What is acceptable current drain or a battery with car off and nothing turned on?
04-23-2014, 03:15 PM
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
What is acceptable current drain or a battery with car off and nothing turned on?
Had a completely dead battery about 2 weeks ago. Put on a charger for over a week and it tapered to a low charge. Started car today and it started easily. DIC showed about 13 volts after a minute.
Disconnected negative lead at the battery and inserted a DVM with a 10 ampere range. With car off and nothing but the hood light on showed about a 2 amp discharge. Closed hood enough to shut off light and waited about 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes ammeter reads between 0.02 and 0.03 amps which I take to read 20 to 30 milliamps.
If you raise the hood and the light goes on the reading jumps to 1.15 amps and when lowering the hood to shut off the light it goes to 0.24 amps.
After a few more minutes it goes back to 0.02 or 0.03 amps.
From what I have read this should not be enough to discharge the battery dead in one weeks time.
Have left the car idle for weeks before and it always started.
What do you Edison like geniuses have to say about this?
Disconnected negative lead at the battery and inserted a DVM with a 10 ampere range. With car off and nothing but the hood light on showed about a 2 amp discharge. Closed hood enough to shut off light and waited about 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes ammeter reads between 0.02 and 0.03 amps which I take to read 20 to 30 milliamps.
If you raise the hood and the light goes on the reading jumps to 1.15 amps and when lowering the hood to shut off the light it goes to 0.24 amps.
After a few more minutes it goes back to 0.02 or 0.03 amps.
From what I have read this should not be enough to discharge the battery dead in one weeks time.
Have left the car idle for weeks before and it always started.
What do you Edison like geniuses have to say about this?
04-23-2014, 03:39 PM
#2
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Location: Anthony TX
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CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Your readings are right on the money. However,,, You have something that is failing to turn off intermittantly.
First to mind is the SEAT CONTROLS. If the seat multifunction switch doesnt return to the center OFF position each time the seat will contoinusuoly run and stop. The seat bladder motor can also do thesame thing it it has a leak. Run and stop Run and stop. At the time you tested the current draw, what ever is causing the over draw wasnt causing it that day.
What year car do you have? Does your FOB have a passive / active switch on it. If its close to the car the car will wahe up everytime the fob is disturbed. If you have that feature, turn it off in the DIC and on the FOB
You can also have bad diodes in the seat control switch If they are bad, you see a constant draw over 20-25 milliamps
First to mind is the SEAT CONTROLS. If the seat multifunction switch doesnt return to the center OFF position each time the seat will contoinusuoly run and stop. The seat bladder motor can also do thesame thing it it has a leak. Run and stop Run and stop. At the time you tested the current draw, what ever is causing the over draw wasnt causing it that day.
What year car do you have? Does your FOB have a passive / active switch on it. If its close to the car the car will wahe up everytime the fob is disturbed. If you have that feature, turn it off in the DIC and on the FOB
You can also have bad diodes in the seat control switch If they are bad, you see a constant draw over 20-25 milliamps
04-23-2014, 03:43 PM
#3
Tech Contributor
Member Since: Dec 1999
Location: Anthony TX
Posts: 32,736
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CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Another excellent recommendation: 
"Sounds to me like your battery is not cutting the mustard"
Have the battery tested. Make sure that they test the reserve capacity as well as CCA
"Sounds to me like your battery is not cutting the mustard"
Have the battery tested. Make sure that they test the reserve capacity as well as CCA
04-23-2014, 07:33 PM
#4
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Its a 98 vert and seems to have everything off
Your readings are right on the money. However,,, You have something that is failing to turn off intermittantly.
First to mind is the SEAT CONTROLS. If the seat multifunction switch doesnt return to the center OFF position each time the seat will contoinusuoly run and stop. The seat bladder motor can also do thesame thing it it has a leak. Run and stop Run and stop. At the time you tested the current draw, what ever is causing the over draw wasnt causing it that day.
What year car do you have? Does your FOB have a passive / active switch on it. If its close to the car the car will wahe up everytime the fob is disturbed. If you have that feature, turn it off in the DIC and on the FOB
You can also have bad diodes in the seat control switch If they are bad, you see a constant draw over 20-25 milliamps
First to mind is the SEAT CONTROLS. If the seat multifunction switch doesnt return to the center OFF position each time the seat will contoinusuoly run and stop. The seat bladder motor can also do thesame thing it it has a leak. Run and stop Run and stop. At the time you tested the current draw, what ever is causing the over draw wasnt causing it that day.
What year car do you have? Does your FOB have a passive / active switch on it. If its close to the car the car will wahe up everytime the fob is disturbed. If you have that feature, turn it off in the DIC and on the FOB
You can also have bad diodes in the seat control switch If they are bad, you see a constant draw over 20-25 milliamps
Have not done anything new or unusual lately but when I tried starting the car about 2 weeks ago the battery was super dead. Like something shorted or on causing the battery to completely discharge.
Seems to be in the right range for current draw now. I will wait a few days and see if it gets drained again.
I have 2 FOBs, one passive and a 2000 without the passive feature.
Have cleaned the passive FOB and switched it from off to on several times leaving it in the off position. Even in the off position it still sometimes activates the doors when near the car.
How do you disable this from the DIC? Its a real PITA anyway.
Click, click, cliclkity click.