[jaap]

<!--quoteo(post=67183:date=Feb 16 2009, 09:08 PM:name=flash)-->QUOTE (flash @ Feb 16 2009, 09:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->i pulled every fuse, one by one, and the only one that made any difference was the clock fuse - at the 10a setting, reading went from 1.2 down to .9 (as a reference, the trunk light bounced the draw to over 8)<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Hi Flash,
You mean you have a 1.2 A current drain when everything is off? That is really huge and will drain the battery in days. My car can sit for weeks and still start without any problem, never measured the current leak though.


Jaap

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[flash]

i would tend to agree, though things i can find show that to be "normal" for the things still connected
by the way, my bad - switch on meter was "floating" - off by a factor of 10 - it was in 200m mode - in 20m or 10a mode, it reads .12 with the clock circuit fused - it reads .09 without

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[flash]

for giggles i disconnected the DME, pulled the fuses one by one, and basically had NOTHING connected to the system - still got .08 - that makes no sense to me - what the heck? i have nearly loss-less cable, gold connectors, and the best power distribution blocks money can buy - what could possibly be providing a drain with everything unplugged? the only thing left is the alternator, starter and relays

i'm willing to put a trickle charger on it, if i can find one that leaves the tails on the car, but this is bugging me

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[Kim]

For what it's worth I can let both of my cars sit for 6 weeks at a time in winter, the coupe has an aftermarket stereo and the cab is OEM, both start up fine without any auxillary charging at all.

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[flash]

i can't get over the differences - this car has always done this, even before i messed with it - the previous owner noted the same thing

it's no problem for a couple of weeks - wait too long though.................of course, i haven't driven it enough lately to even put a good charge on it, and we all know that a plug in charger only goes so far toward a full charge, so the idle capacity is less than if i had driven it and then let it sit

at this point, i think i have to give up - it seems pretty "normal" drain numbers, and without any other evidence to he contrary, i think i just need to either drive the car more often (preferable) or get a trickle charger like i had to do for my motorcycle, which also sat for weeks on end

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[xrad]

Did you pull the alternator wire?

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[flash]

not yet - that's tomorrow

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[gryphon]

Flash, for what it's worth, your numbers and mine are really close.

Tom

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[xrad]

mine always dies in about 1.5 weeks without trickle charger, so I would love to see you find the leak...

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[unknown4u]

+1

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[flash]

gryphon - i know - lol - i'm not sure if that's comforting or annoying

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[flash]

FOUND THE PROBLEM!

now this only applies to my car for sure, but may well be he issue with many

i was trying to figure out what all the drain was from - it didn't make sense to me that the OEM configuration was causing the problem - all of the measurements seemed well within tolerance

so, i called rs barn to see what measurements they had done, so i would have "control" data - after talking with max at rs barn, a fact i had ignored dawned on me - i was trying to diagnose a problem when the cause had been removed - all of my measurements were with the stereo removed from the car

i then reconnected the deck and took new measurements - parasitic loss with the deck i had in the car connected draws .51 amps with the deck OFF, but the faceplate in place - it only draws .13 with the faceplate removed, but the deck still connected

this is well outside the "acceptable" .3 amps, and would explain why the battery dies

i am willing to bet that people who have this problem, who also have aftermarket stereos, do not have the draw from the memory section of the deck that this one does

as it turns out, many new decks draw this kind of current - it is necessary to maintain all of the settings and data - they just figure that people will drive the cars more, and not have the problem - we also have the poor design feature of multiple ground points, which increases resistance, and therefore parasitic loss as the drain increases

unfortunately, this means i either have to drive the car more (oh darn), or i get a trickle charger

thanks max

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[gryphon]

Sigh, unfortunately the readings I previously posted are/were with an aftermarket deck installed. And they certainly are considerably less than the standard drain of a lead-acid battery which is often stated as about 5%/month.

Tom

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[flash]

hmmm - then i tend to think, that in your case, something else is going on - have you done a specific gravity check on the battery?

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[gryphon]

Flash, I have actually replaced the battery under warranty 3 times, courtesy of Sam's Club.

Tom

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[flash]

hmmm - that's very odd - the numbers you have should not be doing that - those are very "normal" - i'm stumped

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