Hi . im a complete novice when it comes to cars , especially ones which come with so many sensors and modules . i have driven some nice cars and bakkies and vans all new but all company vehicles well maintained . this is the first time i have purchased a car with such hi spec. well ive just bought my self a 4th hand A class W168 2004 and fell in love with the car straight away , ablaut the fact that it had a battery drain . none of the cluster lights were showing except for the battery warning light . being already in love with the car i might have not been thinking to clearly and should of walked away , i did feel that i had the ability to try to locate the problem and repair it my self , being that i am a repair tec for domestic appliances and have worked on some of the best brands out there. and have a fair grasp on how things work . the fool was i , but ive learnt so much which will only benefit me for the future , so i appeal for your wisdom please help . short storey is ive done all the normal checks regarding the fuses and relays , i spent ages trying to find the hidden set of 3 relays in the engine bay and tested them . ive pulled all the fuses and relays with a volt test light one at a time to watch for the light going out and found nothing iv tried to follow the wire as much as possible to look for brakes or burns including removing the whole centre console to replace as the original was cracked from previous owners im at a bit of a stand still . i dont have the money to take it in to be looked at the moment by a auto electrician , but did purchase a obd2 scanner to help me. it has been of great help but i am not well equipped to be able to use it to its full potential yet i am going to put it up tomorrow so i can get at the alternator to test , it does charge the battery when driving but im not sure what is draining the battery over night as all the circuits seem intact from my tests which i have done . what would be the best way for me to check further including the alternator . thank you for your time
bmeihuizen