[W126 Coupe] Long term Problem

[scott gregory]

Oh yeah, and for the month or so that I have been a 
member of this list ,my delete button has gotten a
work out! But I dont mind, this is a great source of
info.,and happy to be here.  thank you.  scott.

--- Vance Rowley <vance.rowley at tiscali.co.uk> wrote:

> Hi everyone,
> 
>   I will firstly start by saying I agree with those
> that say if you don't like what you see regarding
> any particular emails posted, then just either don't
> read them, or just delete them (free speech and all
> that). I can't agree more. However, I have had this
> on-going problem regarding my battery drain for so
> long now, I have actually been reluctant to post it
> to the list, as I thought it would have become quite
> boring and uninteresting for others on the list. I
> have been emailing privately to other members
> regarding this problem. But I have changed my mind,
> as there well could be someone out there on the list
> that could spot something they might have
> experienced themselves or spot a clue in my last
> emails and know the answer, or at least have a few
> more clues. I haven't had a chance to do some of the
> suggestions yet, but I welcome any more that could
> get rid of this problem. Below is a copy of one of
> my latest emails that some questions and answers
> myself and Bellamy have been discussing privately
> regarding this horrible intermittent 6amp current
> draw I still have.
> If you are one of those that are getting bored with
> my mails on the same subject, then just ignore it,
> don't read it or just delete it. But I have a
> feeling there are a large amount of members that
> might be interested. Hoping so anyway.
> 
> Best regards,
> Vance.
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: Mister McGoo 
>   To: vance.rowley at tiscali.co.uk 
>   Sent: Friday, February 10, 2006 5:26 AM
>   Subject: Re: [W126 Coupe] Re: battery drain
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>   Hah.  The plot thickens........
> 
>   You said one interesting thing.... when you
> reconnect the battery, the flashers come on
> momentarily (and obviously draw current).
> 
>   Did your system ever work properly?  Did the alarm
> system set as it should and did  you ever NOT have
> the power drain problem?  You mentioned that it has
> been happening for a few years? Yes, the system most
> definitely used to work properly. When I lived in
> Thessaloniki, Greece and I took my vacation
> (normally two weeks each time) I would park my car
> in the Hyatt Regency staff car park (the company I
> was working for at the time) and also arm the
> alarm/immobiliser. After returning from a 2 week
> vacation, I would activate the Meta key fob remote
> to unlock the car and which would also disarm the
> alarm and immobiliser at the same time. Then you
> have 15 seconds to start the car, otherwise the
> immobiliser re-activates. This is normal and when I
> went to start the car, the engine would turn over as
> if I had just put a brand new battery on. So
> obviously, this problem has not always been there.
> Although it took a long time to find out there was a
> problem, because if I used the car on a daily basis
> (which I did a lot) you wouldn't notice any problem.
> 
>   I am not familiar with car alarms.  All I know is
> they usually come "on" by themselves for no reason,
> in parking lots, in the middle of the day, with
> nobody within fifty feet of the car.  That is
> followed shortly by the red-faced owner running
> across the parking lot to disarm the alarm. Never
> had a problem in that department. The alarm was not
> one of those super sensitive ones which could set
> off with a gust of wind. And I know it works from a
> genuine time when someone smashed my window and
> tried to get into what they thought was the glove
> compartment (marks on the dash) of course this
> wasn't the glove compartment, it was the passenger
> airbag system. This as well as a test now and then
> has proven in the past, this system used to work
> perfectly.
> 
>   BUT.  Many alarm systems that are activated
> remotely acknowledge that the doors are locked and
> the alarm is armed by either a tiny "toot" on the
> horn, and/or the flashers activating once or twice. 
> Does your alarm system give any signal when you have
> remotely armed the system? You get an indication
> that the alarm is armed just by the flashers
> flashing 4 times and disarmed with just one long
> flash of the hazards. You arm and disarm the alarm
> only with the key fob remote. You have the option to
> just lock the car manually with the key, but leave
> the alarm disarmed (although the immobiliser will
