20 Amp Draw while the car is off?? Please help!
10-06-2006, 03:18 PM
#1
20 Amp Draw while the car is off?? Please help!
I am about to give up. I posted another thread a while back about my battery going dead after only 3 days. I got some advice, and I tried it out to no avail. Now that it is getting colder, the battery is going dead after only 8 hours of sitting. (Dead when I got out of work)
I did have the battery tested, they said it was great, but had a low charge.
I also had the alternator tested, and it passed as well.
They put an amp meter on it, and it said it was drawing 20 AMPS while the car is off! I started pulling fuses one by one - both in the car, and under the hood, and also disconected the alternator. no change. What else can I do? I am about to give up! Anything else I can try?
I did have the battery tested, they said it was great, but had a low charge.
I also had the alternator tested, and it passed as well.
They put an amp meter on it, and it said it was drawing 20 AMPS while the car is off! I started pulling fuses one by one - both in the car, and under the hood, and also disconected the alternator. no change. What else can I do? I am about to give up! Anything else I can try?
10-06-2006, 03:40 PM
#3
Originally Posted by Maxfli
What changes have you made to your car recently?
Added or removed alarm/stereo/other electronics?
Anything directly tied into your battery?
Added or removed alarm/stereo/other electronics?
Anything directly tied into your battery?
10-06-2006, 04:17 PM
#5
No, unfortunately I am not. The tester that was used was not mine - and he did the test. I am just mirroring the information given to me.
When the car is turned on, the meter went to +1 amps, when off, it went to -20. Maybe the decimals are messed up somewhere? if that’s the case, how is my battery dying after only 8 hours of no use and after a 15 minute hwy ride to work? I am so lost.
When the car is turned on, the meter went to +1 amps, when off, it went to -20. Maybe the decimals are messed up somewhere? if that’s the case, how is my battery dying after only 8 hours of no use and after a 15 minute hwy ride to work? I am so lost.
10-06-2006, 04:22 PM
#6
Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 59
I do have an aftermarket stereo attached directly to the battery, however I disconnected the main fuse, and there was no change to the amp meter.
Are you sure it's not 20mA? 20A sounds like your battery is shorted.
10-06-2006, 04:41 PM
#7
So the stereo is the only thing wired directly into the battery, right? No aftermarket alarm? When did the 20amp draw start...after the Sirius install? Where did you hook into power? Where is the antenna and wiring routed?
20amp draw is heavy...only motors (window/seat/blower for climate control) or electrical heater (heated seats/mirrors/defrost) would pull that much. Do you have heated seats?
Does the draw change after you lock the car with the remote?
When they checked the battery, they pulled it out of the car or disconnected everything before checking it, right?
20amp draw is heavy...only motors (window/seat/blower for climate control) or electrical heater (heated seats/mirrors/defrost) would pull that much. Do you have heated seats?
Does the draw change after you lock the car with the remote?
When they checked the battery, they pulled it out of the car or disconnected everything before checking it, right?
10-07-2006, 11:48 AM
#8
Originally Posted by Maxfli
So the stereo is the only thing wired directly into the battery, right? No aftermarket alarm? When did the 20amp draw start...after the Sirius install? Where did you hook into power? Where is the antenna and wiring routed?
20amp draw is heavy...only motors (window/seat/blower for climate control) or electrical heater (heated seats/mirrors/defrost) would pull that much. Do you have heated seats?
Does the draw change after you lock the car with the remote?
When they checked the battery, they pulled it out of the car or disconnected everything before checking it, right?
20amp draw is heavy...only motors (window/seat/blower for climate control) or electrical heater (heated seats/mirrors/defrost) would pull that much. Do you have heated seats?
Does the draw change after you lock the car with the remote?
When they checked the battery, they pulled it out of the car or disconnected everything before checking it, right?
