Battery drain when parked?

[Auris Geezer]

My 2017 Auris hybrid is parked in a locked and alarmed garage over night.  Would it be fair to say that the 12v Battery would not have any drain on it if I left the car unlocked please? TIA.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Might invalidate your insurance. For example my policy (LV) states:

"Ignition device - you must always close windows and sun roofs, lock your doors, and take your ignition device with you when you leave your car unattended."

Doesn't matter where it is parked.

[furtula]

Imobilizer might still be active even if car is not locked, also, the car will always listen for remote fob activation, so some power will always be drained, locked or not.

A healthy Battery should last few weeks before draining completely.

If you are experiencing issues with your Battery, doing this is not a way to solve it.

 

[Catlover]

3 hours ago, Auris Geezer said:

My 2017 Auris hybrid is parked in a locked and alarmed garage over night.  Would it be fair to say that the 12v battery would not have any drain on it if I left the car unlocked please? TIA.

If you are using the car regularly for a decent amount of journey time you should have no problem, subject to your 12v Battery being ok.    What type of journeys do you make and what frequency?

[chrisramsden]

NO. Well, if you're confident that the alarm/immobiliser is the ONLY drain then, maybe yes. This is my experience. 

I had this problem when in lockdown and working from home. My OBD widget started nagging me about the 12V  Battery. After about two weeks, I wished I hadn't ignored it, as the Battery was flat and the central locking was disabled.

I had to use the mechanical key, climb through to the back, release the tailgate via a panel in the back door and then remove the Battery for charging. 

If you have power nearby, you can connect an external battery or booster to a terminal in the fusebox under the bonnet. In my case, I wasn't near any power to be able to do this. 

I'm currently trialling a solar panel, but it seems not able to keep up with drain. 😞 

[Cyker]

Would the Battery draw be lower with the car unlocked??

[Saxmaniac]

I do exactly that with my 2018 auris and there's never been a problem even when it sat a forghtnight during lockdown

[Auris Geezer]

On 3/17/2022 at 2:06 PM, Catlover said:

If you are using the car regularly for a decent amount of journey time you should have no problem, subject to your 12v battery being ok.    What type of journeys do you make and what frequency?

The car has just had it's MOT and it has done the princely sum of 1600 miles since it's last one, so about 30 miles a week, which isn't much.  Car gets used maybe 2 to 3 times a week. 

I have an Oxford oximiser Battery charger from motorcycling days which has a flylead and plug, which I could permanently attach to the 12v Battery, would this be a useful addition?

[Auris Geezer]

On 3/17/2022 at 8:28 PM, Cyker said:

Would the battery draw be lower with the car unlocked??

👍 My question exactly.

[Catlover]

1 hour ago, Auris Geezer said:

The car has just had it's MOT and it has done the princely sum of 1600 miles since it's last one, so about 30 miles a week, which isn't much.  Car gets used maybe 2 to 3 times a week. 

I have an Oxford oximiser battery charger from motorcycling days which has a flylead and plug, which I could permanently attach to the 12v battery, would this be a useful addition?

30 mile per week in 10 mile return journeys  I don’t think will be enough to keep the Battery up.  What model Oxford Optimiser do you have?

If the Battery in your Auris is in the load area it is likely to be an AGM type. This needs a long slow charge, max 5 amp, this can take as long as 8 hours or more. Take a look at your charger manual, see if it meets this criteria.

[Saxmaniac]

And the best place to connect the charger is in the underbonnet fuse holder, remove the rectangular red cover and there's a jump point blade type terminal

[Auris Geezer]

14 hours ago, Catlover said:

30 mile per week in 10 mile return journeys  I don’t think will be enough to keep the battery up.  What model Oxford Optimiser do you have?

If the battery in your Auris is in the load area it is likely to be an AGM type. This needs a long slow charge, max 5 amp, this can take as long as 8 hours or more. Take a look at your charger manual, see if it meets this criteria.

