Is there such thing as a parasitic battery drain?
No need for HazMat suits, yet! A parasitic battery drain is just something that consistently and continually drains your battery. This could be a faulty relay, a headlight/dome-light switch, alternator, or any other electrical gremlins.
How to fix a parasitic drain on a multimeter?
Disconnect the negative battery cable. On the amperage side of the multimeter dial, set it to 20 amps. Disconnect the negative battery cable. Touch a lead to the negative battery cable terminal. Touch the other lead to the negative battery post, completing the circuit within the multimeter, which will display the amp draw.
What does it mean when battery drain is slow?
A slow battery drain when everything is off is called a parasitic power loss. This happens when something – a glovebox light, an amplifier, any electrical component – is pulling power from the battery when it shouldn’t.
What’s the normal parasitic draw on a car battery?
Parasitic Battery Draw. A normal amount of parasitic draw for newer cars is between 50-milliamp to 85-milliamp current draw. A normal amount of parasitic draw for older cars is a reading less than 50-milliamp. Anything past these amounts indicates an electrical issue and should be addressed by a mechanic.
No need for HazMat suits, yet! A parasitic battery drain is just something that consistently and continually drains your battery. This could be a faulty relay, a headlight/dome-light switch, alternator, or any other electrical gremlins.
Which is an example of a parasitic drain?
Well, this is just one example of parasitic drain. Modern cars and trucks can easily come equipped with over 50 onboard computers tied together in a single system. This means there are numerous operations using electricity in vehicles, even when the engine is not running.
How to find out if your car battery is parasitic?
How to Find a Parasitic Battery Drain. When your car battery goes dead overnight, usually either the battery is at the end of its life span, or you left something on, such as a light.
How long does a parasitic battery drain test take?
Depending on the amount of current being drained, a parasitic draw will suck all the juice from your battery in a few hours or minutes. The first three tests require the use of a digital multimeter. If you don’t have one, you can buy a useful multimeter for around 20 dollars.
When to look for a parasitic power draw?
Your battery could be near the end of its service life and it should be recycled and replaced with a new one. If the battery test shows that it is still good, then it’s time to start looking at a parasitic power draw. While you’re under the hood (or at Advance Auto Parts), test the alternator.
Depending on the amount of current being drained, a parasitic draw will suck all the juice from your battery in a few hours or minutes. The first three tests require the use of a digital multimeter. If you don’t have one, you can buy a useful multimeter for around 20 dollars.