Acceptable battery drain with engine off?
techman41973
Clearly it needs to be replaced. The alternator is putting out 14.4v.
I looked at the battery drain with the engine off (doors closed, all
lights off)
and my multimeter shows 50ma.
I'm wondering if this is a normal and acceptable drain.
Note: I have an aftermarket car alarm, aftermarket head unit and
aftermarket 4-channel audio amplifier.
Thanks
aemeijers
Just for giggles, try unplugging all that stuff for a couple days, and
measure the current draw again, and see if it holds a charge.
--
aem sends...
Ashton Crusher
I think that's an acceptable level. I have the same problem with a 92
Explorer. Every time I check it there seems to be no unusual drain on
the battery yet something keeps killing it. I've had two batteries
and two alternators in it and everything checks out OK. Maddening.
CEG
How old is the battery? If it's more than 4 years old it's probably
time for a new one.
Paul
Where I live, batteries only last 3 years.
How old is the battery and what is your climate?
Nate Nagel
The girlie has a Corrado that did this for years. Finally the
supercharger died and when I took the alternator off I took it to my
FLAPS for testing. They said it had a bad diode in it despite every
repair garage she took it to telling her that she just needed a new
battery (every year or so.)
I didn't live with her back when she was actively driving this car
otherwise I would have done a current draw test on it myself.
I've always heard the 20 mA is acceptable but more is not, but I also
suspect that newer cars have more key off current draw due to all the
electronic junk in your average newer car...
nate
--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel
KG
Sounds like an interment ground, about the only why to find it is to either be trouble shooting
when it fails or 1st disconnect the fully charged battery and see if it still fails after a few
days, if so rig up a fused jumper with about a .1 amp slow blow fuse and use it to selectively
connect each circuit to the power until the fuse fails, you then have found to defective circuit.
Remember to remove, or bypass the fuse jumper before doing anything that would cause a drain.
*****************
Thank You kg...@msbx.net
To reply to this email please remove the AT
after the kgs in the reply to address as shown above.
Never ever underestimate the incompetent.
Scott Dorsey
50mA isn't a whole lot of current. If 50 mA drains the battery down
after 24 hours, you have effectively a 1.2 AH battery there, which is
a couple orders of magnitude less than you should be seeing on a normal
car battery.
So either there's some self-discharge on the battery itself, or there
is some kind of intermittent drain that you didn't see when you checked
on the meter because it doesn't happen all the time.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
hls
"Scott Dorsey" <klu...@panix.com> wrote in message news:haa7q7
>
> 50mA isn't a whole lot of current. If 50 mA drains the battery down
> after 24 hours, you have effectively a 1.2 AH battery there, which is
> a couple orders of magnitude less than you should be seeing on a normal
> car battery.
>
> So either there's some self-discharge on the battery itself, or there
> is some kind of intermittent drain that you didn't see when you checked
> on the meter because it doesn't happen all the time.
> --scott
Scott is right on. 50 milliamperes is reasonable.
The easiest way, IMO, to be sure is to start with a freshly charged system,
clean battery terminals, and insert a maximum reading VOM in series with
the battery. (Not expensive. I bought one to work on my Reatta with a
similar problem.).
You should be sure that all systems have gone dormant before you start
the test period. (Some systems can draw a few amps until they time out
and shut down)
When you come back the next day, you will find out exactly how much the
maximum current draw was over the time period.
If you dont find large current draw during your test period, it is probably
time to get a new battery.
hls
"Ashton Crusher" <de...@moore.net> wrote in message
>
> I think that's an acceptable level. I have the same problem with a 92
> Explorer. Every time I check it there seems to be no unusual drain on
> the battery yet something keeps killing it. I've had two batteries
> and two alternators in it and everything checks out OK. Maddening.
Ashton,
I think you have heard my story of the 89 Regal that would run down
every night, even with a new battery. I finally started down the circuit
tree, removing wires or fuses.
If I removed the battery cable, the battery held up, but simple checking
of the residual current gave no clue.
Finally I found it. A relay for the automatic seatbelt tensioning system
was
activating intermittently through the night, and it ran the battery flat.
Fixed!
But finding it was no piece of cake.
Ashton Crusher
wrote:
50 might be high but it's not enough to run a battery down in only a
few days. My other cars can sit for three weeks+ and the battery will
be perfectly fine. The explorer will drop below 12.3 volts in only a
few days yet there is never more then 30ma when I check it. I'd like
to put a recording amp or volt meter on it but I can't find a cheap
one.
Ashton Crusher
I'm thinking I must have something like that. I replaced the two
relays that commonly are an issue but it still does it. To keep from
getting stranded I put a battery saver gizmo on it. When the battery
drops to 12.3 volts it kicks off and disconnects the battery.
