Help With Battery Drain

[bilko0795]

when i connect the poss battery terminal to black probe on the meter and the red probe to the poss term on the battery it shows up with these readings in the pics and the readings dropped steadily.The meter is set as per in the pics is this the right set up and am i getting the right reading.

[bilko0795]

If your battery is under the back seat then do this test.

Get in the car, loosen the battery terminal and insert the meter. Pos or Neg doesn't matter it will show the same current.
Close the door and lock it by pushing the button down.
The meter should show a current of about 0.05 A (50 mA)
Wait a minute and you should hear a relay tick and the current will drop to 0.005A (5mA) I don't remember the exact readings from my car but the order of magnitude is correct.
When mine was doing this it was reading 80mA even after the "tick" I had a wire pinched in the centre console (my computer kept resetting to zero too)

Yes battery under back seat. I will try this on w/end.

[newsh]

If your battery is under the back seat then do this test.

Get in the car, loosen the battery terminal and insert the meter. Pos or Neg doesn't matter it will show the same current.
Close the door and lock it by pushing the button down.
The meter should show a current of about 0.05 A (50 mA)
Wait a minute and you should hear a relay tick and the current will drop to 0.005A (5mA) I don't remember the exact readings from my car but the order of magnitude is correct.
When mine was doing this it was reading 80mA even after the "tick" I had a wire pinched in the centre console (my computer kept resetting to zero too)

[bilko0795]

Either side of the source will work, you're effectively just breaking a loop and using the meter as a link. Electrically termed as a series connection.

A clamp meter would've been much easier for you though.

Didn't know there was such a meter does look easier to use though. Im sure i will sort it on the w/end.

[Pat D]

I was just wondering as when i did a search last night it was said that you use the NEG cable and no mention of the POSS cable for the test.

Either side of the source will work, you're effectively just breaking a loop and using the meter as a link. Electrically termed as a series connection.

A clamp meter would've been much easier for you though.

[bilko0795]

Exactly

I was just wondering as when i did a search last night it was said that you use the NEG cable and no mention of the POSS cable for the test.

[irishs2]

Thanks for that will wait til w/end. I take it that when you attache the meter as per the diagramme it will show that there is power being taken from somewhere and that when i start pulling fuses the reading will drop when the right fuse is taken out

Exactly

[bilko0795]

Thanks for that will wait til w/end. I take it that when you attache the meter as per the diagramme it will show that there is power being taken from somewhere and that when i start pulling fuses the reading will drop when the right fuse is taken out. Or it just shows the condition of the battery.

[Pat D]

No the siren is still on the car but all the cable from it has been removed. My new meter has just arrived never used one before, trying to understand all the jargon in the instructions at the mo

This should help if your meter looks like this.

[ChrisAudi80]

This might sound silly, but have you checked if your battery has enough fluid in it? I recently had similar problems like you.
I had way high fuel consumption, battery would not hold a charge. My alt was rebuilt early this year. You know what a hassle it is to charge the battery on an UrS?

I opened the plugs on the battery. Dry as fvck. Filled it with 1L of dist water.
No probs now. Fuel consumption went from 4.5km p/l to 7.5.
Hold the charge just fine.

Fix cost: 50 cents.

[bilko0795]

What kind of meter did you get?

I bought a sealey MM 2.0 7 function multimeter with thermocouple.

[Pat D]

What kind of meter did you get?

[bilko0795]

The check with a clamp/ammeter will help you narrow down the circuit.

Did you remove the siren as well? Or disconnect the supply if it was a battery back up type?

A quick check to rule out the alternator without a meter would be to remove the positive cable off the back of it and tap it back on to see if you get a small arc/sparking, while the engine is off and keys out of the ignition.

No the siren is still on the car but all the cable from it has been removed. My new meter has just arrived never used one before, trying to understand all the jargon in the instructions at the mo

[Pat D]

The check with a clamp/ammeter will help you narrow down the circuit.

Did you remove the siren as well? Or disconnect the supply if it was a battery back up type?

A quick check to rule out the alternator without a meter would be to remove the positive cable off the back of it and tap it back on to see if you get a small arc/sparking, while the engine is off and keys out of the ignition.

[bilko0795]

I also had what I thought was a drain, but really turned out to be the alt not charging the battery. Does your voltage meter (dash) dip with lights, A/C, or rise with higher RPM? If so you may want to pull the alt and check both the voltage regulator (age, carbon brushes, contacts) and alt copper contact pole. Mine had enough of a groove where the poles weren't getting solid contact and while everything on the surface looked OK, the battery just wasn't getting anything more than a surface charge which would drain off over time.[/QUOTE]

NO the meter in the car is showing 14amps and holds steady when lights are on ,the battery is good when i disconnect it and then reconnect it 12 hours later to drive home the car turns over like it should so i assume the alt is charging ok but it won't harm to have it refurbed as a mate of mine will do it cheap. But as i have said in the first post it has only started since i removed the alarm. My ammeter should arrive today so i will start looking.