current draw

[Chris2007]

1992 3.1 sedan. I disconnect my negative battery cable, and connect a multimeter set to measure current between the cable and the battery. Did this yesterday and saw, if I'm not mistaken, a current draw of .25 amps. Is this too much? What's normal? What is too much?

[matthew24u]

thats about normal .depending on how many modules you have? some will draw .50 amps on some high end cars but yours is just about the norm for that model. signed, always stuck in diagnostics

[Chris2007]

so if I wound up w/a dead battery twice in the last few days, chances are it's my battery, seeing there's nothing draining it?
What do you all think of Walmart batteries? This one is going on 2.5 years. Not great but not terrible I don't think. I don't want to pay much more then 60 bucks.

[matthew24u]

Yea wally world sells never start (everstart) if you got one of them thats definetly your problem they usually don`t last that long. always stuck in diagnostics!

[Chris2007]

thanks. Any recommendations on the cheap side?

[matthew24u]

don`t mess with autozone either advance auto parts there silver line is pretty damn good heck all there parts are great and the price is close to A Z but the part quality is closer to napa all except for a new product they started carrying called driveworks stay away from driveworks products it is total shi-! ounce again, always stuck in diagnostics!!

[danielsatur]

You can also get an early bird special @ lkqx ,or your local salvage yard for $20

Also check your local www.craigslist.org classified Auto parts

Have the battery charged/load tested for free at the local autoparts store.

Make sure your battery terminals are clean & tight, so the alternator can do it's job.

[Tech II]

Sorry guys, but your decimal point is off....

Normal would be 0.025amps or 25 milliamps or less.......

0.250 amps or 250 milliamps would be something like a glove box light or rear trunk light on, and will take out your battery.....especially if it's an old one....

[gmtech1]

Have to agree with Tech II on this. .25 amps and especially .50amps will drain a battery pretty quickly. Depending on the vehicle, somewhere in the .025 amp range is normal.

[jeffcoslacker]

I always used a test light connected between the removed battery cable and the battery.

I don't actually know what normal draw is, but I know it when I see it on a test light. A dim glow is normal. If it's bright enough it doesn't change much or at all when you open a door, there's too much draw there.

Close everything up and turn everything off, start pulling fuses until it goes to dim. Your load is on that circuit. Most common troublemakers are trunk and glove box lights, map lights, shorted cig lighters, etc...sometimes you see weirder things, power seat harnesses that have been run over in the track and shorting (saw one catch fire from this once), stuck rear defrost relays, and if no fuse or relay removed dims the light, try disconnecting the alternator harness from it....I remember some of the age of yours having an internal regulator/diode fault that would cause power to leak backwards towards the alternator...

[jeffcoslacker]

I forgot to add....if you need a new battery....I've always gone to either Electro or Interstate battery warehouses...around here a factory "second" or "blem" costs $39, has 2 yr warranty....all mine have lasted 4-5 years no problem....

[matthew24u]

yes you are correct my decimal points are off and i knew that when i responded but i didn`t want to confuse him nor was i sure if he was reading the scale correctly but i knew what he meant so rather than correcting him or getting all tech on him i responded with what i knew he would understand and the problem was figured out without all the i know more than you bullshit the point is we are helping people not competing with each other but if any one would like to get into a pissing match i welcome the challenge i have been a mastertech for 27 years and i don`t go around correcting people i just try to help and share my GOD given talent!!!!! GOD BLESS signed, always stuck in diagnostics!

[danielsatur]

Isolate BAT fuse's until the drain go's away, than translate fuse location to circuit causing the problem.

Suspect - doors, trunk, hood, glove box, and focus on electrical buss lines @ hinges

[Tech II]

yes you are correct my decimal points are off and i knew that when i responded but i didn`t want to confuse him nor was i sure if he was reading the scale correctly but i knew what he meant so rather than correcting him or getting all tech on him i responded with what i knew he would understand and the problem was figured out without all the i know more than you bullshit the point is we are helping people not competing with each other but if any one would like to get into a pissing match i welcome the challenge i have been a mastertech for 27 years and i don`t go around correcting people i just try to help and share my GOD given talent!!!!!


What are you getting all huffy about? I made the correction because I knew he had a draw and you said he didn't.....you said it was normal, when it wasn't.....you were leading him in the wrong direction....he has a draw...he has to find it.....nobody's perfect around here.....I've been corrected more than once on this site.....you learn two ways: someone shows you the right way to do things.....and the other way is when you learn from your mistakes....

[matthew24u]

I shouldn`t have but assumed he meant .025 ma if the is the case then no draw and for your info tech 2 the norm for that vehicle is "0.125ma - 0.175ma" not 0.025 so you can count this as one more time you have been corrected ,also i will no longer entertain who is right or wrong GOD BLESS. always stuck in diagnostics!