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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / 4x4 Cars / February 2007Test for unknown current draw on battery?
Help please! I either have a marginally bad battery or I have an unknown current draw to cause a dead battery? I put a test meter on ohm setting at X10 between the pos and neg cables (battery removed) and I get a slight movement of the meter needle - I don't recall the actual reading. So I opened the side door to simulate for the dome light to go on and got a major jump of the meter needle. Is this a valid test to verify a current draw on a vehicles battery? Should there be any movement at all of the meter needle if there is zero draw? Or am I totally out of bounds on this? Thanks, Steve This is on a 1990 Ford F-150 with about a 5 or six year old battery - only the 2nd battery that's ever been in the truck since new - @130K miles. > Help please! I either have a marginally bad battery or I have an > unknown current draw to cause a dead battery? I put a test meter on [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > only the 2nd battery that's ever been in the truck since new - @130K > miles. What you want to do is disconnect the ground, and connect a minimum of a 10 amp amp meter inline. The amp meter will tell you how much draw on the battery you have, more accuratley than anthing else. You will have some draw for radio/ alarm/ etc, but it should not be much. If you have over 10 amps of draw, with doors closed & key off, you have a problem for sure. Good luck! Clay >> Help please! I either have a marginally bad battery or I have an >> unknown current draw to cause a dead battery? I put a test meter on [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > Good luck! > Clay LOL! Man if he has a 10 amp draw, he 'sure' has a problem. Maybe if he left the headlights on he might get that.... Try a 100 MA draw as closer to normal. Mike 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2115147590 (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page) >LOL! Man if he has a 10 amp draw, he 'sure' has a problem. Maybe if he > left the headlights on he might get that.... > >Try a 100 MA draw as closer to normal. I do agree. 100 miliamp is a upper limit too because it would kill battery in about month or so. It should normally be about 1/2 that or less. ----------------- TheSnoMan.com Thanks for all the help! My multitester only has DCmA up to 250. I didn't use the meter anymore for fear of wrecking it. I put in a good, charged, spare battery that I had from another vehicle and when I connected the terminals I immediately heard something like the EFI cycle on and off?? I don't remember that happening before when disconnecting and reconnecting the battery?? The engine started and ran fine. The guage in the dash looked normal - needle about center - not discharging at all When I shut the engine off I just disconnected the neg cable until I can figure it out better. Any ideas on the EFI cycling on and off when reconnecting the battery would surely help?? I have the dead battery charging now and have to wait to see if it takes a good charge. Thanks again! Steve A temporary sound could be the fuel pump pressurizing the system. You might disconnect the battery, pull the fuel pump relay and reconnect the battery and see if you get the same noise. If not I would replace the relay. > Thanks for all the help! > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > Thanks again! > Steve SnoMan proclaimed: >>LOL! Man if he has a 10 amp draw, he 'sure' has a problem. Maybe if he >> left the headlights on he might get that.... [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > battery in about month or so. It should normally be about 1/2 that or > less. Some multi-computer vehicles have a bit higher, according to the factory manual on mine, 20 milliamp is the max Ignition Off Drain you should see. It does warn you to pull the IOD fuse in the PDC if you are leaving it set over 20 days. In practice it doesn't seem to hurt even a bit longer than that, but I had a spare battery fully charged in a case locked inside the one time we tried that. Generally a good idea to connect an ordinary light bulb first, unless you are using a cheap RatShack ammeter. with a battery that old, i would throw the battery away(recycle) and replace it with a good battery. 5 years is endof life usually. old john Hello, Steve! You wrote on 9 Feb 2007 08:18:42 -0800: S> Help please! I either have a marginally bad battery or I have an S> unknown current draw to cause a dead battery? I put a test meter on S> ohm setting at X10 between the pos and neg cables (battery removed) S> and I get a slight movement of the meter needle - I don't recall the S> actual reading. So I opened the side door to simulate for the dome S> light to go on and got a major jump of the meter needle. Is this a S> valid test to verify a current draw on a vehicles battery? Should S> there be any movement at all of the meter needle if there is zero S> draw? Or am I totally out of bounds on this? S> Thanks, S> Steve S> This is on a 1990 Ford F-150 with about a 5 or six year old battery - S> only the 2nd battery that's ever been in the truck since new - @130K S> miles. With best regards, ajeeperman@comcast.net. E-mail: ajeeperman@comcast.net >with a battery that old, i would throw the battery away(recycle) and replace >it with a good battery. >5 years is endof life usually. >old john I usually replace batteries after 3 or 4 years tops in "mission critical" vehicles. Batteries do loose capacity with age and even a new 29 dollar walmart battery is a lot better that a 4 or 5 year old battery of any type. ----------------- TheSnoMan.com |
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