vehicle and repels rust !!   

[oldmate]

Ha ha, they're laughing all the way to the bank.....probably never had a warranty claim for rust !!

If you align 2 Hiclones at exactly 90 deg, the resultant vortex negatively charges the air around your vehicle and repels rust !!   

Pmsl..  Glad I'm not the only one.

[KingBilly]

Yep, and I have some freshly squeezed snake oil to supplement the Hiclones and Couplertec.  Guaranteed to work or you money back*

KB

* on submission of a certified engineer's report, at owner's expense

[Elky]

Ha ha, they're laughing all the way to the bank.....probably never had a warranty claim for rust !!

If you align 2 Hiclones at exactly 90 deg, the resultant vortex negatively charges the air around your vehicle and repels rust !!   

 Glad you mentioned this..... I was gonna buy 8 hiclones (one for each pot of the cruiser) because if 1 is good then 8 must be better right? Now your saying it will stop rust? Or is there some negative  impact on multiple clones that could actually accelerate the rust? I am confused :/

On a serious note....my first stop would be to disconnect the couplertec and use a clamp meter as suggested, the brake controller is pretty hard to get wrong, as is the isolator unless you have a substantial load on the 2nd battery and they have hooked up the output to the wrong battery

Cheets

[Moggy]

Firstly, thanks for the suggestions & I'm thinking I will get the local battery pro place to check it out. (Its above my pay grade vehicle electrics)

However a bit more info, prior to replacing the Couplatec & rewiring the brake controller their test show there was 1.3amps draw on the battery, after they disconected & again once rewired & replaced faulty item the draw was .05amps. They told me this was within the tolerances & i've no knowledge to dispute this other than the fact my battery went dead again.

Like i said earlier the only other thing connected would be the ipod, but how much would they draw?? enough to flatten the battery in a day? I wouldnt have thought so, but i have no idea, so perhaps someone might know how much an ipod draws, power wise.
I'm fairly confident its not an alternator issue as i do test the 2nd battery with a multimeter whenever hooking the camper up & have tested the cranking battery & it shows 14v ± from memory + i have a ciggy display displaying the battery charge (no I dont leave it plugged in  )

I spose my main concern was that after they replaced the battery they just told me any old Shit, knowing that i have absolutely no idea. When i question about the legitimacy of such a claim, i was told if it happened again then it would be a matter of disconnecting accessories & test draw then, which i spose is logical & somewhat appeases me but my cynical nature reckons if that was a real cause then a lot more people with BT50's would have flat batteries and after installing the redarc SB12 & the tekonsha wrong really doesn't instill a lot of confidence

As i said i had an acceptable outcome & was interested whether any swaggers may have had similar experiences (particularly with a BT50)

Was planning a bit of a trip in a couple of weeks so will take down to battery pro & get them to check it all out, just for peace of mind

[BaseCamp]

re: the sarcasm on the Couplertec system (above) - do you know how really @#$% "anyone" looks.. making comments on equipment they have never had any first-hand experience with..??

I have at least used a Couplertec for 6 years and can speak first hand about my experience with the product...    Virtually zero rust; and definitely nil of any concern...  bucket loads of beach driving etc...  Quite happy if the company has never had a car replacement warranty claim... (and no - I am not associated with the company, just a satisfied client)..

LOL...    ...any opinion that's worth the ink its written with - must be either backed up with numerous (aka thousands of) first-hand experiences with a product / and - or backed up with quantitative research; conducted using the Scientific Method...     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method      ... Regarding the first point - I guess Couplertec is being sued now by the hundreds of SLSCs and mining companies etc that they quote as endorsing; and relying on their product...   

But for any other opinions - as Paul Keating once succinctly stated -- its just:

Unrepresentative swill       
                       

[ronmac]

re: the sarcasm on the Couplertec system (above) - do you know how really @#$% "anyone" looks.. making comments on equipment they have never had any first-hand experience with..??

I have at least used a Couplertec for 6 years and can speak first hand about my experience with the product...    Virtually zero rust; and definitely nil of any concern...  bucket loads of beach driving etc...  Quite happy if the company has never had a car replacement warranty claim... (and no - I am not associated with the company, just a satisfied client)..

Similar to the comment you made on the kickass solar panels. That's calling the kettle black





LOL...    ...any opinion that's worth the ink its written with - must be either backed up with numerous (aka thousands of) first-hand experiences with a product / and - or backed up with quantitative research; conducted using the Scientific Method...     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method      ... Regarding the first point - I guess Couplertec is being sued now by the hundreds of SLSCs and mining companies etc that they quote as endorsing; and relying on their product...   

