Parasitic draw... too much?
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Trailering
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 19
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From: Central Florida
Parasitic draw... too much?
This is on my stock, 2002 F-150 XL Sport (smaller V8)....
The first aftermarket item on this 10 year old truck is a low end Alpine stereo. Good times.
I had Best Buy install the thing. Maybe not so good times because the battery was dead the next morning.
I wanted to see what kind of draw I had while everything else was turned off so I broke out my little meter to see what I could see,
I'm thinking this is a little high. I have my meter in series on my negative cable and don't see any change on the reading when I pull the fuse for the radio.
Thoughts?
The first aftermarket item on this 10 year old truck is a low end Alpine stereo. Good times.
I had Best Buy install the thing. Maybe not so good times because the battery was dead the next morning.
I wanted to see what kind of draw I had while everything else was turned off so I broke out my little meter to see what I could see,
I'm thinking this is a little high. I have my meter in series on my negative cable and don't see any change on the reading when I pull the fuse for the radio.
Thoughts?
Junior User
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 58
Likes: 0
From: Northville, NY
I'd take it back and have them fix it. After market radios, if properly installed, should not draw any current at all when the truck is not in run/accessory mode. I just moved my JVC HD radio into the new truck. I used the same power and run/accessory lines as the factory radio by purchasing and installing an adapter harness. It was a simple and straight forward job.
Moderator
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 56,984
Likes: 2,738
From: Virginia
All radios with a memory for the radio stations will have some draw. The highest draw that is usually considered ok(for the complete vehicle) is .07 amps or 70ma. Your reading is high but; You have to be careful with your type truck. The newer trucks have all the electronics and battery saver functions, and they will keep certain parts of the truck powered up for awhile after the key is pulled and the door is shut. A guy who messes with these things says the manual calls for you to wait up to 40 minutes before checking for a draw. It sounds excessive to me, but I would certainly wait a little while before I took a reading.
Hotshot
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 19,762
Likes: 1,079
From: St Louis
A guy who messes with these things says the manual calls for you to wait up to 40 minutes before checking for a draw. It sounds excessive to me, but I would certainly wait a little while before I took a reading.
If you do not wait the appropriate time, you'll end up chasing a non-existent gremlin.
After the timeout, you'll probably see a peak draw of 50-70 mA.
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Alex Penton
Audio & Video Systems, Navigation, Satellite Radio & Mobile Electronics
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Jun 26, 2003 08:03 AM
