RE: [alfa] Elizabeth's battery

["Brian Shorey" <bshorey@xxxxxxxxx>]

> Brian, I pose this to you and for general discussion. Given your
> statement, then why are drained batteries such a consistent and common
> problem specifically for Bosch FI Spiders?

Why are they not such a consistent and common problem for non-Bosch injected
Spiders?  Is it the Spider, or is it the Bosch?

Do Motronic Spiders have this problem?

Did Alfa sell Bosch equipped Alfetta coupes and Sedans in Europe during the
mid 80's?

What is the common thread here?  What percentage of Bosch equipped Spiders
experience slow drain problems?  1%?  5?  75%?  You're hearing from a vocal
few, it doesn't necessarily mean the problem is pervasive across the entire
run of Spiders that were produced.

I don't think there is any inherent design flaw in the Bosch system, other
than perhaps a potentially overloaded alternator as Dean points out.
Perhaps there is some environmental condition in the Spider that causes
excessive problems in the Spider.  It could also be some ergonomic
characteristic of the Spider, such as the knee activated floor light
switches..

However I'd still maintain that whatever the problem is, you need to find it
and fix it, otherwise it will only get worse.  Disconnecting the battery, or
applying a trickle charger, is only a band aid, and won't fix the core
problem.

> I don't see this particular discussion on the Quattro digest, I never
> encountered it on the 911 digest, and we don't see it discussed for any
> other Alfas....

I've seen or heard of plenty of cars, Alfa and non-Alfa, that drain their
batteries over time.  There's no magic involved, something is drawing
current, identify it and fix it.

It's not always easy to find these kinds of problems..

> It can't all be due to the knee-activated light switches...

Of course!  I've seen this as the result of partially worn through wiring,
that if left untreated will eventually wear all the way through and result
in a direct short.  I've seen it happen as the result of worn contacts in
switches that are welding themselves together, leaving circuits activated
after the car is powered down.  Which is why I feel pretty strongly that you
really need to identify the problem, rather than simply applying a band aid
fix.

bs
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