Still having power drain problem, help please. Pics inside

aloshan

aloshan

night ryda
Dec 7, 2010
349
0
0
Sydney, Australia, Australia
Hey guys

Many of you have helped me before but il give you guys a quick history. I had a starting problem that I ascertained was caused by a bad battery , a bad connection to the starter and a parasitic power drain. I have both replaced my starter , my wire leading to the starter and have purchased a battery with more then enough cca and reserve capacity. My car starts up no problem now , however my power drain still exists so I have to resort to disconnecting my battery everytime I switch off my car.

The drain is so bad that if I do not disconnect my battery after I switch the car off and leave the battery connected for 15minutes,it will drain the fully charged battery so that the car will not start.

For some reason Im unable to measure amps to find out exactly how much current is being pulled when the car is switched off , but i know that something continues to pull current even when the key is removed.

Firstly , my multimeter - is it adequate enough to find a parasitic drain?

p1776405_1.jpg


My fusebox under the hood , circuits connected to the green 40amp fuse(40amp FL AM1) and the yellow one(30 AM FL AM2) below both pull current when the key is out. Im not sure if this is normal or not..

p1776405_2.jpg


The green 40 am fuse pulls about 12.13 with the car swtiched off

p1776405_3.jpg


and the yellow one(30 AM FL AM2) pulls 12.73 volts with the car switched off

p1776405_4.jpg


Again I don't know if this is normal or not , ive checked the tsrm but wanted some further help.

Also this might be incredibly stupid but I measured the volts it read when connected,Note that the negative battery cable is not touching the battery terminal but is touching the multimeter probe which is touching the terminal.

p1776405_5.jpg


Any help is appreciated , ive been experiencing this problem for months now :(
 
aloshan

aloshan

night ryda
Dec 7, 2010
349
0
0
Sydney, Australia, Australia
i know that , ive done this already.i definetly have massive current draw. if i remove the 30 amp AM2 FL fuse the draw slows down considerably.this is connected to the ignition system according to the tsrm, could it be that my ignition switch is faulty and staying on even after i have pulled the key out thereby drawing current? are these common problems with our cars?
 
I

IJ.

Grumpy Old Man
Mar 30, 2005
38,728
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62
I come from a land down under
Try doing what I suggested above....:nono:

Pull individual fuses until you isolate what is causing the drain then post back here.
(hint there are a bunch inside the car by the accelerator pedal)
 
mstgeer

mstgeer

New Member
May 20, 2009
128
0
0
Waterford, Pennsylvania, United States
If im not mistaken, your last pick is simply reading the voltage of the battery. I believe you need to hook the meter up in series with the battery to check the current draw. Remove the neg battery cable, hook the neg meter wire to the neg battery term, and the positive to the battery cable and make sure your meeter is set to read amps. Then start pulling fuses one at a time as IJ suggested.

Also google it, many good pages about it.
 
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roadboy

roadboy

Supra Owner
Jan 22, 2008
456
0
16
34
Toronto, Ontario
Follow what IJ says, usually when im fulling fuses inside the car (driver kick panel) i hook up a test light, when you full out the fuse that causes the draw the light of the testlight will dim. thats how i found out my draw in my car
but obviously the best way is to hook up the multimeter but you have to keep going back and forth, also when you open the door thats a draw as well.
 
nosman4

nosman4

Member
Nov 10, 2007
133
0
16
Bend, Oregon
You never once tested for current draw in your previous tests. Just because you read voltage across the fuses, only means that one side has power and one has ground. When you tested across the fuse terminals you were testing for voltage drop, not a draw of voltage or current. If you want to check for a draw you need to have your meter set to read amps not voltage. Another issue is your meter. It will not be sufficient to test for current draw like mstgeer said, if it drains the battery in 15 minutes. Your meter is only fused up to 200mA. That is nothing when you are talking about parasitic draws. In the automotive world, up to 150mA is considered OK even though it is a little high. You will need to get an AMP Clamp and put it around your battery cables to see how much current is being drawn. Then you can start pulling fuses like IJ said and see when the draw goes away. You might also try disconnecting your alternator when you park it and see if it still drains the battery. I have seen an alternator draw over 4 amps. That is one of the few things that I have seen draw enough current to kill a battery that fast. If your battery is new, however, it should last longer than 15 minutes. Get some more information and get back to us.
Ian
 
aloshan

aloshan

night ryda
Dec 7, 2010
349
0
0
Sydney, Australia, Australia
nosman4;1776445 said:
You never once tested for current draw in your previous tests. Just because you read voltage across the fuses, only means that one side has power and one has ground. When you tested across the fuse terminals you were testing for voltage drop, not a draw of voltage or current. If you want to check for a draw you need to have your meter set to read amps not voltage. Another issue is your meter. It will not be sufficient to test for current draw like mstgeer said, if it drains the battery in 15 minutes. Your meter is only fused up to 200mA. That is nothing when you are talking about parasitic draws. In the automotive world, up to 150mA is considered OK even though it is a little high. You will need to get an AMP Clamp and put it around your battery cables to see how much current is being drawn. Then you can start pulling fuses like IJ said and see when the draw goes away. You might also try disconnecting your alternator when you park it and see if it still drains the battery. I have seen an alternator draw over 4 amps. That is one of the few things that I have seen draw enough current to kill a battery that fast. If your battery is new, however, it should last longer than 15 minutes. Get some more information and get back to us.
Ian
Click to expand...

thank you , suspected that my meter wasnt up to the task. The alternator draws no current with the car switched off , so its not that. Il have to get an amp clamp or a multimeter that can read actual amperage and get back to you guys. Thanks!
 
jetjock

jetjock

creepy-ass cracka
Jul 11, 2005
9,439
0
0
Redacted per Title 18 USC Section 798
Err, it's not the meter's fault. While incapable of measuring much current directly it's more than capable of doing it indirectly. It's also capable of finding your problem in other ways. It's a tool and like all tools learning to use it properly is important.
 
aloshan

aloshan

night ryda
Dec 7, 2010
349
0
0
Sydney, Australia, Australia
jetjock;1776582 said:
Err, it's not the meter's fault. While incapable of measuring much current directly it's more than capable of doing it indirectly. It's also capable of finding your problem in other ways. It's a tool and like all tools learning to use it properly is important.
Click to expand...

i know this , but I also know that I paid $30 for a meter that can only read small values. There are much better $30 multi meters out there then this one , hell even the $2 from China is more capable then the one I have. Granted I should have known the values I wanted to test when I purchased the multimeter, but it was the only multimeter in a large automotive store and I assumed it would be halfway decent.
 
3p141592654

3p141592654

90T
Oct 11, 2005
3,816
16
38
Thousand Oaks, CA
IMHO a $30 meter is about the same as $2 meter. As JJ says, learn to use it properly. Anything that drains a fully charged battery in 15 minutes will be steaming hot, so your hand should be all you need..
 
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