How to check for and fix a battery drain in your car
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- čas přidán 24. 03. 2015
- How to Stop Car Battery Drains: DIY Auto
There are plenty of energy-robbing devices on your car that are supposed to go to sleep when it's parked, and sometimes, not all of them go to sleep. Here's how to give them a tranquilizer.
When your car battery dies once, it may be tempting to just write it off as a fluke. Batteries can die for a huge range of different reasons, and there’s always the chance that whatever went wrong won’t go wrong again. But when your car battery keeps dying over and over again, it’s a pretty safe bet that there’s an underlying problem that needs to be dealt with before you end up stranded somewhere.
Why Do Car Batteries Die?
The list of issues that can cause a car battery to die is so long as to approach neverending, but virtually every battery killer out there can be shoehorned into the three basic categories of battery problems, electrical system problems, and simple user error. Some of these can be dealt with at home, and others will probably require a visit to your mechanic, but there’s no way to know for sure until you roll up your sleeves and dig in.
It’s also important to note that when most people talk about a battery dying repeatedly, they are talking about a situation where the vehicle won’t start after it has been parked for any length of time. If your battery seems to die while you’re driving down the road, it’s more likely that you have some type of problem with the charging system (we’ll cover that situation as well).
What Causes a Car Battery to Keep Dying?
Some of the most common reasons for a car battery to die repeatedly include loose or corroded battery connections, persistent electrical drains, charging problems, constantly demanding more power than the alternator can provide, and even extreme weather. Some of these problems are enough to kill a battery on their own, while others are usually coupled with a battery that is already weak or on its last legs.
Headlights or dome lights left on.
Headlights, or even a very dim dome light, will drain a battery dead overnight.
Make sure to check for any interior lights when it's dark outside.
Some headlights are designed to remain on for a while, but a malfunctioning system may leave them on permanently.
Battery in weak or poor condition.
A poorly maintained or weak battery may not hold a charge very well.
Even small drains, like the memory function in your car radio, may kill a very weak battery.
Corroded or loose battery connections.
Corroded battery connections can prevent the charging system from topping off your battery when you are driving.
Loose battery connections can also cause problems.
Other parasitic drains in the electrical system.
Parasitic drains can be difficult to find, but they are fully capable of killing batteries dead.
Common drains include glove box and trunk lights that come on, or remain on, when they shouldn't.
Extremely hot or cold temperatures.
Hot or cold weather won't kill a battery that's new or in good shape, but a weak or old battery may fail in extreme conditions.
Extremely hot or cold weather can also magnify other underlying issues.
Charging system problems.
If a battery seems to die when you're driving, the charging system may be at fault.
Loose or stretched belts and worn tensioners can prevent an alternator from working.
Checking Headlights, Dome Lights, and Other Accessories
Car batteries are designed to power headlights, dome lights, and various other accessories whenever the engine is off, but they have a very limited capacity to do so. That means if anything is left on after the engine is shut off, the battery will almost certainly die.
Leaving the headlights on can kill a weak battery in the amount of time it takes you run a short errand like shopping for groceries, but even a small interior dome light can drain a battery dead overnight. So if you're dealing with a battery that goes dead over and over again, it's worth checking it out at night when it's dark out when a faint or dimmed dome light will be easier to see.
Some newer vehicles are also designed to leave the headlights, dome lights, or even the radio on for a while after you shut the engine off and remove the keys. When everything is working correctly, you can walk away from a vehicle like this, and everything will shut off on a timer. If you come back half an hour or an hour later, and things like the headlights are still on, that's probably why your battery is dying. - Jak na to + styl
Curvy line is AC. Straight line is DC.
FYI...Alternating AC current is the wave sign on your meter and the straight double line is DC current.
I was just going to say type that...note the straight line over the dashed at the 10A DC setting he used.
That's why he get zero reading on test meter but get light ON on test light tester.
I had to laugh myself is there anyone that works on cars that did not catch that?
Thanks for the information. It's a light at the of tunnel for me. I'm having trouble with a drawn battery. Keep up the the good work!
another big thank you for your way of showing me a step-by-step, for somebody who hasn't got a clue, how to test it and being very thorough. I'm going to share this w/ everybody at where I work at for their DIY needs.
thanks
Good simple video...If it's something other than the computer, that is most cases, always draws a " little "current, like clocks do too....If you find, but can not repair and/or replace, what is causing the extra draw, you can put in a manual disconnect that turns off the power at the battery or a manual, switch controlled disconnect, that can be mounted in the cab, but with more expertise involved...A kill switch so to speak, cheap and simple....Many are made to mount directly on the battery terminal and are easy to install, but you have to raise the hood every time to use it.... I also recommend pulling the computer fuse first, before checking anything, then the others...Just in case....Thanks for sharing this video...It's still a good one.
