FredR

Further update:

Managed to get hold of a 10 amp fuse to get the digital meter viable. Was not able to run the car and test the way I normally do it with the strap connected and the meter in parallel then disconnect the strap- had to settle for a cold test with just the meter connected to earth. The meter in that configuration registered 0.04 amps to earth [40 mA]. I armed the locking system and it showed the same.

I then disconnected the hatch release motor and the leakage immediately dropped to 0.001 amps and the same with lock armed. Thus the hatch release alone is bleeding 40mA when it should not be leaking anything or indeed have anything to leak if the remote actuator **** is working correctly. My presumption is that there is a fault on the release ****, maybe it has damaged the motor and thus a leakage path. Such leakage rate does not explain the battery going flat in a matter of 5 days though so there may well be more to this story as I dig deeper..

Alan

It is not likely that 40mA is your real culprit - though you need to get that fixed anyway. I'd be inclined to replace the whole hatch motor - perhaps with the VW unit. In the short term investigate if the leakage goes away with the 1A fuse removed - this only controls the parking function. You will need to figure out keeping the battery ground connected at all times (either via the meter or the parallel connection of the strap) after running the car to ensure you are seeing all leakages on the meter. Many leakage paths just go away as soon as you break the power circuit - and don't return until the cars has started & run again...

BTW your 1mA number for locked & armed sounds implausible (by more than an order of magnitude) ... but you'd need to be testing on the 200mA range for good accuracy?

Alan

FredR

Hi Alan,

Thanks for the thoughts - at the moment I am not reading too much into the data as I expect a reading of 30mA when it is working well.

Just got in from the garage as I did a bit more digging around. The connector I mentioned yesterday was in fact the latch contact switch with the connections at the base of the assembly - I assume that tells the logic whether the hatch is closed or released.

On the positive side I pulled the cover over the handbrake and undid the connectors for the hatch release pull switch. Gave the terminals an instant contact and the motor spins one revolution so the 1 amp fuse is good and only the instant contact switch is goosed. It kind of feels seized up which is surprising in that the last time I fired it a fe years ago it working ok but the latch adjustment was out. Now I need a new insert for the latch assembly as that has crumbled into ghost poo.as they do every 20 years or so.

For the leakage test I did I had the multi meter connected in parallel, undid the earth strap, closed the doors and locked the car. If the connector that carries the contact signal from the latch is disengaged, should that be left open circuit or closed contact to fool the logic that the latch is closed- I would think it should be closed circuit as there is no contact on the switch when the hatch is open.

Next test I will use 200mA range but need to run the motor [or so I have always understood] before shutting down and testing the leakage.

Rgds

Fred.

Alan

The latch switch is a 'functionally' normally open switch (e.g. with hatch closed - its normal position). It closes only when the hatch is open - so leave the wire disconnected (in fact insulate the end with tape to avoid grounding)

This switch only detects the hatch position - open /closed, nothing to do with the lock status - all lock status comes from the upper hatch lock body by virtue of the key switch (to the alarm).

Alan

FredR

Seems I have made some progress. I disconnected the power to the remote opening motor and also the open/closed switch on the latch. I measured the leakage to earth at 80mA which I suspect is a bit excessive but should should take around 30 days] to discharge 65 amp hours if my mental arithmetic is still worth anything. Left it for 5 days and the car started normally today.

I also did a bit of r/r on the handbrake cover that was looking a bit grotty. REmoved the fabric cover, gave it a good wash [the amount of crud that came out of it was somewhat surprising] and with some contact adhesive reattached it- looks like new. .

Alan

Fred from a useful perspective its much less than that, you need to target well over 50% capacity remaining to viably start under all conditions - so maybe ~half that..

But indeed at that level workable for >> a week so viable in typical usage at least - but more to find

Alan

FredR

Alan,

I have not checked what it is leaking at the moment - theoretically it should not be any less than what I measured last week but stranger things have happened. My expectancy is 30mA or less.
To be clear, that is the reading I took last week ut as I think about it I am a bit unsure whether that was with the release motor connected or disconnected. The release switch was in a poor shape with the thing pretty much seized but after I freed it up the motor seemed to work as it should with a single cycle and then stop.

I have a feeling there is more leakage still to be found