Tailgate harness wiring on R3 200/25/ZR

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GTiJohn
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Re: Tailgate harness wiring on R3 200/25/ZR

Post by GTiJohn »

Johnny 216GSi wrote: Mon Jan 01, 2024 2:39 am I'm taking credit for "the green and black wires" comment I made well before you found the problem. :angel

Spot on but you weren't the first to have this problem... :laughing2

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I like Twin Cams.... and Single Cams...and now Turbos
Scarlett Orr
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Re: Tailgate harness wiring on R3 200/25/ZR

Post by Scarlett Orr »

Hi everyone

I'm new to the forum and to the club but I've had my 25 for six years now so very much a fan! I've recently been having a lot of problems with my 25 with the current one being an electrical issue. My 5AS unit was playing up so I got that fixed and went to check the wires running through the tailgate - of course almost all were broken. I have been having issues with something draining the battery when the car isn't being driven, so extreme that the car is unusable as it won't start if you leave it longer than a couple of hours after charging the battery fully. As the tailgate harness was pretty ruined anyway I attempted to solder in new sections of wire but after doing this I still have the same discharging problem. I've ordered a new harness and am going to attempt to fit that (a job I was rather hoping to avoid but it seems I cannot), but I am concerned that there is a different cause to the problem. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what could be causing the rapid discharging? Any advice on the harness replacement job is also much appreciated, I'm not hugely experienced in things like this!

Thank you :)
itcaptainslow
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Re: Tailgate harness wiring on R3 200/25/ZR

Post by itcaptainslow »

A rough & ready, but effective, way of narrowing down what is causing the drain is to work methodically through the fuse box, pulling fuses individually to isolate various circuits (making a note of which circuit) and seeing if the battery still drains. Obviously when it doesn’t, you have found the affected circuit.

The process can be sped up significantly by purchasing and using a multimeter to measure battery drain whilst pulling the fuses. It’s worth waiting a few minutes before starting/between each fuse to allow the circuits to power down and residual current to dissipate.

I don’t have exact figures for the 25 to hand, but “normal” current draw with the ignition switched off and powered down shouldn’t exceed around 0.03-0.04 amps as a reasonable rule. You’ll be seeing way more than this with a flat battery in a couple of hours (that’s a huge draw!) - a healthy 52ah battery would last just over 20 hours with a 2.5 amp drain.

If you’ve an aftermarket stereo, I’d start there by disconnecting that…

On a side note, I would also take the battery to be tested at a motor factor/garage/even Halfords. You may find it has a knackered cell or two (especially if it’s been repeatedly flattened) and isn’t holding a charge correctly.
Scarlett Orr
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Re: Tailgate harness wiring on R3 200/25/ZR

Post by Scarlett Orr »

itcaptainslow wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2024 2:33 pm A rough & ready, but effective, way of narrowing down what is causing the drain is to work methodically through the fuse box, pulling fuses individually to isolate various circuits (making a note of which circuit) and seeing if the battery still drains. Obviously when it doesn’t, you have found the affected circuit.

The process can be sped up significantly by purchasing and using a multimeter to measure battery drain whilst pulling the fuses. It’s worth waiting a few minutes before starting/between each fuse to allow the circuits to power down and residual current to dissipate.

I don’t have exact figures for the 25 to hand, but “normal” current draw with the ignition switched off and powered down shouldn’t exceed around 0.03-0.04 amps as a reasonable rule. You’ll be seeing way more than this with a flat battery in a couple of hours (that’s a huge draw!) - a healthy 52ah battery would last just over 20 hours with a 2.5 amp drain.

If you’ve an aftermarket stereo, I’d start there by disconnecting that…

On a side note, I would also take the battery to be tested at a motor factor/garage/even Halfords. You may find it has a knackered cell or two (especially if it’s been repeatedly flattened) and isn’t holding a charge correctly.
Thank you so much for your help! I'll give that a go.
SteveB
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Re: Tailgate harness wiring on R3 200/25/ZR

Post by SteveB »

I had quite a significant battery drain on my 214 a while ago - turned out to be the alternator.

