Fixed - Parasitic Battery Drain
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Senior User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 473
Likes: 3
From: Issaquah, WA
Fixed - Parasitic Battery Drain
New bats new alt. Bats go flat in 7 to 10 days. Going to start searching for the culprit. Curious if anybody knows of more likely causes than others???
Thanks
MR
Thanks
MR
Hotshot
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 11,537
Likes: 27
From: Long Beach, Ms.
On board electronics will pull down the battery.
I keep my van and a Taurus parked with smart chargers.
The chargers taper the charge then go into a maintenance setting.
If I don't The vehicles will kill the batteries due to the radios and other electronics I have.
I keep my van and a Taurus parked with smart chargers.
The chargers taper the charge then go into a maintenance setting.
If I don't The vehicles will kill the batteries due to the radios and other electronics I have.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,243
Likes: 16
From: AZ
There is no way that your batteries could be dead after sitting for one week to ten days (if they are good batteries and were fully charged when parked). There is something drawing them down other than the normal draw that the truck has when shut-off. I have had mine sit for over a month in winter weather (sub-zero to 20 degree days) and it fired right off.
Have you ever hunted down a parasitic draw on a vehicle? If not, it is pretty easy finding the circuit causing your problem. Fixing the problem can be a PIA though.
Have you ever hunted down a parasitic draw on a vehicle? If not, it is pretty easy finding the circuit causing your problem. Fixing the problem can be a PIA though.
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 896
Likes: 1
From: Chattahoochee Hills, Ga.
Some have had a bad alternator cause the problem. Feel of it after the truck has been sitting over night. If it is warm that could be it. I had the problem and it was my radio. It was one of those cheap "dealer stereo CD players" that looked just like factory equipment. I found it by using a volt meter.
Truck not running, ignition off, key out of switch. Disconnect a positive battery lead and measure the drain. One lead on the battery terminal and one on the cable. Put the meter in the circuit between the battery and the battery cable. Then get a helper and pull one fuse at a time till you find the circuit it's in. I used DC milliamp setting.
Probably everbody on this site is better at electronics than I am, so hang around and lets get some expert advice together ! You are in the right place to get the help you need.
Truck not running, ignition off, key out of switch. Disconnect a positive battery lead and measure the drain. One lead on the battery terminal and one on the cable. Put the meter in the circuit between the battery and the battery cable. Then get a helper and pull one fuse at a time till you find the circuit it's in. I used DC milliamp setting.
Probably everbody on this site is better at electronics than I am, so hang around and lets get some expert advice together ! You are in the right place to get the help you need.
Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 9,549
Likes: 14
From: Payson, AZ
Bob,
I worked with electricity and electronics for 35 years and still wouldn't consider myself and expert but you used and explained the most commom sense method of finding a voltage drain.
Reps sent.
I worked with electricity and electronics for 35 years and still wouldn't consider myself and expert but you used and explained the most commom sense method of finding a voltage drain.
Reps sent.
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 896
Likes: 1
From: Chattahoochee Hills, Ga.
Thank you Payson ! Guess even a blind hog finds an acorn sometimes ! The battery drain problem nearly drove me nuts. I got my info on how to fix it right here on FTE. That was my first fix on the truck and I think it was one reason I got it at a good price. That and a flakey CPS.
I don't know where the OP got his new alternator but I know at times you can get a brand new one that is bad out of the box or shortly after installing it. We'll stick with him till he finds it.
I don't know where the OP got his new alternator but I know at times you can get a brand new one that is bad out of the box or shortly after installing it. We'll stick with him till he finds it.
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 4,446
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From: Panama City, FL
Truck not running, ignition off, key out of switch. Disconnect a positive battery lead and measure the drain. One lead on the battery terminal and one on the cable. Put the meter in the circuit between the battery and the battery cable. Then get a helper and pull one fuse at a time till you find the circuit it's in. I used DC milliamp setting.
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The alternator will a lot of times not shut down the armature, if it stays excited, you can test it with a wrench put it across the pulley if it is attracted the stator is excited.
To find a circuit that is a steady draw, I have a wire set up, with terminals and a 20 amp breaker just in case, The wires are about 4 ft long and I put my clamp meter on the wire connect it to the power side of the fuse then test each circuit, one at a time untill you find it.
Sometimes that will not work because as soon as you remove the fuse the circuit will go dead, then you have to attach the wires and start the vehicle, shut it down, and see if the circuit shuts down when I have to do that I make up a couple of extra wires and just move the clamp meter.
A relay can be stuck those you pull them back a bit and use a bent pick to test. I have test wires and a tail light set up to test relays on the bench.
The old relays you could even test them with an infered temp gauge.
