Land Rover and Range Rover Forum banner

1997 Discovery, Battery continues to lose charge

13K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  pavel 
#1 ·
Greetings. Drive a 1997 discovery with ~70k miles. Recently (3/2008) the battery about one year old (replaced 2/2007) has been losing its charge not allowing the vehicle to start up. In thinking that it was a bad battery, jumped it and brought it over to the mechanic for a pro rated swap out replacement, but the mechanics test results show the battery to be fine and he says its within the parameters of voltage. We gave the battery a good charge, but it loses the charge every 3 to 5 days. Presently, can't rely on the vehicle and can't keep re-charging the battery every few days. What's your take?
 
#2 ·
take it to your local indy shop who works on rovers or at least has a clue ....how often do you drive the truck ?
are you sure that your alt is working and that you are not just running off the battery ???

what is the amp draw from the battery when the truck is off and the key is out ??
if we knew more about your truck we might be more help
 
#3 ·
i say bad alt. i that problem once. and that fixed it. although check your connections first its cheaper.
 
#4 ·
I agree, Rover alternators are known to failing drawing down the battery. Go have your alternator tested and repaired.
Mike
 
#5 ·
Could be that or could be more.......

Any external accessories or is the D1 stock? As well as the alternator , you could have a pinched wire or set of wires that could corroded or shorted and are drawing just enough current to run the battery flat.

You sure you have all the interior lights off? Any minor that could be drawing a current of about 200 milliamps to 1/2 amp draw would be enough to kill a car battery.

Until your problem is resolved, install a kill switch on your battery until you can track down your gremblin. It could be a short or in my case, I drove about 70 miles in a snowstorm with a third-party wiring harness and water got into the relays. It caused a short in my driving lights and I had to cut the wiring to turn off the lights.

For a few days, I had the same situation with the battery running flat until I inspected the wires and noted it had melted. Nice.
 
#6 ·
Additional information provided below for comprehensive evaluation.

I see you are seeking added information. Team members thank you for your help. Let me add that in September 2007, I drove to a destination and then when leaving the vehicle didn't start up so I needed to have the vehicle towed to the shop, where the mechanic replaced the starter motor, starter core and fuel pressure regulator. During the same visit they also checked out and tested the alternator and battery and was told they were both in proper working order.

The vehicle drove fine until November/December 2007, when I needed another jump start and the mechanic re-tested the parts that were replaced in September 2007, in addition to the battery (replaced 2/2007) and alternator, which all tested fine. Boosted the battery once again, and the vehicle was fine for another 2 or so months (February, 2008), when the Discovery didn't turn over once again (click, click, click, click etc.)

Jump ahead to the original post, and here we are. I should also add that the vehicle is 100% stock, maintained on schedule and driven (up until the current situation, regularly.)

Need any additional info, will do my best to provide, since I am fairly new to posting in forums. Thanks.
 
#7 ·
There is "something" draining the battery (assuming the alternator checks good). I haven't had my Disco long enough to notice any problems like that, but my experience over the years with older cars and newer computer controlled cars shows me that a car with a good charged battery can sit for several weeks and still turn over and start, unless there is something constantly draining the battery. Things to look for (simple things) are an under-hood work light that stays on, glove box light that stays on. Aftermarket radio wired wrong, so always pulling power, etc.

Of course your clock (if you have one) will always draw a miniscule amount of power, really a trivial amount not to be concerned with. Don't discount the simple things, it is not always a complicated problem.
 
#9 ·
kramknile: we have a '96 D1 with only 55k miles... it sits around alot. Our battery goes flat regularly if the vehicle isn't driven for a few days once every 2 weeks. We have been told that the problem is the very small current draw from the alarm system (including radio) and the clock - the ECU might also have a tiny draw with the engine off. Apparently, the battery plates get "sulfated up" causing the charge to be less than optimal. Once I charge the battery, we can start and run again normally but it takes about 50 miles of driving to fully charge the battery.

A partial solution is to add a solar trickle charger which simply plugs into the cig lighter. Bought a 1.8 watt solar unit that sits on the dash (or is attached to the alpine window) at Canadian Tire for $10 - most online suppliers want $29.95 for the identical unit - I bought 3 of them. In our case, we drive less thirsty vehicles routinely and keep the Disco solely for fun - reg fuel is now $4.80 per US gallon ($5.69 per Imperial gallon) up here at the end of the world.
 
#10 ·
I replaced the faulty alternator in my 1995 Disco with a CS-style Delco unit out of a gm vehicle. Needed very little mods to adapt to Disco's factory mounting bracket, and the wiring was dead-easy. Charges great, and the tach works. Also saved me about $200 from price of a rebuilt OEM unit.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top