Wiring question

Kurack · 10-02-2009, 10:45 AM

My battery died overnight again...this is rare and I am sure I have everything in my car setup so that its not drawing on the battery when the car isnt running really, but have one question...

How much draw is on my battery when I have a setup like this, which i think is normal. From the battery I have a wire going to my power distribution block. Off the block is my 1F cap. Off the Cap is 2 amps. Obviously there is power from the battery that is traversing the distribution block, the cap and then to the amps. The amps only power on when the car is started (the remote portion of the amps).

I'm wondering if having it setup like that is still causing a draw on the battery. If so, how should i have things wired?

soundman98 · 10-02-2009, 10:57 AM

it sounds like the car audio setup is hooked up correctly, now, about the car computer-- how is it hooked up?

Kurack · 10-02-2009, 11:08 AM

Hanging off the distribution block is the Carnetix P2140. Which powers a SFF HP desktop installed under the passengers seat.

I may be barking up the wrong tree here, it could be something else in my car, but this is the 2nd time its died in a week (optima red top).

you can see the carnetix in the picture, on the left side near the amp for the subsm and the dist box right next to it.

soundman98 · 10-02-2009, 06:57 PM

Would you be able to make a diagram with the way your system is connected? I have a hunch that it might be something to do with the capacitor, or the wiring to it

PaulF · 10-02-2009, 07:01 PM

You can always check the exact load with a multimeter instead of guessing. How old is the battery?

Kurack · 10-02-2009, 07:03 PM

i have a RF cap that just has 2 terminals on it, postive and negative. i have the negative terminal going to ground. on the positive terminal is the wire coming from my power dis block as well as a wire from each of my amps.

is this not right?

Kurack · 10-02-2009, 07:04 PM

btw, i got a new optima red top today. Autozone replaces them no questions for 3 years. so i have a new one, but dont want it to drain again lol

PaulF · 10-02-2009, 07:07 PM

The cap is wired right.
How many amp-hours does that battery have?

Do you have a multimeter?

Kurack · 10-02-2009, 07:10 PM

i have this one, the second one down model 72-25
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/cat...ive+and+Marine

so again, i just got a new one of those and installed it just now.

Kurack · 10-02-2009, 07:10 PM

and yea i have a multimeter. pretty decent one with lots of options, i just use it for looking at volts.

PaulF · 10-02-2009, 11:09 PM

ok... well if you set the multimeter to read amps, disconnect the negative wire from the car battery, hook one end of the multimeter up to the negative connector of the battery and the other end up to the wire that normally connects there. The number on the screen will show the number of amps that are being drawn. Let's get that number and see if something is up.

Oh and the multimeter might have two positive connectors on it. One will be fused and one unfused. Use the unfused one for this test since normally the fused one only allows 400 milliamps.