battery drain found but not cured
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 60
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From: glendale, ca
battery drain found but not cured
Thanks to all your excellent posts on how to find a battery drain, I finally found mine. It is the hot wire from the battery post on the fuse panel to my new kenwood, custom Auto Sounds radio, from Ecklers. I believe that you need to run a hot wire so that the digital clock and station presets will work. The radio works fine but i guess the draw on the battery is enough to kill it after about 2 days of sitting. The test light gives off a faint glow. I'm not sure exactly how to measure how much power the radio is sucking when car is off. Is this normal? If not, what are my solutions?( besides giving up on my presets and digital clock) Thank you all in advance for your expertise.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
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From: Semper ubi, sub ubi
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Re: battery drain found but not cured (ARA427L68)
I'd guess that the draw from the stereo is tiny in the milli-amp range, and not nearly enough to discharge a fully charged battery in two days.
Your drain is probably at some other location. Try disconnecting the power to the radio for a couple of days and see if the battery is still loosing charge just for a test. (I could be wrong) :eek:
Your drain is probably at some other location. Try disconnecting the power to the radio for a couple of days and see if the battery is still loosing charge just for a test. (I could be wrong) :eek:
Pro
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 579
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From: Pflugerville/ Colllege Station TX
Re: battery drain found but not cured (ARA427L68)
I had the exact same problem about a week ago when i rewired my cd player to hold presets. I later had the battery tested and found that it just wasnt really holding a good charge anyway and the radio was just enough drain to kill it. I now have a new battery and have had no further problems.
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 226
Likes: 0
From: Southlake Texas
Re: battery drain found but not cured (ARA427L68)
A agree with Jester - my test would be to dosconnect the battery altogether and or event take it to be tested - if it is 2 to 3 years old especially.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 3,921
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From: York PA
Re: battery drain found but not cured (ARA427L68)
I had the same problem, letting the car sit with the battery connected would kill the battery in a few days. Since I wasn't driving it at the time I just disconnected it. In a few weeks the battery wouldn't even hold a charge after it was disconnected. It's probably not a bad idea to have your battery tested before you go through the pain of figuring out where it is draining. I think most parts store will test them for free :D
Racer
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 440
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From: Corvallis OR
Re: battery drain found but not cured (ARA427L68)
Use an ammeter to measure the current draw, inline between the negative cable and the negative terminal of the battery. 5 ma or less is normal (clock etc)
I did this to mine recently, it was drawing 60 ma, found the short behind the fuse box, and now its 4ma.
Jim-K
I did this to mine recently, it was drawing 60 ma, found the short behind the fuse box, and now its 4ma.
Jim-K
Thread Starter
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 60
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From: glendale, ca
Re: battery drain found but not cured (Jim-K)
You are quite right, the technician from Custom Autosounds tells me that the radio "memory" should not be drawing more than .5 amps. On your car, what type of short did you find at the fuse box/firewall? Once i figure out how to use my little multi meter then i will know exactly what my draw is. But as I posted earlier, it is enough to cause a dim glow in my tester light.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 440
Likes: 0
From: Corvallis OR
Re: battery drain found but not cured (ARA427L68)
The brake light fuse wire was rubbing against the ground bar behind the fuse box. I kept pulling fuses untill i found the shorted circuit, started sweating because the brake/ hazard circuit is quite a large one, and lucked out since behind the fuse box was the first place i looked 
I just needed to put a little peice of vacuum hose around the wire to reinsulate it.
BTW, .5 amps is not 5 ma (milliamps)
Good luck
Jim-K
I just needed to put a little peice of vacuum hose around the wire to reinsulate it.BTW, .5 amps is not 5 ma (milliamps)
Good luck
Jim-K
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