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  • #1

    Parasitic battery draw?

    Decided to make a new thread instead of continuing in the "What ticked you off today thread". So my car wouldn't start yesterday morning and I figured it was the starter or battery. Had a friend jump start the car and it cranked up no problem. Took the battery and had it charged. Wanted to check the alt. per Damkid's suggestion and that checked out fine as well. I was reading up on how to test for a parasitic draw and I'm still unsure if I'm doing it correctly or not. I unhooked the (-) lead and ran the volt meter between the lead and the terminal and got something like 12 amps. I shouldn't be getting anything close to that right or am I doing it wrong?
    Edit: For reference I was following this method...
    How to Find a Parasitic Battery Drain: 11 Steps (with Pictures)
    http://www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Parasitic-Battery-Drain
    If your vehicle is drawing power from the battery and all of the lights and other electrical components are off, you might have a parasitic battery drain (or draw). Luckily, you can usually find the cause of a parasitic draw yourself....

    I didn't wait a few minutes for the car to go back to "sleep". Is that my problem?
    Last edited by lanemeyer14; 11-06-2011, 05:34 PM.
    "Lane, I've been going to this high school for seven and a half years. I'm no dummy."

    Gone but never forgotten, "Hulkstiva"...http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/sh...ht=progression
    Tags: None
  • #2
    If you have a similar Festiva, compare the draw from that one to the other. Make sure you use the 10 amp plug on the multimeter because the amp draw from whatever is drawing could ruin the instrument. Also leave it hooked up for a while to see if there is a "sleep" mode. Tomorrow I will see what it reads on my '93 EFI for comparison.

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    • #3
      Tried again but made sure to close both doors. Connected the voltmeter and left it connected. Draw went down to 0.3 but slowly climbed up to about 10. Pulled each fuse individually and the draw never went back down
      "Lane, I've been going to this high school for seven and a half years. I'm no dummy."

      Gone but never forgotten, "Hulkstiva"...http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/sh...ht=progression

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      • #4
        So much for "sleep" mode. Pull the main fuselinks one at a time by the driver's side strut tower while checking the reading.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by georgeb View Post
          So much for "sleep" mode. Pull the main fuselinks one at a time by the driver's side strut tower while checking the reading.
          Dang, forgot all about those. Will try that out in the morning....hoping the battery won't be dead again by then!
          "Lane, I've been going to this high school for seven and a half years. I'm no dummy."

          Gone but never forgotten, "Hulkstiva"...http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/sh...ht=progression

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          • #6
            Tracing down a power draw is something i absolutely HATE doing, i would seriously rather be repeatedly kicked in the twig and giggles berries then track down a power draw

            1988 323 Station Wagon - KLG4 swapped
            1988 323 GT - B6T Powered
            2008 Ford Escape - Rollover Survivor

            1990 Festiva - First Ever Completed KLZE swap (SOLD)

            If no one from the future stops you from doing it, how bad of a decision can it really be?

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Damkid View Post
              Tracing down a power draw is something i absolutely HATE doing, i would seriously rather be repeatedly kicked in the twig and giggles berries then track down a power draw
              Ha! I'm hoping it won't be THAT bad for me!
              "Lane, I've been going to this high school for seven and a half years. I'm no dummy."

              Gone but never forgotten, "Hulkstiva"...http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/sh...ht=progression

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              • #8
                ummm how bout this: pull ALL fuses (at the same time) and start inserting them starting with the MAIN and then continue with the fuses inside the cab untill a draw presents itself.
                Trees aren't kind to me...

                currently: 2 88Ls (Scrappy and Jersey), 88LX, 90L(Pepe), 91L, 91GL (Skippy) 93 GL Sport (the Mighty Favakk), 94 (Bruce) & 95 Aspire SEs, 97 Aspire (The Joker),
                94 Justy 4WD, 87 Fiero GT, plus 2 parts cars. That's my fleet.

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                • #9
                  We had a problem like this and it ended up being a couple of wires got melted. Do the fuse thing first though, it we tell you what to look for
                  97 Aspire w/K03 turbocharged b6 SOHC
                  CoolingMist Varicool II Meth injection
                  Phantom gripped and cryo'ed 5 speed

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                  • #10
                    Think I got it figured out now. Seems to be just the alarm/door popper pulling any draw, but it's only 160 milliamps
                    "Lane, I've been going to this high school for seven and a half years. I'm no dummy."

                    Gone but never forgotten, "Hulkstiva"...http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/sh...ht=progression

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                    • #11
                      then how did it grow to 10A?
                      Trees aren't kind to me...

                      currently: 2 88Ls (Scrappy and Jersey), 88LX, 90L(Pepe), 91L, 91GL (Skippy) 93 GL Sport (the Mighty Favakk), 94 (Bruce) & 95 Aspire SEs, 97 Aspire (The Joker),
                      94 Justy 4WD, 87 Fiero GT, plus 2 parts cars. That's my fleet.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by FestYboy View Post
                        then how did it grow to 10A?
                        I'm a retard....had the meter on the wrong setting. Also tried with a test light. With the alarm unhooked it didn't light up, with the alarm hooked up the light was very dim. Guess I'll just keep an eye on things and see how it goes. Thanks for the help again guys!
                        "Lane, I've been going to this high school for seven and a half years. I'm no dummy."

                        Gone but never forgotten, "Hulkstiva"...http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/sh...ht=progression

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                        • #13
                          Late to the game, but you should get the draw down below 50mA. Iv got a test on that stuff today, wish me luck.
                          Going old school...

                          89L Carby FIDO, previously owned by FestivaFred

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                          • #14
                            ^ not if there's an active alarm system and radio memory to take care of...
                            Trees aren't kind to me...

                            currently: 2 88Ls (Scrappy and Jersey), 88LX, 90L(Pepe), 91L, 91GL (Skippy) 93 GL Sport (the Mighty Favakk), 94 (Bruce) & 95 Aspire SEs, 97 Aspire (The Joker),
                            94 Justy 4WD, 87 Fiero GT, plus 2 parts cars. That's my fleet.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Originally posted by FestYboy View Post
                              ^ not if there's an active alarm system and radio memory to take care of...
                              Yep, did as much searching as I could and with an alarm/door poppers it seems like 160mA is ok in my situation
                              "Lane, I've been going to this high school for seven and a half years. I'm no dummy."

                              Gone but never forgotten, "Hulkstiva"...http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/sh...ht=progression

                              Comment

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