I do not know exactly when the draw started, but it was before the sirius was installed. It was really random when it started, I can't think of anything that I did, or that has changed that would cause the battery to drain this fast. I do have heated seats, but those automaticly turn off when the car turns off.
I didn't check when locking the car - only while the door was shut/open and alarm disabled.
and no, they didn't pull it out of the car to check it - I went to autozone, and they rolled out a machine that tested it, (put a load on it battery, tested alt)
I am going to have to take this in to get fixed - I can't have a car that I am not sure if the battery will be dead by the time i wake up!
10-08-2006, 08:46 AM
#9
Aftermarket alarms are usually connected directly to the battery. Not directly, but via the ignition wires under your steering column, which are constant +12v. Pull those and see if there's a change.
10-08-2006, 07:27 PM
#11
Originally Posted by Max2K2
You should hook up a battery disconnect switch (probably cost about $10)
so you can stop the battery from draining. Just until you get the problem
solved.
so you can stop the battery from draining. Just until you get the problem
solved.
10-09-2006, 02:21 PM
#12
Supporting Maxima.org Member
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 109
20A at a nominal 12V is 240 watts.
That is enough power that it will do one (or more) of the following:
1) make a lot of noise
2) make a lot of light
3) make a lot of heat
(1) and (2) should be pretty easy to detect. As far as (3), apparently it hasn't started a fire yet. But check around for things that are warm and should not be.
You said you had the alternator tested but did not go into details... if some of the diodes have blown, depending on which ones are shot, it is possible for the alternator to generate some power when the engine is running, so it will keep the battery voltage at 14 give or take with low accessory load. But it will leak a reverse flow of current when the engine is off. That would be my prime suspect. Either make sure the alternator is tested at full load (where the bad diode will cause reduced output) or disconnect all the wires at the alternator and see whether that stops the current drain. The second is the more reliable test. Be careful if you do this yourself - the fat wire is connected to the battery directly, not through the ignition switch, so you should disconnect a battery cable first so that you do not create a short if your tools touch between the alternator terminal and a body ground.
#2 would be the rear window defogger relay contacts somehow welded shut. It's hard to imagine how that could happen, but, if it did, the current for the window heater does not go through the ignition switch so there would be a draw with the ignition off. So just put your palm on the window and see whether it's warmer than it ought to be.
Small possibility that it could be a window or seat motor. These are on circuits with auto-resetting circuit breakers. The current draw would then switch on and off as the circuit overloads, the breaker opens, and then things cool down and the breaker closes.
I can't think of anything else on the car that can absorb that much current without obvious effects (light, noise, heat/smoke). Outside possibility that you have a wire with abraded insulation shorting to the body, but really that should cause an odor and blow fuses.
That is enough power that it will do one (or more) of the following:
1) make a lot of noise
2) make a lot of light
3) make a lot of heat
(1) and (2) should be pretty easy to detect. As far as (3), apparently it hasn't started a fire yet. But check around for things that are warm and should not be.
You said you had the alternator tested but did not go into details... if some of the diodes have blown, depending on which ones are shot, it is possible for the alternator to generate some power when the engine is running, so it will keep the battery voltage at 14 give or take with low accessory load. But it will leak a reverse flow of current when the engine is off. That would be my prime suspect. Either make sure the alternator is tested at full load (where the bad diode will cause reduced output) or disconnect all the wires at the alternator and see whether that stops the current drain. The second is the more reliable test. Be careful if you do this yourself - the fat wire is connected to the battery directly, not through the ignition switch, so you should disconnect a battery cable first so that you do not create a short if your tools touch between the alternator terminal and a body ground.
#2 would be the rear window defogger relay contacts somehow welded shut. It's hard to imagine how that could happen, but, if it did, the current for the window heater does not go through the ignition switch so there would be a draw with the ignition off. So just put your palm on the window and see whether it's warmer than it ought to be.
Small possibility that it could be a window or seat motor. These are on circuits with auto-resetting circuit breakers. The current draw would then switch on and off as the circuit overloads, the breaker opens, and then things cool down and the breaker closes.