But for any other opinions - as Paul Keating once succinctly stated -- its just:

Unrepresentative swill       
                      

[oldmate]

re: the sarcasm on the Couplertec system (above) - do you know how really @#$% "anyone" looks.. making comments on equipment they have never had any first-hand experience with..??

I have at least used a Couplertec for 6 years and can speak first hand about my experience with the product...    Virtually zero rust; and definitely nil of any concern...  bucket loads of beach driving etc...  Quite happy if the company has never had a car replacement warranty claim... (and no - I am not associated with the company, just a satisfied client)..

LOL...    ...any opinion that's worth the ink its written with - must be either backed up with numerous (aka thousands of) first-hand experiences with a product / and - or backed up with quantitative research; conducted using the Scientific Method...     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method      ... Regarding the first point - I guess Couplertec is being sued now by the hundreds of SLSCs and mining companies etc that they quote as endorsing; and relying on their product...   

But for any other opinions - as Paul Keating once succinctly stated -- its just:

Unrepresentative swill       
                      

And I don't have it in a car that is alomost 15yrs and probably have the same amount of rust.  But I can say, as a spray painter, I know nothing about rust and where it is and how it forms, or where I could find it on your car.. 
And the reality is, cars arnt built to last so chances are you will trade it in to keep up with the jones or it will have some other drama before you have major rust problems anyway. Unless you try driving to Fraser, with out the barge.

[KingBilly]

re: the sarcasm on the Couplertec system (above) - do you know how really @#$% "anyone" looks.. making comments on equipment they have never had any first-hand experience with..??

I have at least used a Couplertec for 6 years and can speak first hand about my experience with the product...    Virtually zero rust; and definitely nil of any concern...  bucket loads of beach driving etc...  Quite happy if the company has never had a car replacement warranty claim... (and no - I am not associated with the company, just a satisfied client)..

LOL...    ...any opinion that's worth the ink its written with - must be either backed up with numerous (aka thousands of) first-hand experiences with a product / and - or backed up with quantitative research; conducted using the Scientific Method...     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method      ... Regarding the first point - I guess Couplertec is being sued now by the hundreds of SLSCs and mining companies etc that they quote as endorsing; and relying on their product...   

But for any other opinions - as Paul Keating once succinctly stated -- its just:

Unrepresentative swill       
                      

Take a chill pill mate.  Modern cars have pretty good rust protection from the factory.  As oldmate says, you will more than likely replace the vehicle before any electronic rust protection has a chance to substantiate its cost.  I am yet to be convinced they work.  Have a nice night.

KB

[Symon]

LOL...    ...any opinion that's worth the ink its written with - must be either backed up with numerous (aka thousands of) first-hand experiences with a product / and - or backed up with quantitative research; conducted using the Scientific Method...     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method      ... Regarding the first point - I guess Couplertec is being sued now by the hundreds of SLSCs and mining companies etc that they quote as endorsing; and relying on their product...   

I find it interesting that you quote the scientific method considering that Couplertec (or any other manufacturer of ERPS) have never, nor will they ever, submit their product for independent testing.

Do your own research, and look at their testimonials, all of them are anecdotal with no actual independent data.  As for this evidence, I am sure you are aware of the term confirmation bias.

The mine sites that use these products don't have any data that prove that they work either.  I work for a rather large mining company and I noticed that we use them on one site only, and not on any others.  I contacted that site and asked about it, and they said they were still in trial but so far hadn't noticed any difference to the corrosion rates of their vehicles.  I noticed they only were looking at them for light vehicles, heavy equipment does not have them fitted.

Also while you are doing some research you will also find that these products are banned from sale in some areas of north America.  The reason? Because they are a SCAM and have been subject to fines from the relevant jurisdictions.

Finally, go ask anyone who has any qualifications in chemistry, physics, or electricity.  They will tell you that these units simply cannot work, unless they somehow violate the laws of physics.

[oldmate]

I have at least used a Couplertec for 6 years and can speak first hand about my experience with the product...    Virtually zero rust; and definitely nil of any concern...  bucket loads of beach driving etc...  Quite happy if the company has never had a car replacement warranty claim... (and no - I am not associated with the company, just a satisfied client)..
and relying on their product...   
                      

And this comment just cracks me up.  Clearly your coupletec doesn't work. You should have NO RUST!

But you stand by their product mate. All good.

Hey, head over to the showroom, I think jeepers is having a runout sale on the rainaway system to coincide with the myswag nat meet. You'll never have to worry about rain again.