2k1Toaster

If you are trying to measure current, be careful. You can blow your meter if it isnt rated for the amps.

Also you know that current is measured in series while voltage is measured in parallel right? So to measure the load on your devices, you connect the battery (+) to meter to device to battery (ground)

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WuNgUn

I jammed one end of the meter to one end of the fuse terminal, and the other end of the meter to the other side of the fuse terminal...correct?

2k1Toaster

No. That is parallel. Only for votage.

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WuNgUn

I mean without the fuse in place...that is series. Besides, even with a fuse in place, I'm not going to be able to read the voltage,
as the fuse doesn't bridge the + and -

Anyhow, I couldn't detect any current going to the amps.
And I measured the M2 the same way, by pulling the fuse and metering across the terminals...
Nothing sensed there either.

Probably the M2 didn't shutdown properly or something when I had the battery drain.
Considering the junk Mini-box makes, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

After giving it n automatic charge over night, it been fine since...however, I still have all the fuses yanked, so....

timothyr1014

Just to point in a sslightly different direction....what type of car? Reason I ask is in mine (cadillac SLS) I started experiencing random battery discharge if the car sat for more than 24 hours. I could not find anything pulling load, so I took the angle of unplugging everything that was installed aftermarket. No change; car sits for 30+ hours and would not start. Then one day when the battery was dead I noticed something a little off...the back end of the car was sitting SLIGHTLY lower than normal, and my lightbulb went on. I recharged the battery, and slid my floor jack under with just enough lift to bear the weight. battery stayed charged for a week+. Turns out to be the compressor for the rear air load-leveling randomly cycles when the ignition is off, and the equipment in my trunk (140 lbs) weighs enough to make it want to cycle every few hours.

seeing as parking with a floor jack under my car would probably lead to my wheels being stolen, I used a realy to make the suspension circuit switched by ignition rather than constant. but that at least explained the part that baffeled me...how is the battery draining when there is no dteectable load; because the load happens at random.

2k1Toaster

That is certainly interesting. I guess when aftermarket parts are working fine, it is time to start checking OEM!

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WuNgUn

The car is an SVT Focus...
I know they are designed to 'go to sleep' after a period (in case you leave the interior lights on, and for security reasons)...
But that won't help with stuff attached directly to the battery!
I wonder if it's the Viper Alarm?

timothyr1014

cant offer help on the focus, but you may want to look at is your original wiring diagrams...one thing i found interesting on my caddy was that there is a relay, that if removed will cause the ac/heat blower to run continually (removing the relay would simulate its failure).
my thoughts on more scientific testing is to make sure your meter has a "record high" function...one at a time you can pull fuses and let the meter sit recording the load overnight...check it the next morning and you should be able to find who is pulling the load.
Hope this helps

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2k1Toaster

Also just so you know, anything that "sleeps", that control circuitry is parasitic too.

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WuNgUn

Well, after letting it sit another 3 days (with my amp/PSU disconnected), it turned over really slow and promptly dies without starting the car...
So I put it back on the charger, at 6 amps...took most of the day to charge, which tells me there is still some capacity left in it, right?
The following day, I go to start it, and it sputters and dies at the first attempt. But there was enough juice in it to crank it over and over to get it started.
Rather slow cranking though...

So I go out shopping for a new battery, and it's like it's a brand new battery when I go to start the car again...nice, high rev on the starter...lights right up.

So is the battery ****ed? Or is my car still draining it somehow over 2 or 3 days?
It's 2 years old, and has only been fully discharged twice.

Would my meter be able to handle disconnecting the ground from the battery and passing it thru the meter to measure any current draw?
The meter is rated at 10A unfused...

trader007

is your alternator easy to replace? i only ask because i had the exact syptoms you do with my ford ranger. i thought it was certainly my remote start or some other electronics i had in there. after gutting EVERYTHING, and trying everything, i still had a dead battery after a couple days. even tried 3 different batteries! the fix? new alternator and all is fine again. what i think happens is the diodes inside the alternators go bad and they allow a drain back on the battery when the car is off. the alternator still works fine, but it slowly discharges the system.

if you can install it yourself, just get an autozone alternator and if that doesnt change anything then you can take it back...

dMand

the problem is your battery, with possibly a single dead cell. While it may maintain the capacity for a little while after charge, or show to be "good" on a battery load tester, they can be tricky to troubleshoot sometimes.

I had a battery that would start the car fine all the time and test good on a load tester. However, my alternator kept producing a whine as if it was under a big load- the car is stock, AC, heater, and headlights were turned OFF.
Troubleshooting without the engine running, I had a very small power draw from the clock, and that was it. No reason for the electrical system to be defective, aside from the battery.

As a seasoned mechanic, the noise lead me to believe that the battery had a dead cell even though it was less than a year old. Since I had no pro rated rebate for it, I decided to take the plunge on an Optima battery.

It's been three months since the battery replacement. I have not heard an audible whine coming from alternator even while ALL of the accessories are turned on.

If your battery is one that came with a new car, I suggest you replace it perhaps after one year. They are often known in the transportation repair industry to be unreliable, cheaply mass produced.

WuNgUn

If it had a dead cell, it would be reading less than 12V sitting...
Mine is over 12V, and 14 volts when idling...

dMand

Mine did too, but evidently on the inside, it was obviously not working right. Things that normally wear out are the stuff often overlooked.

fixerofallthing

You need a load on it to see if it failing. Just sitting even a battery with a dead cell can look ok.

You can even have a cell the "reverses" under load, so that the alternator is working to charge the battery and the battery is unable to store the charge.

There is a discussion about this here.

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