Electrical problems can be a lot of hit and miss, I learned a lot from some of the best. RIP Bill.
To find a circuit that is a steady draw, I have a wire set up, with terminals and a 20 amp breaker just in case, The wires are about 4 ft long and I put my clamp meter on the wire connect it to the power side of the fuse then test each circuit, one at a time untill you find it.
Sometimes that will not work because as soon as you remove the fuse the circuit will go dead, then you have to attach the wires and start the vehicle, shut it down, and see if the circuit shuts down when I have to do that I make up a couple of extra wires and just move the clamp meter.
A relay can be stuck those you pull them back a bit and use a bent pick to test. I have test wires and a tail light set up to test relays on the bench.
The old relays you could even test them with an infered temp gauge.
Electrical problems can be a lot of hit and miss, I learned a lot from some of the best. RIP Bill.
Hotshot
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 17,988
Likes: 207
From: La La Land
An olt-timer's trick is to get a magnetic pocket compass ("Boy Scout" type), and a wire with clip leads on both ends and a common two-prong tail-light flasher soldered into the middle.
First, turn everything off. Pull the positive battery cable and insert the wire with flasher. If you now hear the flasher operating, that's good.
Then, start tracking along the wiring harnesses until you see the compass needle deflecting at the flasher's rate. That means that current is pulsing in that wiring harness. You should be able to follow the deflections to the short of the current draw or short.
Wires with current flowing in them develop a magnetic field around them. The more current flow, the greater the magnetism, and the greater the needle deflection.
Pop
First, turn everything off. Pull the positive battery cable and insert the wire with flasher. If you now hear the flasher operating, that's good.
Then, start tracking along the wiring harnesses until you see the compass needle deflecting at the flasher's rate. That means that current is pulsing in that wiring harness. You should be able to follow the deflections to the short of the current draw or short.
Wires with current flowing in them develop a magnetic field around them. The more current flow, the greater the magnetism, and the greater the needle deflection.
Pop
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 203
Likes: 1
From: Delaware
An olt-timer's trick is to get a magnetic pocket compass ("Boy Scout" type), and a wire with clip leads on both ends and a common two-prong tail-light flasher soldered into the middle.
First, turn everything off. Pull the positive battery cable and insert the wire with flasher. If you now hear the flasher operating, that's good.
Then, start tracking along the wiring harnesses until you see the compass needle deflecting at the flasher's rate. That means that current is pulsing in that wiring harness. You should be able to follow the deflections to the short of the current draw or short.
Wires with current flowing in them develop a magnetic field around them. The more current flow, the greater the magnetism, and the greater the needle deflection.
Pop
First, turn everything off. Pull the positive battery cable and insert the wire with flasher. If you now hear the flasher operating, that's good.
Then, start tracking along the wiring harnesses until you see the compass needle deflecting at the flasher's rate. That means that current is pulsing in that wiring harness. You should be able to follow the deflections to the short of the current draw or short.
Wires with current flowing in them develop a magnetic field around them. The more current flow, the greater the magnetism, and the greater the needle deflection.
Pop
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 473
Likes: 3
From: Issaquah, WA
Thanks for the various ideas guys. Oil is changed so it is off to electrical. I'm seeing 35mA off one side with everything off (Bobs method, thanks for that). No idea if that is normal or not...does not seam like much, but I like hammers way more than electrons... Plenty of compasses around for Pop's method...fun with galvanometers - thanks pop for the idea.
Also, Alt was ice cold in the a.m. - Note that it is a local hand wound unit from a reputable shop... Bats are 1 mo old and tested to be good.
Results:
Cab Fuse Panel - #15 (GEM, PCM, Inst Clust) 5mA drop
Under hood: #6 (Generator, PDB Fuses 5,7) and #7 (Generator) both show 5mA drop
Nothing jumps out at me, although the Generator references from my circuit info make me say, huh? A few mA here and there for the GEM and PCM sounds reasonable??
If anyone knows if my 35mA "leakage" sounds about normal or not that would be good info.
Thanks all.
Also, Alt was ice cold in the a.m. - Note that it is a local hand wound unit from a reputable shop... Bats are 1 mo old and tested to be good.
Results:
Cab Fuse Panel - #15 (GEM, PCM, Inst Clust) 5mA drop
Under hood: #6 (Generator, PDB Fuses 5,7) and #7 (Generator) both show 5mA drop
Nothing jumps out at me, although the Generator references from my circuit info make me say, huh? A few mA here and there for the GEM and PCM sounds reasonable??
If anyone knows if my 35mA "leakage" sounds about normal or not that would be good info.
Thanks all.
. Your reading would take "forever" to draw down two fully-charged batteries.