Yes, it meets the criteria, it's an Oxford Oximiser 900, with a max charge rate of 900 milliamps., and when plugged in, only gives a charge if the Battery voltage drops below 12.6v

Quote manual;-

The Oximiser 900 will maintain and optimise the Battery indefinitely so long as it remains connected to the Battery.b. Continual voltage monitoring determines the battery condition and charge rate requirements. i. At 14.4Volts the charging is automatically stoppedii. If the battery voltage drops below 12.6V it will apply the necessary charge rate to ensure the battery remains in perfect condition. The Oximiser 900 will apply a gentle charge up-to 200mA/h to ensure the battery is brought up to a full charge.iii. If the battery remains in optimum condition, the Oximiser 900 will not attempt to charge the battery, therefore no over-charging can occur.c. In this mode the battery “on-charge” indicator will not be shown.

[Catlover]

Trevor, the other way of charging the 12v is by putting the car into Ready mode (that is the point where READY is shown on the dash and just before you selectD orR and drive off). This is when the main hybrid Battery is charging the 12v Battery, just as if you driving the car. Needs to be done for about an hour to get a decent amount of charge in the 12v.  OR take the car for a good run of about an hour. Do one or the other weekly cto keep the Battery up.

[furtula]

Trickle charge should do the trick, or you can do a nice 20 mile run 1x per week, that should keep the Battery charged up.

 

[Tepi-46]

My auris hybrid 2013.The fault in draining the 12v Battery was eliminated by unplgging the warimg licht switch connector. Leakage is occurring from this switc. 

[Hibird]

On 3/17/2022 at 5:28 PM, chrisramsden said:

NO. Well, if you're confident that the alarm/immobiliser is the ONLY drain then, maybe yes. This is my experience. 

I had this problem when in lockdown and working from home. My OBD widget started nagging me about the 12V  battery. After about two weeks, I wished I hadn't ignored it, as the battery was flat and the central locking was disabled.

I had to use the mechanical key, climb through to the back, release the tailgate via a panel in the back door and then remove the battery for charging. 

If you have power nearby, you can connect an external battery or booster to a terminal in the fusebox under the bonnet. In my case, I wasn't near any power to be able to do this. 

I'm currently trialling a solar panel, but it seems not able to keep up with drain. 😞 

I have experimented with solar panels to keep the 12v Battery in good condition on a Yaris with total success, for what its worth here are my thoughts.

1) The obvious one is of course Sun. Where my car is parked it gets 5 hours of sun a day when it's out !🌞

2) I use a 20W panel which gives me around 600ma of charge through the windscreen on a sunny March day so around 3AH a day more than enough. It also manages around 100ma or so for another 4-5 hours. 

3) I use a Victron charge controller great bit of kit, total overkill for the job power wise but fully programble Battery profiles/currents & voltages plus lots more all via bluetooth and ensures the Battery will not be overchared (essential).

It's a great system for extended periods of non use ie Airport Car parks etc but over the top for daily use if the car is/can used on a regular basis or the Ready mode thing is possible in your location.

I think the key thing here is Sun and a high enough capacity solar panel I think a 'AA' 4.8w panel through the windscreen just won't cut it.🙁

Hope this is useful for someone.

 

[Roy124]

1 hour ago, Tepi-46 said:

My auris hybrid 2013.The fault in draining the 12v battery was eliminated by unplgging the warimg licht switch connector. Leakage is occurring from this switc. 

What warning light switch? 

[Tepi-46]

1 hour ago, Roy124 said:

Mikä varoitusvalokytkin? 

Hazard warning flasher.

[FROSTYBALLS]

3 hours ago, Tepi-46 said:

My auris hybrid 2013.The fault in draining the 12v battery was eliminated by unplgging the warimg licht switch connector. Leakage is occurring from this switc. 

There was a Toyota Service Bulletin for this, which affected 2013 and 2014 models only.  See -https://mag.toyota.co.uk/toyota-auris-owners-12-volt-flat-batteries/comment-page-9/

[Tepi-46]

Thank you for the informatioon! Update made in 2014 at a Toyota repair shop also revised in can update to 2020. Installed Defa 12v5ah fixed charger.No more proplems. 

[Roy124]

1 hour ago, Tepi-46 said:

Hazard warning flasher.

Thank you. 

I mentioned the probable new Hybrid in Barbados with its hood open.  Same port, that night, block of cars with right rear light on.  Probably the indicator stork down putting that side lights on.  It might have led to a flat Battery too 😊