Battery woes

flank · Post by **flank** » Sun May 28, 2017 6:08 pm

Hey Y'all,

Hoping someone can maybe give me some insight into my batteries woes before I dig for wiring diagrams and get into the old Delica up to my elbows.

Long story short there's an ~3amp draw on the battery when she's off. I've done some basic troubleshooting, removed all the fuses one by one in the fuse box watching for a drop with no luck. I then moved on to the fusible links and had some luck removing the link from the 'light' section, dropping the draw to essentially zero. I then decided to unplug the stereo and check that as I figured they're usually an offender and an easy check, sadly no luck. Do anyone here know what else might live on that 'light' circuit that could be pulling 3amps?

Any and all suggestions/help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Sun May 28, 2017 8:16 pm

Which model of Delica- L300 (starwagon) or L400 (spacegear), and what trim level (Exceed, Super Exceed, Jasper, etc)? You might get more replies by posting this in the appropriate technical forum.

3A is about 36Watts, which is quite a lot- something drawing that much would be getting quite hot.

On a L300 the only things on that fusible link that don't go also go through the fuse box are (off the top of my head) the alternator sense wire, windscreen washer motor, headlamp relay, headlamp column stalk, and the condenser. Though someone might have added some aftermarket accessories and wired them into that circuit- is there anything non-factory in your van?

flank · Post by **flank** » Sun May 28, 2017 10:27 pm

Thanks Growlerbearnz, those are great places to start looking. It's an L300 Exceed, nothing aftermarket except for the North American stereo.

Friend at work laughed @ the 3amp draw and said I should be able to find my issue with an IR Thermometer Gun. I'll start checking your suggestions and hopefully something gives. Thanks again.

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Mon May 29, 2017 2:33 am

On an L300 my first call would be the alternator, mainly because it's the most likely to draw that much without any obvious symptoms, but also because it's easiest to get to. From underneath, unplug the square-ish plug above the main power terminal and see if your current draw goes away.

The headlamp stalk is also notorious for failing, though I can't imagine how it would fail in a way that drew current (without turning on an obvious lamp).

I'll move this to "L300 Technical" so we don't confuse the L400 drivers. It might be a good time to update your profile with your new Delica's info too