ok here we are with the figures
batt connected: 13.3v
batt disconnected: 13.35v
running: 13.9v
Mind you I do have a small solar panel (about 10 X 3 inches) permanently connected to the battery & this keeps the battery charged up.
btw, I did disconnect it before I read out the voltages! [
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Similar to this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12v-Solar-Panel-Battery-Trickle-Charger-caravan-car-/260476312443?
as for not using your car very much, according to the APK (MOT) certificates my Syncro did just over 4000 kilometers in the last year (about 2600 miles)
don’t get stuck on voltage readings 
problem most likely is that current is drawn even when the car is shut of
so get a multimeter or an analog ammeter take the use the leads to “jump” the battery terminal (taking of the terminal, and use the meter between the terminal on the battery and the shoe
then start taking out fues, you will see the current drop when you find the right fuse, then trace wires from there
it should only be a few mA of current being drawn when not running/key off
if you got like 1.5A of current drawn when of. you got a problem. thats only 43hours of battery life on a fully charged battery
good luck
cheers housey – I’ll look into that. I wasn’t trying to get hung up on voltages but at the same time wanted to check things were within normal parameters before digging elsewhere or replaced the alternator.
I suspect there is an old alarm in her golf and that might still be draining some power. I removed the engine bay wiring for it when i sorted the subframe mount recently but haven’t looked inside yet to remove the rest.
Chris thanks for the readings, the little solar panel is a great idea – that could solve the problem on both cars while I poke around for whatever’s draining the battery – thanks
ah yes – damn sorry, completely forgot to update! Fixed it with bells on
I didn’t even need to go as far as measuring the current drain and removing fuses because I just thought I’d have a poke around and see if I could see anything. I peeked into the boot by folding the seats forward and tadaa – light was on. The switch had got knocked through the plastic so was always on.
We also installed solar chargers in both cars and they’re great! I’m thinking I’ve got space for a couple more on my parcel shelf and it might be enough to charge a separate battery (perhaps a small SLA) which would be used to power an amp or a better stereo of some kind. I never bothered fitting one because the last one I had kept leaving me with a flat battery but given how much time the car spends standing it might be a neat solution.
So thanks very much everyone that was another mystery rapidly solved
good to hear its usually only small idiotic things which you would not even suspect would have anything to do with it that failes 
quote:
Originally posted by ld50ah yes – damn sorry, completely forgot to update! Fixed it with bells on
I didn’t even need to go as far as measuring the current drain and removing fuses because I just thought I’d have a poke around and see if I could see anything. I peeked into the boot by folding the seats forward and tadaa – light was on. The switch had got knocked through the plastic so was always on.
We also installed solar chargers in both cars and they’re great! I’m thinking I’ve got space for a couple more on my parcel shelf and it might be enough to charge a separate battery (perhaps a small SLA) which would be used to power an amp or a better stereo of some kind. I never bothered fitting one because the last one I had kept leaving me with a flat battery but given how much time the car spends standing it might be a neat solution.
So thanks very much everyone that was another mystery rapidly solved
Those switch have always been a pain when you least expect it.