Battery discharging, what can I check?

[Tee]

The battery in my newly purchased Volvo 480 Special Edition is discharging very quickly, about 1 day of no use will render it unable to start.

It looks like the alternator is putting the charge back in, but I think something is draining the battery while the ignition is off. I believe there is either an alarm or a immobiliser which comes active after the car has been turned off, it makes three beeps and then an LED flashes from the front console area. Where could I check up on this?

Thanks in advance!

Tee

[Captain Slow]

I would check that the interior light, glovebox light and boot light are switching off with doors closed. Also, try turning the radio and heater off before turning the ignition off.

It could also be due to the battery being in poor condition-is the correct amount of De-ionised water in it? or maybe its just had it?

If none of those then its time for the electricians on here to make suggestions!

[Iroll480]

You can check with a multimeter how much the electr. drain is. Disconnect the + lead from the battery, put the MM on amp and connect the +lead from the MM on the + from the battery and the minus on the red wire which was connected to the battery. Remove the key from the ignition and be sure all the electrical accessoiries are switched off like interior lights, radio etc. If the MM reads anything more than 0,05 amp you have a drain. To find the culprit remove the fuses from the fuse box one by one till the drain disappeares, so you know what is causing the drain.

[bigdickbuster]

I had similar problem in my Turbo. Reason was simply: ALPINE IDA-X300 was energy sucker. I removed this and the draining is minimal. Second reason of battery draining is faulty CEM.
When air temperature will be higher I will make some investigation

[Tee]

Well, it looks like it's the battery that's gone, does not look like it's a leak. But with just ignition turned on , no blowers, only sidelights, it's drained the battery from over 12 Volts down to 11 in less then 1 minute which apparently is not good.

Does anyone have any recommendations for good batteries please?

Cheers all for your splendiferous advice!

Tee

[bigdickbuster]

I bought FIAMM 60Ah/600A. I don't know, whether this type of battery is available in UK. Probably yes, because it's italian product. Don't buy BOSCH - they have poor quality (at least the ones available in Poland)