> still automatically arm itself regardless whether
> you arm the alarm or not).
> 
>   I suspect that when you re-connect the battery,
> the alarm system is acknowledging that this device
> is re-connected (not necessarily armed).  If that is
> the case, I would suspect that the source of the
> problem is with the alarm system rather than the
> hazard flashers. Could be right on that one, but I
> am left in a very difficult position to prove or
> disprove that. The alarm and immobiliser still seem
> to work as they should. I have searched the web for
> possible problems like this one regarding alarm
> systems without any luck at all. I have even called
> the dealer I originally bought the car from, but
> they don't deal with the company who fitted the
> alarm system, so no info there either.
> 
>   (I have disconnected and re-connected batteries
> many times and have never had the flashers come
> "on") I think this is only on mine due to the Meta
> alarm system, which I think you mentioned before,
> probably has it's own relay somewhere and is just
> sort of "booting up" on connection of the battery.
> 
>   It is possible that the alarm system is
> disconnecting itself from time to time (perhaps an
> internal resetting breaker because of some short in
> the circuit) and the flashers come "on" when the
> system re-sets. Very good point, that sounds very
> plausible, but the car is parked just outside my
> living room window and I have not noticed the
> flashers/hazards coming on to point to that
> possibility. But I suppose there could be some kind
> of reset happening where maybe it won't effect the
> hazards, as I have witnessed this 6amp draw come on
> without the flashers.
> 
>   Look at your circuit fuse key under the lid of the
> fuse box.  It should list a 16 amp fuse for the
> "Anti-theft Alarm System".  It tells you what other
> functions it is used for.  (I have the key for the
> 1986 SEL - it shows "Outside Heated Mirrors" as the
> only other function for that fuse.) I will check,
> but as I am not using the factory alarm (at least
> not normally if at all) then I don't know if that
> would do any good. But under these circumstances, I
> will certainly give it a try.
> 
>   Also you would have a relay labled "Auxillary Fuse
> Holder (Anti-theft Alarm System)", a small aluminum
> (pronounced wrong in America) cube shaped relay
> likely in socket "K" (left row, front, nearest fuse
> #11... typically, you must pull it out to see the
> "K").  You may have to pull that out also to
> disconnect all power to the alarm system, but I
> doubt that. There is an auxiliary fuse holder (a
> small plastic cube with a pull off top) this is to
> the right of the main fuse box. There is space for
> just 2 fuses, but these are not installed. Well, one
> of them was there, but I pulled that one out last
> week and haven't noticed any difference in the
> current draw situation, and even more confusing, I
> haven't noticed anything no longer working without
> the fuse there.
> 
>   THEN see if you still have a power draw.I haven't
> checked this relay you mentioned, I will look into
> that one also and let you know of what results I
> get.
> 
>   Your four way flashers and turn signals should
> still work.
> 
>   ALSO: (you likely know this) "MetaSystem" has a
> website and "Abacus Car Alarms" appears to be a
> major distributor for the systems in London.  I
> don't know where you are, but obviously Meta is
> still very much in business and there should be
> dealers around who would be happy to answer
> questions.  It shouldn't matter how old your system
> is, you're a customer who someday may buy a new
> system.  And you'll never buy another Meta System if
> you're not happy with it.  "Meta Alarms" search in
> Google will bring up a number of sites. I used a
> different search engine, but not any hits worth
> while. I will try Google.
> 
>   You're right, this is a very peculiar problem,
> likely not of great interest to many people.  The
> "off-line" connection was accidential but maybe
> that's best anyway.  By the way, what IS the year of
> your SEC? 1991 Euro 560. The full 300HP version.
> Even though I am in the UK, this is a left hand
> drive version also. In fact I got it from a left
> hand drive specialist in London as I was living in
> Greece at the time where of course they drive on the
> same side of the road as most other countries do
> (except here in the UK of course) There is a rumour
> for the UK to come in line with the rest of Europe
> to change over to drive on the right instead. So the
> best 
=== message truncated ===


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