 Current drain, And on 9-14 of all days |
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| jeffdon |
 Sep 15 2010, 01:13 PM
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#1
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Senior Member  Group: Members Posts: 1,094 Joined: 24-October 06 From: oakland, ca Member No.: 7,087 Region Association: None  |
Battery was dead yesterday. Threw a charger on it over night. Putting an ammeter between the pos cable and pos terminal, i show a current drain of 69mA. I have nothing fancy in the car like a stereo or alarm that would draw current with the key off.
Does this amount of current draw sound normal? |
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| underthetire |
Sep 15 2010, 01:21 PM
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#2
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914 Guru Group: Members Posts: 5,062 Joined: 7-October 08 From: Brentwood Member No.: 9,623 Region Association: Northern California |
69 mA is nothing. I think natural discharge rate of a battery is around there.
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| jeffdon |
Sep 15 2010, 01:37 PM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1,094 Joined: 24-October 06 From: oakland, ca Member No.: 7,087 Region Association: None |
QUOTE(underthetire @ Sep 15 2010, 12:21 PM)  69 mA is nothing. I think natural discharge rate of a battery is around there. Kinda thought so. Wonder why it was so dead. I last drove only three days ago |
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| underthetire |
Sep 15 2010, 01:56 PM
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#4
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914 Guru Group: Members Posts: 5,062 Joined: 7-October 08 From: Brentwood Member No.: 9,623 Region Association: Northern California |
You didn't happen to leave the turn signal lever on did you? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
I've had two new batteries do that for no reason. My excides have been great, the Motorcraft one I bough for 100 bucks left me stranded at a rest stop (hooker mart) on Hwy 5 in the middle of a thunderstorm. ( jeep content) |
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| jeffdon |
Sep 15 2010, 02:00 PM
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#5
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1,094 Joined: 24-October 06 From: oakland, ca Member No.: 7,087 Region Association: None |
QUOTE(underthetire @ Sep 15 2010, 12:56 PM) You didn't happen to leave the turn signal lever on did you? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) I've had two new batteries do that for no reason. My excides have been great, the Motorcraft one I bough for 100 bucks left me stranded at a rest stop (hooker mart) on Hwy 5 in the middle of a thunderstorm. ( jeep content) Hmm, maybe I bumped it last i got out of the car. Oh well, "carry jumper cables" shall be my mantra for a while here. |
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| Tom_T |
Sep 15 2010, 02:38 PM
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#6
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TMI.... Group: Members Posts: 8,321 Joined: 19-March 09 From: Orange, CA Member No.: 10,181 Region Association: Southern California 
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It's also a function of whether you charge it enough when driven to recharge the battery - ie: short trips won't do it & many will run it down low, then sitting does the rest. Try a trickle charger/maintainer if it's not driven much or mostly short hops.
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| tradisrad |
Sep 15 2010, 02:44 PM
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#7
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 985 Joined: 11-September 06 From: San Mateo, CA Member No.: 6,815 Region Association: Northern California |
I recently had an optima battery go bad. Less than a year old and it stopped holding a charge.
I had a current drain on my '70. IT turned out to be a wire in the steering column that was making contact with the chassis. the wire is a jumper from the ignition switch to the turn signals. I've got several spare columns and both of these had a similar failure. |
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| warrenoliver |
Sep 15 2010, 03:10 PM
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#8
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Member Group: Members Posts: 363 Joined: 11-November 06 From: McFarland, Wisconsin Member No.: 7,199 Region Association: Upper MidWest |
With your meter connected, remove then replace your under dash fuses one by one. You should be able to narrow it down that way. Mine would drain over 4-5 days with about 70 mA draw. Turned out it was my nonfunctional clock that decided to begin drawing more amps. I disconnected it and it solved my problems.
Warrenoliver |
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| orange914 |
Sep 15 2010, 04:37 PM
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#9
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http://5starmediaworks.com/index.html Group: Members Posts: 3,371 Joined: 26-March 05 From: Ceres, California Member No.: 3,818 Region Association: Northern California |
QUOTE(Tom_T @ Sep 15 2010, 01:38 PM) Try a trickle charger/maintainer if it's not driven much or mostly short hops. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) a cheap float charger (i think $5 at harbor freight) works better than a trickle charger because it doesn't stress the battery by overcharging it. most batteries are toast after 3 or 4 savere discharges/recharges. after a good battery has a full charge and if the car will sit for a few days just clip it on. i also have a quick disconect on the battery to further isolate the batery for long term storage. |
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| jt914-6 |
Sep 15 2010, 05:02 PM
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#10
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Driving & working on teeners 41 years Group: Members Posts: 1,787 Joined: 3-May 08 From: Bryant, Arkansas Member No.: 9,003 Region Association: South East States |
Have always had good luck using the Battery Tender....Keep one on the 914 and the lawn tractor. Used to buy a battery for the tractor every spring but since using the Tender have't had to buy one in over two years.....besides they are backing a Porsche race team...... http://batterytender.com/
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