Problem with Fiat Ducato alarm system (1 Viewer)

[artona]

AN elderly neighbour called yesterday to ask about a problem he has been having with his immobilser on his Fiat Ducato. If he leaves it for switched on for three days or more the immobiliser/alarm system totally flattens his vehicle battery.

Has anyone else had this problem and is there a way around it other than leaving the alarm system switched off

 

[scotjimland]

Sounds like his battery is on it's last legs Stew ... or it's not being charged..

With engine running test the voltage at the battery, should be over 14v .. if that's ok have the battery drop tested and replace if it fails.

 

[chrisgreen]

i would be looking at the battery,not the alarm.
can he turn his movement sensors off and see if it lasts longer?

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[artona]

Thanks Jim. I should have said he has had this problem since the vehicle was new. Its a 2006 ducatto. Timberland, the converters said its as expected so for the past five years he has been taking it for a run every few days.

 

[artona]

i would be looking at the battery,not the alarm.
can he turn his movement sensors off and see if it lasts longer?

Will ask

 

[bernardfeay]

maybe something else is draining the battery. I have to take the facia of my radio because I found out that that had a drain.

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[rainbow chasers]

It is possibly the battery, but to test this, you just need to throw a voltmeter across, both off and running to check voltages. Anything below 12 off, or 14.5 whilst running you may have a problem.

Another big drain can be the stereo - particularly after market ones, as they eat power when not on. Sometimes removing the facia can help, other times not. The best way to cure this is to have a storage switch fitted, which will knock out the stereo (& clock if required) whilst stood or in storage.

 

[Reallyretired]

My alarm/immobiliser also would flatten the battery in a week or so (Mercedes). Removing the radio front panel seemed to help a bit. Otherwise do what I did and get a solar panel (assuming you don't park it under cover of course)

 

[MikeandCarolyn]

have the battery drop tested and replace if it fails.

er,from how high sorry,couldn't resist.
Mike

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[Motoberg]

If you can find the positive feed to the imobiliser and disconnect it you can stick a multimeter in SERIES between that wire and where it was connected to which will tell you how much current its pulling.

If you know the Amp-hour rating of the battery you'll have a rough idea how long it should last