Parasitic Draw

Nightstang00 · Feb 15, 2018

hey everyone.
I have just tested my parasitic draw, this is the first time I have done this. I used the meter on 10a and pulled the fuses with the meter hooked up to the battery, using the negative side. I was at .07. I started pulling fuses and got to fuse #8 and the meter went to 0. I am not sure where to go from here. Any advise? I looked up the fuse and it controls a few things. I unplugged and removed the visors, I unplugged the radio , I have the courtesy lamp, key warning chime left on this circuit. Maybe the diagrams I looked at didn’t have all the info, but do anyone have any advice ?

General karthief · Feb 15, 2018

Without knowing what model we are dealing with and a list of what the fuse covers it's impossible to advise.

Nightstang00 · Feb 15, 2018

karthief said:
Without knowing what model we are dealing with and a list of what the fuse covers it's impossible to advise.

I totally missed that , 93 Mustang Gt hatch, the items I listed are connected to the things the fuse are connected to.

General karthief · Feb 15, 2018

Plug everything back in like normal. Setup your meter and start unpluging the things on that fuse one at a time untill the vom 0's,
Your radio may have a memory the will use a small amount of juice, but not enought to kill a battery.

Mustang5L5 · Feb 15, 2018

Power mirrors are also on that circuit. Disconnecting the switch on the console will tell you if that's your culprit

Nightstang00 · Feb 15, 2018

Mustang5L5 said:
Power mirrors are also on that circuit. Disconnecting the switch on the console will tell you if that's your culprit

I’ve disconnected everything in the circuit, except the key dinging which is a part of that fuse. Still showing the .07. I’m starting to think maybe there is a wire somewhere, and I am going to probably have to pull the dash. Not looking forward to that.

Deleted member 215073 · Feb 15, 2018

What is a normal parasitic loss on a Fox? .07 amps is a pretty low draw. Radio memory, clock, keep alive memory in the pcm could all be that. How quick does your battery go dead?

General karthief · Feb 15, 2018

Rich Carotenuto said:
I was at .07. I started pulling fuses and got to fuse #8 and the meter went to 0.

I’ve disconnected everything in the circuit, except the key dinging which is a part of that fuse. Still showing the .07.
I'm a little confused, why not disconnect the key chime too

Mustang5L5 · Feb 16, 2018

is the draw 0.7 amp, or 0.07amp?

0.07 is 70 milliamps. That's really not much and could be the radio drawing power to store the presets.

I wouldn't lose sleep over 70 milliamps

Nightstang00 · Feb 16, 2018

Mustang5L5 said:
is the draw 0.7 amp, or 0.07amp?

0.07 is 70 milliamps. That's really not much and could be the radio drawing power to store the presets.

I wouldn't lose sleep over 70 milliamps

It was .07 , but when I remove that fuse it goes to 0, I just got a new battery so I’m not sure how long it takes to drain. I unplugged everything in that circuit, and unplugged the fuse and it went to 0 still. Just odd i guess , but this is all new to me so maybe I’m over thinking it.

Mustang5L5 · Feb 16, 2018

You'll never get 0. Always going to be current draw. How much is acceptable?

https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-us/experience/2010/12/what-normal-parasitic-draw

Mustang5L5 · Feb 16, 2018

Of course to take it further, a 100ma draw would drain a 100 amp-hour battery to 50% in roughly 20 days. Seems high when you put it that way. Most people don't have issues though due to driving their normal cars every day or other day.

For weekend cars, a good trickle charger is something you might want to invest in if you go a month or so between drives

Nightstang00 · Feb 16, 2018

Mustang5L5 said:
Of course to take it further, a 100ma draw would drain a 100 amp-hour battery to 50% in roughly 20 days. Seems high when you put it that way. Most people don't have issues though due to driving their normal cars every day or other day.

For weekend cars, a good trickle charger is something you might want to invest in if you go a month or so between drives

That’s exactly what this is, a weekend car. Any specific trickle chargers do you recommend ? Thank you for your information, I appreciate the help!

Mustang5L5 · Feb 16, 2018

I use this one.

https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...MIl7jngsyq2QIVx4uzCh2-5gyyEAQYASABEgLB6fD_BwE

Can prob shop around for pricing. Home Depot carries it on the shelves. I've had mine for 15 years or so, and the last battery I had in my car went 10 years before I replaced it just for peace of mind.

Blown88GT · Feb 16, 2018

Technically, it's not a trickle charger, but a maintainer. Trickle charger never turn off & will overcharge if left on all the time.
I've been using one of these for 15 years.
http://www.marinco.com/en/2606a

FastDriver · Feb 23, 2018

I ran into the German version of CTEK, and got one when I came to the states, too. These things are awesome! Cannot recommend highly enough. I think it's the best one you can buy and really affordable

View: https://www.amazon.com/CTEK-56-864-Automatic-Battery-Charger/dp/B006G14FK8/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1519371939&sr=1-1&keywords=CTEK+4.3&dpID=41SoAaxC2XL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Has a reconditioning mode that I recommend hitting the battery with once a year. Go with the 4.3 or 7002. 7002 has an extra feature or two. I run the 4.3.

The only thing it will not do is charge a battery that is so dead that it can't sense it's connected.

Blown88GT · Feb 23, 2018

FastDriver said:
...The only thing it will not do is charge a battery that is so dead that it can't sense it's connected.

Even the most expensive ones won't do that. If 12V goes below 8V, they don't sense it & won't turn on. You need an old fashioned battery charger to charge a very dead battery above the 8V or so, then switch chargers.

FastDriver · Feb 23, 2018

I don't get it. Who wouldn't want a battery charger to charge a dead battery?

Anyways, that's exactly what I do. My father's hand-me-down charger has got to be 30 years old. Fortunately, no one had a problem with battery chargers actually working back then! I guess if it ever goes out on me, I'll just have to connect jumper cables to another battery for a bit.

Deleted member 215073 · Feb 23, 2018

You can still get chargers that charge a completely dead battery. The shop I work at just got one from NAPA.

Blown88GT · Feb 24, 2018

FastDriver said:
I don't get it. Who wouldn't want a battery charger to charge a dead battery?

Anyways, that's exactly what I do. My father's hand-me-down charger has got to be 30 years old. Fortunately, no one had a problem with battery chargers actually working back then! I guess if it ever goes out on me, I'll just have to connect jumper cables to another battery for a bit.

It's more about safety than charging ability. You can thank stupid people & the lawyers for that.
With old charger you connect the charger to the battery before you plug it in & nobody reads the instructions. Otherwise, it might spark & could explode because charging batteries produces hydrogen gas. That's why they changed how they work. Instructions aren't good enough, have to make them Idiot Proof.

Hydrogen & sparks can have unintended consequences.

Parasitic Draw

Nightstang00

Active Member

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Nightstang00

Active Member

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Nightstang00

Active Member

Deleted member 215073

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Nightstang00

Active Member

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Nightstang00

Active Member

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Blown88GT

FastDriver

I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

Blown88GT

FastDriver

I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

Deleted member 215073

Blown88GT

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Parasitic Draw

Active Member

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Active Member

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Active Member

Deleted member 215073

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Active Member

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Active Member

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

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Deleted member 215073

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