Battery Dying from Parasitic drain. Help!
04-01-2010, 05:51 PM
#1
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 60
Battery Dying from Parasitic drain. Help!
I posted a little while back, replaced some stuff and am still having this issue. I have spent countless hours trying to figure out what is draining the battery and I cant find it.
Background:
Car had a Viper alarm system. One day I started the car but the starter wouldn't disengage. I ended up having to put it in gear, let off the clutch and hold the brake, and allow the starter to quickly drain the battery. I know, not pretty but I was away from home with no tools. After this, I took the car to a shop and they said it was the viper alarm and removed it. The power cable from the starter solenoid to the starter was also burned up so that was replaced. Ever since then, I have had this parasitic drain.
Troubleshooting:
I measured 150mA drain by disconnecting one battery cable and inserting a multimeter between the cable and the battery terminal. A charging system test from autozone showed my voltage regulator was bad. I replaced that. Now when I test the current drain, my multimeter reads 0. That makes no sense because there is always going to be a little drain. I tried a different meter and it also reads 0. And, the battery is still draining. Goes dead in a few days.
I have eliminated the starter and alternator from the list of possible culprits by disconnecting them (one at a time), letting the car sit over night, and seeing if the battery is still draining. It is so those are not the issue.
I am convinced that the tech disconnected or connected something wrong which is causing this drain. On a side note, my power locks don't work anymore either since I took the car in, which makes sense that everything is connected because the alarm system operated the door locks. I can't figure out where the circuit breaker is for that (its not in the normal fuse area).
Any help?
Background:
Car had a Viper alarm system. One day I started the car but the starter wouldn't disengage. I ended up having to put it in gear, let off the clutch and hold the brake, and allow the starter to quickly drain the battery. I know, not pretty but I was away from home with no tools. After this, I took the car to a shop and they said it was the viper alarm and removed it. The power cable from the starter solenoid to the starter was also burned up so that was replaced. Ever since then, I have had this parasitic drain.
Troubleshooting:
I measured 150mA drain by disconnecting one battery cable and inserting a multimeter between the cable and the battery terminal. A charging system test from autozone showed my voltage regulator was bad. I replaced that. Now when I test the current drain, my multimeter reads 0. That makes no sense because there is always going to be a little drain. I tried a different meter and it also reads 0. And, the battery is still draining. Goes dead in a few days.
I have eliminated the starter and alternator from the list of possible culprits by disconnecting them (one at a time), letting the car sit over night, and seeing if the battery is still draining. It is so those are not the issue.
I am convinced that the tech disconnected or connected something wrong which is causing this drain. On a side note, my power locks don't work anymore either since I took the car in, which makes sense that everything is connected because the alarm system operated the door locks. I can't figure out where the circuit breaker is for that (its not in the normal fuse area).
Any help?
Last edited by clawlan; 04-01-2010 at 05:55 PM.
04-02-2010, 02:45 PM
#2
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 60
Alright, after much toiling and a call to a local mechanic, I have discovered the circuit that has the drain. Turns out I popped the .5A fuse in the multimeter which is why I was reading 0A. I figured the fuse was fine since the other functions worked, noob mistake I guess. I am going to start a new thread to help troubleshoot the offending circuit.
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