Key Off Power Drain

[bitterdog]

is 0.5a an acceptable amount of drain?

wierd after some fuse pulling i got to the stereo fuse. I pulled it and checked 0.01 drain. I put the fuse back in and now the drain is only 0.28. Something screwy with the serio or is that .5a acceptable?

thx

 

[Kamaaina]

I have a slight drain on my '96 XLT, too. When it sits in the garage for 4 or 5 days I'll hook-up the battery charger (it's a Sears 10-amp) and it'll jump to 7 amps and slowly drop to trickle after 'bout 8 to 10 hours. I know there's a lot of electronics with memory being constantly on but I think it's excessive. I haven't gotten around to troubleshooting yet as I hate electrical problems! Other than that the "X" runs great.

 

[Cobraguy]

You know, there are so many items that require power that it's really hard to say what to expect. Half an amp is actually quite a bit in some circumstances, and not much in others. But if you can let the vehicle sit for a couple of weeks and still start, I wouldn't say you have anything to worry about. Then again, you could have some things hooked into it that would drain it down in 2 or 3 days and still be "normal" for what you have.

Kamaaina...what you are describing sounds perfectly normal from a trickle charger after that many days. Does the car still start after 4 or 5 days?

One other thing...is the case of the battery clean? I can show you a drain test on a dirty battery case that will absolutely amaze you. Dirty cases do indeed draw power.

 

[budwich]

It also depends on how long after you turned your key off that you did your measurements as there are some "timed circuits". Your "test" appears to show a circuit "dropping" as a result of "momentary lost power". I would say that .5a is on the high side for "continuous key off" draw. In a quick calc, a battery "might" have 200 amp hours capacity (pushing it with the number... probably closer to 100 unless it is a high capacity deep cycle) so at .5 draw, you are looking at 400 hours which is about ~16 days (8 with the other number which probably closer to "truth")... that's probably short as I have had no problems starting after 3-4 weeks especially in the summer. I would expect your ~.25 number is closer (given accuracy of measurements). You probably need to investigate a bit especially if you are having starting issues after some "idle time".

 

[Bern]

.5 amp is very excessive, if continuous. Keep in mind though that the electronics don't go to sleep for quite some time after turning it off and shutting the door. If you let it sit for a week and you cant start it, you either have a bad battery or excessive draw. Otherwise, not to worry.