Need help with electrical draw. (1 Viewer)

[EffJayAte]

Something is causing a draw when the vehicle is off. I’ve got a multimeter but I’ve never used one before and nobody around with experience. I’ve done some reading but decided to just beg you guys for a hand.

How much of draw is there supposed to be? I took a pic of the reading on my multimeter, hopefully you can tell me if I’m using it correctly. What does that number mean? 13.65 ma is way too high right? Which setting should I be using. I’m as green as it gets when it comes to this.

Thanks.

 

[EffJayAte]

The pic

 

[EffJayAte]

Battery measured just over 13 volts

 

[jonheld]

The draw of 13mA seems a bit low to me. IIRC, my 91 FJ80 was 20mA and my LX450 is 26mA (I think).
In any case 13mA is almost nothing.

 

[EffJayAte]

Well damn, I guess that just leaves this hotshot battery, I’ve barely had a few months, right? If I leave the battery connected it’s dead by daylight.

Is too low a draw an issue? A previous owner did quite a bit of electrical work and I’m just now going through it. There’s an altimeter he didn’t finish wiring in, leds all over, a toast warn 8274, and I heard he had a fridge and big sound system.

 

[landtank]

When I track down a battery drain I have a VOM that reads amps. You put in line on the positive battery terminal and can read the amp draw while the truck is off.
Major contributor is a remote start system. Have ripped a bunch of those out. Anything on while the truck is off is suspect. Remote mirrors, remote door locks, electric seats, glove box light, sun visor courtesy light anything that works while the truck is off could be a draw problem.
LCP jumps a relay so the windows work while off. So check for mods as well

 

[paulzak]

With the amp meter in line and reading, pull fuses one by till you see a drop. This will be the circuit that has the offending culprit. If there are any connections other than the main battery connection at the positive post of the battery, start there by disconnecting these connections to see if the load drops. Aftermarket stuff should be suspected first but other causes in OEM circuits could certainly be the cause as well.

 

[EffJayAte]

With the amp meter in line and reading, pull fuses one by till you see a drop. This will be the circuit that has the offending culprit. If there are any connections other than the main battery connection at the positive post of the battery, start there by disconnecting these connections to see if the load drops. Aftermarket stuff should be suspected first but other causes in OEM circuits could certainly be the cause as well.

There’s a few that cause a drop, efi, dome, and another. But if I’m already reading low, are they an issue?

 

[Lumpskie]

Are you having an issue with your rig or just measuring? Over 13v battery and 13 mA draw look good.

 

[EffJayAte]

Something is killing my battery overnight.

 

[Lumpskie]

Something is killing my battery overnight.

When did you get the 13.06v reading? Just after running or charging? What's the voltage after sitting for a hour? Can you gwt someone to start it while taking a reading? How low does it go when you turn it over?

 

[EffJayAte]

When did you get the 13.06v reading? Just after running or charging? What's the voltage after sitting for a hour? Can you gwt someone to start it while taking a reading? How low does it go when you turn it over?

That reading is after being driven alot yesterday but disconnected all last night and today. I just hooked it back up, going to check it and get back to you on the rest later.

 

[MoJ]

Made in China battery. Sorry, not a productive contribution, just an observation.

 

[EffJayAte]

Made in China battery. Sorry, not a productive contribution, just an observation.

Came with a good warranty. Maybe thats a bad sign.

 

[EffJayAte]

When did you get the 13.06v reading? Just after running or charging? What's the voltage after sitting for a hour? Can you gwt someone to start it while taking a reading? How low does it go when you turn it over?

12.94v after sitting an hour, hooked up. I’ll get help tomorrow morning to check it on start up.

 

[landtank]

I was on my phone earlier. You want to use the 10A setting and have the meter in line on the positive terminal. Voltage readings are useless.

 

[Shoredreamer]

I agree your reading seems off in that 13mA seems TOO low. I would try measuring current draw again using the positive side and be sure to plug the red probe into the 10A spot on the multimeter like @landtank said. A 13 amp draw would def kill a group 27 overnight.

 

[EffJayAte]

I agree your reading seems off in that 13mA seems TOO low. I would try measuring current draw again using the positive side and be sure to plug the red probe into the 10A spot on the multimeter like @landtank said. A 13 amp draw would def kill a group 27 overnight.

And I do that the same way I measured off the negative side? Red line to battery, black to cable?

 

[Railwelder93]

What’s the date on the battery? They might have sold you one that has been sitting on a shelf for a long time.

 

[jonheld]

I agree your reading seems off in that 13mA seems TOO low. I would try measuring current draw again using the positive side and be sure to plug the red probe into the 10A spot on the multimeter like @landtank said. A 13 amp draw would def kill a group 27 overnight.

According to the first picture he is measuring correctly, although the probes are reversed giving him a reading of -13.68 mA because he's measuring off the negative terminal.
It's possible that meter has internal current limiting to avoid blowing it up. I would simply take another reading with the probes reversed to be certain. If the reading is in the range of 20-30 mA of quiescent draw (everything off, doors closed) I would call that good. At that point you're just reading the clock, ECU, and radio.
IMO, a draw of over 30mA is something to be concerned with, depending on what other doo-dads you have installed.

If your battery is a typical flooded cell and it doesn't hold a charge, then it is already too late and you're not bringing it back.
There is a reason good batteries cost a little more.