Battery - switch for isolation.

Bazzards · 31 Mar 2021 at 14:30

Hi guys

My car has an electrical fault, which means it drains the battery if left connected.

At the moment I have to disconnect the battery whenever I leave the car which is a pain in the rear. Is there anyway of fitting an isolation switch in the cabin? And if so, how easy would it be to fit for a novice?

The car is a 2003 Audi A3.

Bazzards · 31 Mar 2021 at 15:16

Perfect thanks guys. The issue is with the instrument binnacle, £700 to replace, car is not worth that much.

Bazzards · 31 Mar 2021 at 15:54

Thanks Soviet, I think I may just live with it. I dont need to do it that often to be honest. I can leave it for an hour or so without issue. A different story if I leave it overnight however.

At the moment I just disconnect the negative terminal.

Bazzards · 31 Mar 2021 at 16:17

Well it was withan Audi technician for a day. The digital display within the cluster was broken, missing digits etc. Then just stopped working.

Bazzards · 31 Mar 2021 at 16:44

I tried one of those switches on the battery, however it did not disconnect completley and I came back to a dead battery. It was not a Discarnect one though. Are they better?

Bazzards · 31 Mar 2021 at 16:44

Well if they could not find the issue, I certainly wouldnt be able to.

Bazzards · 31 Mar 2021 at 17:07

It had no wires at all. Just a simple dial on top to disconnect/reconnect. It looked like the image above but without the wires.

That cost me a new battery as it would not hold a charge.

Bazzards · 31 Mar 2021 at 17:08

Will try the multimeter next week when I am back home.

Bazzards · 31 Mar 2021 at 17:17

Thanks Jez. Will give it a go. Wil be back on for more assistance on how to use a multimeter I’m sure.

Bazzards · 31 Mar 2021 at 19:03

I have had the issue a number of years now. The current battery is brand new and just one of many I have had to purchase over the years when I have forgotten to disconnect the battery and had it die.

Bazzards · 31 Mar 2021 at 19:05

Thanks skyripper, that may be what I end up doing. Will try and isolate the issue first with a multimeter.

Bazzards · 1 Apr 2021 at 22:28

I have had the alarm removed. So I don’t think it is that.

I thought the cost of programming the binnacle was extortionate as I would have to go to Audi.

Bazzards · 2 Apr 2021 at 17:37

Ahh that would make sense then. I only unthreaded it a bit. What a donut.