Gotta draw...

[stuartracing]

I have a draw on my battery .....When I take out the fuse for the clock , it won`t kill my battery....But with it in , my battery dies in a few days....Checked for lights staying on, none found...glove box, visors lights,trunk interior..The only thing i see on , is the clock and the light around the ign. switch.... Any idea???

[RoughSilver92]

I just took my battery to auto zone today to have it charged because I left it hooked up for a week without starting it. Tomorrow I'm gonna do some checking and try to find out why it dies so quick. The only things I know of that use power while the car is off are the clock, ECU, TCU and security system. I have a hard time believing these would drain the battery in a weeks time. I'll post what I find.

[essveeexxee]

10 characters.

[stuartracing]

Originally Posted by essveeexxee

Check out the light for the mirror in your pass. side visor. In searching I've ran across that as a common culprit for a draw. Also the rear window defroster.

Yes I found that one and super glued it OFF....Sucker would never stay off all the time....But it`s not that now....I`m trying to sell this car so it sits for days without being started, but it still shouldn`t drain out the battery in 3 days...Not totally drained but enough so it won`t start.....

Let me know what ya find out....

[essveeexxee]

10 characters.

[SVXdc]

Can you measure the current draw at the battery? (with everything that you know of turned off, of course).

Are you sure there's not a problem with the battery? How old is it?

Originally Posted by essveeexxee

I've also read on here that if you shut the car off while the rear wiper is still swiping that will draw and kill your battery. Ever since I read that I make sure everything is shut off before I turn the key off, everything.

The wiring diagram shows that the rear wiper has a contact switch which should let it complete its swipe, even after the ignition key is off. I'd say if the wiper drained the battery, there was some defect.

[stuartracing]

[QUOTE=SVXdc;595194]Can you measure the current draw at the battery? (with everything that you know of turned off, of course).

Are you sure there's not a problem with the battery? How old is it?

The battery was down since I haven`t started it in a couple days, but i checked it anyways....11.99 then i put in the clock fuse and read 11.96....
I`ll check again when it`s fully charged .....Charging it now...




























The wiring diagram shows that the rear wiper has a contact switch which should let it complete its swipe, even after the ignition key is off. I'd say if the wiper drained the battery, there was some defect.[/

The battery was down from not being started....11.99 then i plugged in the clock fuse 11.96... charging battery now, and will check when fully chatged...

[SVXdc]

Do you have a multi-meter that can measure DC current (Amps)?

Once you've charged up the battery, disconnect one of the battery cables and connect the meter between the battery and the car's cable. Measure the current with and without the clock fuse.

I'd expect the car should be drawing only a few mA with nothing turned on. I'll check mine to see what it reads (unless someone else posts an answer first). I'll have to charge mine first, since I let it go too long without running.

[stuartracing]

Originally Posted by SVXdc

Do you have a multi-meter that can measure DC current (Amps)?

Once you've charged up the battery, disconnect one of the battery cables and connect the meter between the battery and the car's cable. Measure the current with and without the clock fuse.

I'd expect the car should be drawing only a few mA with nothing turned on. I'll check mine to see what it reads (unless someone else posts an answer first). I'll have to charge mine first, since I let it go too long without running.

Dammit man...I`m not good with electricals but I know how to read my multi....I did what ya said and it showed all 0`s.....Fuse in or out was the same....I put my meter on DcA 4m on the dial...I have a digital yellow meter...Fluke i think...What should it do if something was to happen.... I did diconnect my neg. cable too...and connected the neg. probe to the neg. cable red to the positive right????

[kwren]

careful doing amps. The meter has to be inserted in series in the broken spot in a complete circuit... which you do have with the clock, etc.

Keith

[SVXdc]

Originally Posted by stuartracing

I did disconnect my neg. cable too...and connected the neg. probe to the neg. cable red to the positive right????

Close, but not quite what you needed to do.

Whatever you do, don't set it to Amps and measure across the battery terminals!

As Keith said, the meter will be completing the circuit with the car and battery. The meter will be acting like a plain piece of wire.

Again, make sure everything in the car is turned off, ignition key off, doors and trunk closed. Roll down a window ahead of time if you'll need to reach or look inside.

The meter probably only handles 10A max, so you'll blow the fuse in the meter if you have any large-current devices running (headlights, fans, horn, etc.).

• Disconnect the car's negative wire from the battery.

• Set the meter to a medium mA scale, perhaps 200mA to start.

• Connect the meter's Black lead to the negative post on the battery.

• Connect the meter's Red lead to the car's negative wire.

• Leave the car's positive wire connected to the positive post on the battery, and don't touch that with anything else.

• If the meter reads zero mA (or some tiny value less than one), you can keep bumping it down to the next lower scale until you get a value.

Originally Posted by stuartracing

The only thing i see on , is the clock and the light around the ign. switch.

Umm, the light around your ignition switch turns off within a minute after you close the door, right?

[SVXdc]

I measured the current draw in my 1996:

My car currently has the factory AM/FM/tape, no CD player, no security module. 1996s do not have the automatic shoulder belts.

ADDED: New measurements (using "donor" car battery; see note):

• 9.3 mA = Nothing turned on, all fuses still in

• 2.6 mA = Same as above, but removed Clock fuse

• 164.1 mA = Keyhole lights (door and ignition) for 10 seconds after lifting driver's door handle (w/ door locked)

• 1.54 A = Passenger door open (room and inside door marker / "courtesy" lights on), all fuses in

• 0.36 A = trunk open (trunk light on), all fuses still in

Measurements posted originally (using AC power adapter):

• 8.5 mA = Nothing turned on, all fuses still in

• 2.3 mA = Same as above, but removed Clock fuse

• 154.0 mA = Keyhole lights (door and ignition) for 10 seconds after lifting driver's door handle (w/ door locked)

(I may update this post with a few more measurements a little later)

Added: When I first connected the battery and meter, the car briefly did something with the door lock servos, making the meter go off scale for a second.


ADDED: My SVX's battery is dead and not taking a charge. The original measurements were by powering the SVX with a 12V AC adapter. The new measurements were taken after connecting the SVX (without battery) via jumper cables to another car's battery (neither car running). The voltage was perhaps 1 volt higher using the other car battery than using the AC adapter.

[SVXdc]

I've updated my previous post with some new measurements.

Also, my visor mirror vanity lights do not work unless the Ignition switch is on Accessory or On. So in theory, even if a vanity light switch gets stuck "on" or the wires going into the visor get shorted, that should not be able to drain the battery while the key is off.

I searched and looked through several old threads about misbehaving visors. Usually the end result was a blown fuse.

[RoughSilver92]

Not much help here. I found 4 fuses I can take out and drop my volt draw from 12.6 to .15. 3 are under the hood and one is the Door Lock Timer on the inside. I tried to measure Amp draw but showed 0 through all the ranges. I tried to test Amp draw in series with the positive cable, though. I'll try with the negative cable tomorrow.

[SVXdc]

Originally Posted by RoughSilver92

I found 4 fuses I can take out and drop my volt draw from 12.6 to .15.

Do you mean 12.15 or 0.15 ?

I tried to measure Amp draw but showed 0 through all the ranges. I tried to test Amp draw in series with the positive cable, though.

Inserting between the battery's positive post and the car's positive cable should work too. I just prefer to disconnect the negative cable because it's usually cleaner.

Are you sure your meter is working? The fuse for the DC current functions could be blown. You might try testing the meter on something like a small flashlight.