I can't think of anything else on the car that can absorb that much current without obvious effects (light, noise, heat/smoke). Outside possibility that you have a wire with abraded insulation shorting to the body, but really that should cause an odor and blow fuses.
10-10-2006, 10:58 AM
#13
I thank you for your indepth reply. I do not notice anything abnormal with the car at all when it is on, or off. Nothing is hot, or making noise/light. I have just made an appointment to a shop for monday to have this looked at. In the mean time, I have a battery pack in my car that can jump the car when it dies. I will let you know what happens when I take the car in next week. I hope he finds it quick and doesn't charge me an arm and a leg! 
Originally Posted by imjd
20A at a nominal 12V is 240 watts.
That is enough power that it will do one (or more) of the following:
1) make a lot of noise
2) make a lot of light
3) make a lot of heat
(1) and (2) should be pretty easy to detect. As far as (3), apparently it hasn't started a fire yet. But check around for things that are warm and should not be.
You said you had the alternator tested but did not go into details... if some of the diodes have blown, depending on which ones are shot, it is possible for the alternator to generate some power when the engine is running, so it will keep the battery voltage at 14 give or take with low accessory load. But it will leak a reverse flow of current when the engine is off. That would be my prime suspect. Either make sure the alternator is tested at full load (where the bad diode will cause reduced output) or disconnect all the wires at the alternator and see whether that stops the current drain. The second is the more reliable test. Be careful if you do this yourself - the fat wire is connected to the battery directly, not through the ignition switch, so you should disconnect a battery cable first so that you do not create a short if your tools touch between the alternator terminal and a body ground.
#2 would be the rear window defogger relay contacts somehow welded shut. It's hard to imagine how that could happen, but, if it did, the current for the window heater does not go through the ignition switch so there would be a draw with the ignition off. So just put your palm on the window and see whether it's warmer than it ought to be.
Small possibility that it could be a window or seat motor. These are on circuits with auto-resetting circuit breakers. The current draw would then switch on and off as the circuit overloads, the breaker opens, and then things cool down and the breaker closes.
I can't think of anything else on the car that can absorb that much current without obvious effects (light, noise, heat/smoke). Outside possibility that you have a wire with abraded insulation shorting to the body, but really that should cause an odor and blow fuses.
That is enough power that it will do one (or more) of the following:
1) make a lot of noise
2) make a lot of light
3) make a lot of heat
(1) and (2) should be pretty easy to detect. As far as (3), apparently it hasn't started a fire yet. But check around for things that are warm and should not be.
You said you had the alternator tested but did not go into details... if some of the diodes have blown, depending on which ones are shot, it is possible for the alternator to generate some power when the engine is running, so it will keep the battery voltage at 14 give or take with low accessory load. But it will leak a reverse flow of current when the engine is off. That would be my prime suspect. Either make sure the alternator is tested at full load (where the bad diode will cause reduced output) or disconnect all the wires at the alternator and see whether that stops the current drain. The second is the more reliable test. Be careful if you do this yourself - the fat wire is connected to the battery directly, not through the ignition switch, so you should disconnect a battery cable first so that you do not create a short if your tools touch between the alternator terminal and a body ground.
#2 would be the rear window defogger relay contacts somehow welded shut. It's hard to imagine how that could happen, but, if it did, the current for the window heater does not go through the ignition switch so there would be a draw with the ignition off. So just put your palm on the window and see whether it's warmer than it ought to be.
Small possibility that it could be a window or seat motor. These are on circuits with auto-resetting circuit breakers. The current draw would then switch on and off as the circuit overloads, the breaker opens, and then things cool down and the breaker closes.
I can't think of anything else on the car that can absorb that much current without obvious effects (light, noise, heat/smoke). Outside possibility that you have a wire with abraded insulation shorting to the body, but really that should cause an odor and blow fuses.
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