The Rover-Landers of BC

I haven't been playing with my 1997 Discovery (I) V8 auto for a month. :oops: I went to check on her and the batteries (dual) were totally dead. No central locks, no dome light, no noise what-so-ever when I turned the key to start.

The car is fitted with a dual battery system that came with a regular three prong household plug that I had been told by the previous owner was for a trickle charger. I plugged it in using an extension cord. The car woke up and decided it was being stolen! Horn started going off. :( The key fob hasn't been working for a while, but putting the key in the ignition and turning it to 'run' would TEMPORARILY stop the hooting. After 1-2 minutes, the hooting returned. I tried to solve the problem by pulling fuse #4 (horn and lights). The horn stopped going off and I left the car. :D

Came back a few hours later and the dual system charge indicator said that the main battery was up to snuff again. :D Unlock the car (power locks and dome light back again). Car started immediately with no problems!!! Yay! :alien: :alien: It seems to be running fine. I split the charge to both batteries and left it for a good twenty minutes of idling.

MAIN QUESTION: Car obviously has a power drain somewhere. Is it okay to leave the battery plugged in all the time? I'd like to put the least strain on the car and the batteries. Please advise.

SECONDARY QUESTION: I was quite worried that the immobilizer would be difficult. It seems to have cured itself with the power boost. Is there anything I should be watching or doing when it comes to the immobilizer? (No aftermarket alarm system - just the regular Land Rover NAS Disco setup.)

Thanks in advance, folks.

As long as the charger is an automatic type, it is okay to leave it plugged in all of the time. It would be best to check what charger is there.

Craig,

Are you sure you didn't leave the interior light or VHF or something else on? It seems like the batteries drained fast in two weeks.
It's not a bad idea to disconnect at least one battery (starting battery) if you are planning to not use it for a couple of weeks. At least until you find out what's draining it.
What condition / how old are the batteries? Are they the sealed type or maintenance type?

Andy

Hi Andy,

Batteries gave out and were BOTH replaced in early January along with the alternator. With two working ones, I finally have the split charging system working properly for the first time since I had the car. :D

Noticed recently some sort of power drain. Batteries charge meter low, but not enough not to start the car. After the last trip, I found the rear dome light would not turn off, so I removed the bulb. :mrgreen:

I haven't used the car since I drove it back from Aart's after the East Stave run, so it's had a long time time go flat.

I'll need the pick your brain on possible drain culprits, but in the meantime, I'm wondering what's best - keep it plugged in, or disconnect the batteries?

NEWBIE QUESTION: If I disconnect the batteries, I disconnect the POSITIVE terminals, but can leave the negative ones in situ, correct?

red90 wrote:As long as the charger is an automatic type, it is okay to leave it plugged in all of the time. It would be best to check what charger is there.

Thanks, Red.
Previous owner put in the charger system, so I'm not sure. I just checked it after leaving it on for 24 hrs, and battery 1 is reading 100%, as it did late last night. The meter will read well past 100%, so I hope this means it stopped where it was supposed to.

NEWBIE QUESTION: If I disconnect the batteries, I disconnect the POSITIVE terminals, but can leave the negative ones in situ, correct?[/quote]

Um... yes.. I would disconnect the negative rather than positive though. (assuming we are talking negative ground/earth vehicles. This is a simple safety thing as most of our wrenches are ,etal, and if they contact positive to the ground accidentally durring tightening you get; at best sparks, at worst, explosions.