Nutpantz
> I'm wondering if this is a normal and acceptable drain.
> Note: I have an aftermarket car alarm, aftermarket head unit and
> aftermarket 4-channel audio amplifier.
> Thanks
disconnect the alarm, (pull the fuses) and you should have around 2ma
or less
that was what i was told was accepable.
is you have more keep pulling fuses until you find the circuit that is
drawing the power
nutz
Steve
> 50 might be high but it's not enough to run a battery down in only a
> few days.
Its easy enough to figure out. Assume an 80 amp-hour battery. Then the
life of the battery at a 50 mA draw is 80/.050 hours, or 66 days.
Now, the battery will still probably need about half its capacity in
order to start the car and recharge without suffering permanent damage,
but that's still on the order of a month.
Even if its only a battery that's good for 40 amp-hours, that should
provide 2 weeks of solid life.
cuh...@webtv.net
once read somewhere the battery has a built in shut off feature that is
suppose to keep enough cranking power to start a car.
cuhulin
hls
<cuh...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:15546-4AC...@storefull-3172.bay.webtv.net...
No, Cuhu. That is not normally the case.
C'mon, man...you know better than that.
You CAN buy an electronic component that will shut the battery off
when a certain level of discharge is reached.. But that is not the case
with standard systems and batteries.
Mark Olson
Steve W.
That was a feature on one of the DieHards Sears sold. It had a circuit
built in that would shut down the battery if it got low. Haven't seen
one in years though. There are a few vehicles that have this built in
now. And the add-on item works pretty well.
You could always do what I did with my fire response rig. It has three
batteries with built in jump and shore power! But I really HATE going
out to a dead battery. Or the "good samaritan" who shuts off the engine
with all the lights still working.
--
Steve W.
cuh...@webtv.net
van wouldn't start, old battery.I bought a new battery at the Autozone
auto parts store.When I have that van parked in my driveway, I always
remove the battery and bring it in my house.The battery in my 1978 Dodge
van is about six years old, or older, I leave that battery in that van
with one of the battery cables disconnected, except when I start the van
and let it run for a while a few times each week.I only have insurance
on my 1983 Dodge van, that is the van I drive nowadays.
cuhulin
hls
"Steve W." <csr...@NOTyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:haje0h$1g3$1...@aioe.org...
> hls wrote:
>>
>> <cuh...@webtv.net> wrote in message
>> news:15546-4AC...@storefull-3172.bay.webtv.net...
>>> I don't remember the name brand or the specific type of battery, but I
>>> once read somewhere the battery has a built in shut off feature that is
>>> suppose to keep enough cranking power to start a car.
>>> cuhulin
>>
>> No, Cuhu. That is not normally the case.
>> C'mon, man...you know better than that.
>>
>> You CAN buy an electronic component that will shut the battery off
>> when a certain level of discharge is reached.. But that is not the case
>> with standard systems and batteries.
>
> That was a feature on one of the DieHards Sears sold. It had a circuit
> built in that would shut down the battery if it got low. Haven't seen
> one in years though. There are a few vehicles that have this built in
> now. And the add-on item works pretty well.
Yes I remember this one. I havent seen one either, hence my statement that
it is not normally the case.
Ad absurdum per aspera
"energy vampires" roosting in it, but not by much, and is small
compared to a healthy, fully charged car battery. Two questions
come to mind.
How old is the battery? If it's original equipment or maybe even an
older replacement in a 1997 car, you've definitely gotten your money's
worth and in fact should be commended for the care you take of your
car -- most people are probably lucky to get half that.
Also, though the details you mention make me guess that you're the
sort of person who wouldn't knowingly suffer loose or dirty
connections on either the hot or the ground side, one must ask: are
you seeing 14.4V actually across the battery posts? Not at the car's
side of the battery terminals -- actually on the battery's side?
As others have mentioned, a good sanity check is to disconnect the
battery for a day or two, if you can be without your car for that
long, and see if it's being drained or just has gotten too furry
inside and/or too low on electrolyte to hold much of a charge.
Cheers,
--Joe
hls
"Ad absurdum per aspera" <jtc...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:3dd0ec72-b159-48c0...@y10g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
> Fifty milliamperes is maybe a bit high for a modern car with a lot of
> "energy vampires" roosting in it, but not by much, and is small
> compared to a healthy, fully charged car battery.
The problem is, as I see it, there may be a range of acceptable values.
Is 49 ma okay but 50 too high? What about 60 ma? Two amperes
is too high, I think we both agree.
A single 5 watt bulb (which is pretty small) will draw on the order of
400 ma. That will run a battery low after a while, and is too much.
A person has to use a little judgement. There is no absolute answer,
other than when you stop having low batteries during normal down
times, you probably have it fixed.