My wife's Copen 2009 1.3 discharges the battery after 10 to 14 days when not used. It has had a total of 3 batteries fitted under warranty including the original and when testing the battery discharge using a 12 volt bulb linked to the removed earth terminal with the car having every thing switched off and both doors closed when earth terminal is made contact the bulb lights up which indicates a drain somewhere. Honest John on internet reports on this problem. I know just use the car more often but if we use the car to go to an airport for a holiday I know it will not start when we return. Disconnecting the earth lead appears to be the answer but this could affect the insurance as the alarm is also disabled. Anyone out there cured this problem? Other to this the car is great.
Das ist sehr interessant. I have the same problem with a brand new battery which cannot turn the starter after the car has not been used for 4 days. The alternator is fine and the standing drain on the battery is only 35 milliamperes which I assume keeps the burglar alarm up. The battery is a sealed type so its not possible to take a SG of the acid instead a green disc is supposed to appear in a window when the battery is charged. This has never happened so I have returned the battery. Keep your eyes peeled for the next thrilling installment !
I've also got the same problem, infact my cars battery is currently (no pun there) on charge. Last winter about a year ago I noticed the starter motor turning a bit slow so I charged the battery and had no further problems, until a couple of weeks ago. The starter again was a bit sluggish turning over the engine so I charged it up and again ok. However I noticed the slow turn over return just before Xmas and then the car wouldn't start. I'm going to do some tests when the battery is fully charged again but I think I need a new battery. The thing is so small that a slight drop in performance will cause starting problems in winter.
With something to measure the current connected to the battery ground lead - e.g. multimeter / current clamp Pull some fuses out one by one. Also disconnect the feed to the starter motor. Thus you can isolate where the load is, then attempt to resolve it.
I'm going to do something along those lines when I get a minute. After charging the battery I connected a device I have that told me I had 75 to 100% charging rate and the alternator is ok. The battery isn't the original one, I don't know how old it is but my car is only six years old and I would expect the original lasted at least three. That makes mine likely between three and four years so it should still have life in it.
It wouldn't surprise me if the battery was the issue, if it's 4 years old. The Copen's battery isn't exactly massive, which exacerbates the issue somewhat
Yes I know, plus it isn't a good make its a drive master. I'll do some tests tomorrow then buy a new battery if there isn't any leakage anywhere.
i think this is normal as my battery would be flat if not used or around a week and a half without starting and its in the garage so i just leave the negative terminal off so it lasts longer... probz the alarm is draining it
Put a current/ammeter on it and see what its standby load is like. Could have fault on a system somewhere. Copens are not great for parked battery life at the best of times.
mmmmmm, The 660cc Copen battery is rated at 36Ah and the drain is 35mA (say 36mA for this discussion) which means it should last 36/0.036 hours to full discharge which would be 1000 hrs or around 6 weeks however that doesn't mean that the battery will start the car after standing for six weeks. (Note, a Plante battery should never be allowed to go into what is known as deep discharge as when it is used again it can be damaged) The Copen battery has a cold cranking capacity of 330 A and each time the car is started (say the key is turned for 5 seconds) the current draw will be around 300 A and the battery capacity will reduce by around 0.5Ah. Theorectically then the car should start after the battery capacity is down to say 1Ah which would occur after 5.5 weeks. (This is a theory only and highly unlikely in practice) So, if your battery is flat after just 10 days you have a problem and its probably the battery at fault. I'm just comng out of the same problem myself. Having replaced the battery with a new one I thought my troubles were over however the car would not start if it was left for over 3 or 4 days. It turned out the new battery was a dud. The vendor replaced it and now all is well with the little fella. Ned PS If I'm wrong I live in a jungle in a place you never heard of
No more battery problems I too used to have issues with my battery going flat. Having read numerous posts here I thought it was a copen thing and knowing the battery had to be charged when I brought it, guessed it was that. With the engine off the battery was giving about 6v output. With the engine running, it was almost 15v which is far too high. The battery didn't charge on my charger either, so first step was a new battery from euro parts. Fitted it and the alternator was still overcharging (volts measured on the battery with engine at 2000rpm should be 14.2) and that many volts started to boil the battery. That's what knackered the old one. So a new alternator from euro parts and it's perfect. I hadn't used the car for 3 weeks since Christmas, got in it and it fired up first time perfectly. So check the voltage of the battery, check it can take a charge, check the output of the alternator too. If it's draining/not charging, it's not right, cured a whole heap of issues for me.
I think its just normal for copens to go flat quickly... after 3 or 4 days no theres a problem but around 2 weeks and I guarantee it wont start sometimes even after say week and a bit like 10days I use a yuasa battery too
Runners is right you should check the alternator also. I can confirm that the standing voltage should be around 12.5 Volts and 14.2 Volts when the engine is running. The Copen is no different to any other car and should not be incapable of starting after a few days of non-use. Ned
I've previously left my car for a fortnight in the summer and it started fine. The recent non start I had hasn't returned after I charged the battery. The battery is small so I just put it down to that being the problem. It's best to keep an eye on it during the winter and if you notice the car not starting crisply give it a charge or a good run without lights etc on.
I've never had to do this on a Copen yet. But 35mA is quite a high standby load for such a simple basic vehicle. It wouldn't surprise me if it was on a tricked up model BMW, but they have a battery like ferry anchor. Running the alarm on standby, and a tiny tickle for the ecu's on such a simple Denso vehicle should be like 10mA max. I resolve flat battery vehicles a few times a week. This week I have had a Merc C200 Compressor which went flat in 2 days, which was a faulty standard radio which was not going into standby. A Citroen C3 which had a corroded body control module which meant it went flat over night. And a Kia Sorento which goes flat over a couple of days, which is due to non of the modules on the car are going onto standby (door modules, clocks, seat modules, etc).
My battery drains after a few days. I have checked the fuses today, and the following are causing a problem:door lock, hazard and tail light fuses, they are all drawing amps. Any advice on how I should go about trying to resolve this would be most welcome. Thanks.
