lexdemting

hey guys

what kinda numbers were you getting on is250 during parasitic drain test. On my meter it initially goes to 850 or so mA for the first 15 secs then drops too 150mA after that, Did not wait several minutes for computers to go to sleep mode and I didnt know exactly how long, im actually in the middle of the test now. But anybody who has done so, how long and how many mA were you seeing after said time

Thanks guys

lexdemting

hey guys just finished test. so after approx 10 mins went back out to the meter reading 0.03AMPS = 30mA

2013FSport

iTrader: (2)

Good info. I'm not sure how you performed this as doors, hood, doom light, shut down sequence could impact it.
30ma is a lot. How long does it sit before it kills the battery?

Oh - not to mention one would get very different test results if you inadvertently disconnect the battery while inserting your meter in the path of the battery. Care to share how you did this test and what meter you used?
Thanks!

lexdemting

Theres only 1 way to perform this test properly, obviously all accessories must be off, doors closed and no dome lights etc can be on. 30mA is NOT alot, infact its totally acceptable. 50mA to 70mA is an acceptable drain. This test is not done to prove how long the battery can last, its done to see if there is a parasitic drain. I dont know what you mean by disconnecting the battery inadvertently while connecting the meter, even with it connected that's why I let it sit for sometime to allow all the ECUs to go into sleep mode. The battery must be disconnected and the meter must be hooked up in series with the battery. It doesn't matter what meter you use for this test, you should get the same result regardless what meter you use, that's if you know what your doing but if you must know it was a fluke meter.

2013FSport

iTrader: (2)

I guess all that stuff only matters if someone does it wrong. Around here you have to ask the basics as few work on things themselves. Hell the shear number of people connecting the battery backwards is alarming in its own right as you have a 50 50 chance of getting right! lol

The meters resolution matters. +/- 10ma is a big deal when the number we are looking for is 15 to 20ma.

Inadvertently disconnecting the battery while inserting test equipment means exactly what is written as it wakes up everything and would draw a lot of current and potentially damage some meters. That said leaving the hood open *could* change what is awake and so could having the key fob in range of the car! My point is that few people have meter worthy of doing the test and one wrong move blows the fuse as those capable of measuring down to 1ma typically are limited to 10amps and simply disconnecting the battery and inserting the meter would would blow the fuse in the meter or damage it.
So ya, not knowing the skill set on the other end matters too. The obvious solution is not to break the circuit in the first place when inserting the amp meter and ones meter readings would be reflective of real world testing with all things off, hood closed, and the fob out of range.

So lets do a little open discussion about parasitic loss. Most that need to know this already have a problem or they wouldn't be asking. Those in this group might have installed a new battery only to find it won't start and shake their heads in disbelief. So their new group 24 battery that could have an amp hour rating from 60 to 90ah fails to start the vehicle after a week even though it has high reserve capacity.
70ma (0.070a) x 24hrs x 7 days = 11.76ah from weak battery and bam, the voltage and available Cranking Amps is too low to start.
So 70mah is a lot of loss that few batteries in our group will handle for extended periods of time.
Now what if we leave this at the airport for 2 weeks and its cold. There goes nearly 24amp hours from a 60ah battery (just keeping it simple) but there is No way that's gonna start.

A 15ma loss is typical once everything is asleep. One may find 25ma for the first couple hours up to 4 hours. These cars do a 3 stage shutdown every 15 days if that matters. 15/30/45 unfortunately they didn't detail what systems drop off in what order.

GL...