If you don't have a meter handy, an easy way to check is to unplug the alternator, wait a few hours (overnight perhaps - should be long enough if it's draining within a couple of hours), plug it back in and see what the battery's like. If it hasn't drained at all then you've found the problem. But don't run the engine with the alternator unplugged.
itcaptainslow
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Re: Tailgate harness wiring on R3 200/25/ZR

Post by itcaptainslow »

SteveB wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2024 10:59 pm I had quite a significant battery drain on my 214 a while ago - turned out to be the alternator.

If you don't have a meter handy, an easy way to check is to unplug the alternator, wait a few hours (overnight perhaps - should be long enough if it's draining within a couple of hours), plug it back in and see what the battery's like. If it hasn't drained at all then you've found the problem. But don't run the engine with the alternator unplugged.
That is a very good “straight to the fault” shout - I had to replace my alternator regulator on my R8 a couple of years ago, as it turned into a power hoover from the battery!

Unfortunately, the location of the alternator right next to the exhaust manifold means it gets a bit hot…

You can also check this by checking the charge rate of the alternator with the engine running using the multimeter across the battery terminals - it should be a steady 14v. Mine was fluctuating all over the place, from 0v to 15v! Another symptom of a knackered regulator.
Scarlett Orr
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Re: Tailgate harness wiring on R3 200/25/ZR

Post by Scarlett Orr »

SteveB wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2024 10:59 pm I had quite a significant battery drain on my 214 a while ago - turned out to be the alternator.

If you don't have a meter handy, an easy way to check is to unplug the alternator, wait a few hours (overnight perhaps - should be long enough if it's draining within a couple of hours), plug it back in and see what the battery's like. If it hasn't drained at all then you've found the problem. But don't run the engine with the alternator unplugged.
Thank you for the advice, I changed the alternator about two years ago but I didn't buy a great brand (broke uni student haha) so it might be that. I'll be sure to check it :)
Scarlett Orr
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Re: Tailgate harness wiring on R3 200/25/ZR

Post by Scarlett Orr »

itcaptainslow wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2024 11:22 pm
SteveB wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2024 10:59 pm I had quite a significant battery drain on my 214 a while ago - turned out to be the alternator.

If you don't have a meter handy, an easy way to check is to unplug the alternator, wait a few hours (overnight perhaps - should be long enough if it's draining within a couple of hours), plug it back in and see what the battery's like. If it hasn't drained at all then you've found the problem. But don't run the engine with the alternator unplugged.
That is a very good “straight to the fault” shout - I had to replace my alternator regulator on my R8 a couple of years ago, as it turned into a power hoover from the battery!

Unfortunately, the location of the alternator right next to the exhaust manifold means it gets a bit hot…

You can also check this by checking the charge rate of the alternator with the engine running using the multimeter across the battery terminals - it should be a steady 14v. Mine was fluctuating all over the place, from 0v to 15v! Another symptom of a knackered regulator.
Thanks for even more advice!
itcaptainslow
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Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2018 1:22 pm
Location: Letchworth

Re: Tailgate harness wiring on R3 200/25/ZR

Post by itcaptainslow »

Scarlett Orr wrote: Tue Jan 30, 2024 8:52 am
SteveB wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2024 10:59 pm I had quite a significant battery drain on my 214 a while ago - turned out to be the alternator.

If you don't have a meter handy, an easy way to check is to unplug the alternator, wait a few hours (overnight perhaps - should be long enough if it's draining within a couple of hours), plug it back in and see what the battery's like. If it hasn't drained at all then you've found the problem. But don't run the engine with the alternator unplugged.
Thank you for the advice, I changed the alternator about two years ago but I didn't buy a great brand (broke uni student haha) so it might be that. I'll be sure to check it :)
You can replace just the regulator rather than the whole alternator - it’s a fair chunk cheaper.
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