1986 Battery Drain/Draw
08-10-2013, 03:28 PM
#21
2nd Gear
Member Since: Oct 2012
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Hello Everyone, New to the Forum. Battling same problem with wife's 86 goes dead over-nite.
Amp draw only shows 0.23. But if I place a 1056 test lamp between neg. cable an battery it
will burn bright for apx 60 seconds then dim out off. Suspect a relay timing out and a invalid
test. HELP wife is threatening Craigs List !
Amp draw only shows 0.23. But if I place a 1056 test lamp between neg. cable an battery it
will burn bright for apx 60 seconds then dim out off. Suspect a relay timing out and a invalid
test. HELP wife is threatening Craigs List !
08-11-2013, 12:09 AM
#22
Race Director
You will never see a zero amp draw because there are several circuits that are alive all the time: ECM, radio, C68 HVAC system. They need to be on all the time to keep the data and settings stored in memory. If you have a keyless entry system then that also is always "on".
08-11-2013, 12:13 AM
#23
Race Director
When you break the battery connection and then restore it with the test light it resets the courtesy light timer, so it runs through its timeout cycle and shuts off.
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Damon 86' Auto C4 (11-29-2023)
08-11-2013, 12:19 AM
#24
Race Director
Based on the symptoms, it appears that there is a connection that is not in the right place. Here's the cooling fan circuit so you can check out those connections.
08-11-2013, 09:32 AM
#25
Le Mans Master
Member Since: Oct 2004
Location: South-central Missouri
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Once again, Cliff Harris' advice is golden.
Just to add(?) to the discussion:
In various C4 references, GM refers to 50mA as acceptable quiescent (switch off, doors closed, car at rest) current draw.
However, 50 mA is actually a bit higher than what I have seen for most cars, sans additional (read: aftermarket accessories, e.g., stereos, CB radios, etc, etc.) Something like 25-30mA or less is more in line with our cars. 50mA draw on an C4 with stock electronics...would peak my interest enough to go looking: thought being something is drawing about twice as much leakage current as normal,
and that something just might be signaling near term full failure. Just a thought.
Good work as usual, Cliff!
P.
Just to add(?) to the discussion:
In various C4 references, GM refers to 50mA as acceptable quiescent (switch off, doors closed, car at rest) current draw.
Note: 50mA = 0.050A ; converting A to mA requires moving the decimal 3 places to the RIGHT, and Amperes are converted to milli-Amperes. Easy!
However, 50 mA is actually a bit higher than what I have seen for most cars, sans additional (read: aftermarket accessories, e.g., stereos, CB radios, etc, etc.) Something like 25-30mA or less is more in line with our cars. 50mA draw on an C4 with stock electronics...would peak my interest enough to go looking: thought being something is drawing about twice as much leakage current as normal,
and that something just might be signaling near term full failure. Just a thought.Good work as usual, Cliff!
P.
05-17-2018, 06:34 AM
#27
Safety Car
You need to check your circuitry for something pulling too much juice.
Here's something you can use to check the circuits one at a time. Got mine at HF though I've seen them on ebay too.
