03 Nissan Micra battery drain

chipmunk86

My 03 Micra is suffering from regular battery drain. Usually a quick jump start fixes it but in April it wouldnt start at all. Was towed to garage and they said it was the alternator so paid (a lot) to replace this. Issue happened again battery drained. They said it needed a new battery as old one would have been damaged from the alternator. Replaced the battery but still no joy. Garage have looked again twice and run diagnostics which are saying everything is functioning as it should.

When it happens and I go to start the car - all the electrics lights come on , there's a clicking sound , no iginition from the engine and the little "key" light on the dash is red and stays flashing. Other times I cant get into the car at all with the electric key and have to manually open.

Any help or anyone had this issue and fixed it?

Thanks.

alpha13

is your micra the last of the old shape or the new(bubble) shape ones.. i hazard a guess it is the new one... it sounds very likely that it could be a BCM(body control module) issue.. this controls the auto light turn off function and electrical units like wipers on the car and if it was faulty are had an issue..it is possible it could be allowing the battery to run down too much.
it is also possible this is a side effect of going through the heavy water last year... seen loads of them in with electrical issues end of last year start of the year... also could just be a possible bad earth issue.. that is the better case...
either needs an experienced nissan mechanic to look at it or a good auto electrician..
hope this is of some help.

chipmunk86

Thanks alpha13!

The garage who changed the alternator had their auto electrician look and said he couldnt find anything...

Would a bad earth issue be expensive to fix? When you say heavy water do you mean rain or damage to the underside of the car? I only bought it in november and it wasnt driven for a few weeks so it wouldnt have had much exposure to rain etc.

thanks again!

alpha13

a bad earth wouldnt be that expensive to fix but the bcm might...
last year there was heavy flooding all around and it is possible that it was driven through flood or high water before you got it.. if so then some water may have gotten into the electrics from underneath and taken time to cause the problems.. if it is this, then a good auto electrician or mechanic could tell if he looks at the bcm unit and around for signs of water damage or area.
for your own sake, purely from a self interest point of view. if you have a cheap multi meter, when you are finished with the car make sure everything is off... especially the headlight switch... open the bonnet and measure the battery voltage and continue to do this each time you use the car both before you start it and after you are finished it.. log it and if there is indeed a battery drain you will have a log of it and it might show up when it is worse.. wet days,dry days hot days cold days etc etc.. all useful to get to the bottom from a mechanics point of view. you cant have too much info.

chipmunk86

alpha13 wrote: »

a bad earth wouldnt be that expensive to fix but the bcm might...
last year there was heavy flooding all around and it is possible that it was driven through flood or high water before you got it.. if so then some water may have gotten into the electrics from underneath and taken time to cause the problems.. if it is this, then a good auto electrician or mechanic could tell if he looks at the bcm unit and around for signs of water damage or area.
for your own sake, purely from a self interest point of view. if you have a cheap multi meter, when you are finished with the car make sure everything is off... especially the headlight switch... open the bonnet and measure the battery voltage and continue to do this each time you use the car both before you start it and after you are finished it.. log it and if there is indeed a battery drain you will have a log of it and it might show up when it is worse.. wet days,dry days hot days cold days etc etc.. all useful to get to the bottom from a mechanics point of view. you cant have too much info.

Great will try that thanks! Have been doing some research online too so am trying to build up a range of info to take to garage. As i said it's a great little car once it's running and no other issues so would love to get it sorted.

Karendaisy1

alpha13 wrote: »

is your micra the last of the old shape or the new(bubble) shape ones.. i hazard a guess it is the new one... it sounds very likely that it could be a BCM(body control module) issue.. this controls the auto light turn off function and electrical units like wipers on the car and if it was faulty are had an issue..it is possible it could be allowing the battery to run down too much.
it is also possible this is a side effect of going through the heavy water last year... seen loads of them in with electrical issues end of last year start of the year... also could just be a possible bad earth issue.. that is the better case...
either needs an experienced nissan mechanic to look at it or a good auto electrician..
hope this is of some help.

would this explain my issue do you think? my car sometimes will not lock or unlock, when this is the case my windows won't work or indicators.. Noticeable clicking noise under passenger side of dashboard. Noise certainly relates to electrical problem.

alpha13

really sounds like a bcm issue then. and it controls all them things you mentioned.. and can be a reasonably common issue on them cars...
bcm is also in that area too... but make sure and check the connections first for corrosion or bad connection.

Karendaisy1

alpha13 wrote: »

really sounds like a bcm issue then. and it controls all them things you mentioned.. and can be a reasonably common issue on them cars...
bcm is also in that area too... but make sure and check the connections first for corrosion or bad connection.

Thanks a lot, youve no idea how many mechanics argued with mean about this issue! Should I now go to a nissan dealer or good auto electrician?

alpha13

honestly if you know one, a GOOD auto electrician would be the best... But.. a nissan tech would be super familiar with it and what is involved...
IF you do go to a nissan garage..they usually will charge a diagnostic fee 50 or 90euro..BUT.. that comes off the bill if they do the job... and having the nissan computer it makes it easier for them to diagnose it properly.. but a good auto electrician will have the knowledge experience and tools to do it too usually cheaper depending...

alpha13

out of curiosity karendaisy1.. if you turn on the lights and take out the key from the ignition.. do the headlights stay on or turn off???

punisher5112

Radio is an issue on those where drains the battery also can be ignition fault.

Karendaisy1

alpha13 wrote: »

out of curiosity karendaisy1.. if you turn on the lights and take out the key from the ignition.. do the headlights stay on or turn off???

they now stay on

in the past they'd turn off

and my left indicator went for months and returned randomly one day!

I had a engine light come on for camshaft sensor and o2 sensor. Both replaced, issue remained. o2 sensor disconnected and it drove fine. So I've driven the past year with no o2 sensor and an engine light on.

I hate that car

alpha13

Karendaisy1 wrote: »

they now stay on

in the past they'd turn off

and my left indicator went for months and returned randomly one day!

I had a engine light come on for camshaft sensor and o2 sensor. Both replaced, issue remained. o2 sensor disconnected and it drove fine. So I've driven the past year with no o2 sensor and an engine light on.

I hate that car

lights staying on are classic bcm fault sign... it is what controls the auto off function... clearly the auto electrician or mechanic needs to focus on that particular area first... make sure there is no corrosion around the block connector or earth issues before replacing bcm..bcm last resort!!
but..most likely the problem..

Karendaisy1

alpha13 wrote: »

lights staying on are classic bcm fault sign... it is what controls the auto off function... clearly the auto electrician or mechanic needs to focus on that particular area first... make sure there is no corrosion around the block connector or earth issues before replacing bcm..bcm last resort!!
but..most likely the problem..

I now have some evidence to back up my claims. Thanks a lot!!!

alpha13

happy to be of help