You should make more videos les, you are a natural, thanks from Alberta Canada.
have it in my 2006 dodge ram 2500 5.9 diesel. this is byfar the best video on how to fix. cheers
ty
Thanks. These videos are always helpful.
I have a 2007 bmw 328i i swapped 2 fuses which are for the locking and unlocking system because my car wasn't locking/unlocking. After I swapped it out it started to unlock and lock. And when I started the car again it would not start anymore. I had a mechanic come look at it and says it's the starter. Do you think I did something wrong? And my battery is at 11.4V.
Thank you for making this video!
LOL! I'll thank you now for the info, great video.
i have a nissan march 2012 and iam having many electrical problems , right now fog light works and headlight works, front wiper but the electrical lock system not working and turn signal not working , and back wiper not working , any idea what do i have to change ? btw turn isgnal is flashing rapidly but no signal is on from the bulb. this means its a problem of the whole electrical system ? not only replacing fuse or relay or bulb will fix it?
what could happen if you create a spark with the positive and that bolt right there on the frame..what ground is for that.. i think its grey and black wires
That’s straight forward thanks will give this a try
Thanks I just bought the same car 06 300 with the same problem, o and the nav screen is out as well and the drivers seat wont move motor work's seat won't move
Thanks brother, truth in lay mans terms, short and straight to the right way through. Be blessed.
How to change battery in 2016 dodge ram 1500
Awesome great clear helpful information Thank you sir
The voltage on my car's battery reads 12.3 when connected and 12.6 when terminals disconnected. Is this normal? What could cause this?
Hello, i bought my son an 05 honda accord and the battery is draining and it has an aftermarket stereo so i checked the draw and it was 200 milliamps so i took the stereo fuse out and it went down to 0.00 put it back in and went right back up. I took the stereo out and checked all wiring and it seems good. Stereo works also but cant figure out where its coming from. Any suggestions??
Does this work on a Cadillac srx an my my altnator is new also the battery will not charge I ran 2 brand new batteries down
Really helpful video. Thanks mate
Thnks it gave me understanding in how to fix the problem thanks
there is a constant voltage draw that is there all the time from the ecm!
Thank god it’s that easy. I thought my first car was trashed, I didn’t even know where to start
you said that some cars have more than one fuse box. To be on the safe side ,should I check both of my boxes ,if I find a draw, can the be two
thanks a lot it helped me greatly and figured out what was draining my battery
Good video. Short and to the point
Thanks for the video!
I am having trouble with my Ford F2 58th 2006 I am getting some type of power on my negative check the multimeter and it was a 11 point something and 12 point something and then I connected to the app and I had to point something on it I’m just lost
Very helpful. Thank you.
hi my 2010 journey..more exactly..the fuse M13 is draining my battery overnight and not all the time can anyone help me..thank you Angelo
Many thanks for making it simple enough to understand .
Glad it was helpful!
thanks, very helpful.
Haa, the "curvy " line is for AC, the flat line for DC.
Thanks having a problem with LAC my battery keeps falling dead I hvae a 95' DeVille 4.9L and I will. Try this test and see what comes of itm THANK YOU!!!
Thanks for sharing
Knowledge is power
I appreciate the detail presented. Thumbs up and thanks.
Thanks for watching!
You made that look so easy. I am going to keep this for future reference.
Thks fast and simple. Life to complicated to finish confused.
Thanks for teaching me how to fix my car
Most after market amp can draw small amount of amperage also too..
Excellent video. Thx
Thanks! Nice vid
Any advice on a 99 Ford Expy.
So I’m confused…the light on that cheap tester glowed, but the multimeter showed 0%. Why? Shouldn’t the multimeter have shown some draw as well?
My truck wouldn’t start at first then I took my negative terminal off for a few minutes reconnect it then it started is that a sign that it has a drain
Can i trust this info after he says icon for dc is curvey line?
Ac is a wave to show you the sine wave hence the wave symbol and Dc is a straight line with dot below as Dc is a square wave , human error happens
u got that right
OK. Glad I'm not the only one who caught the erTor. the wavy line denotes AC and the straight line with the dots denotes DC.
How to get a Volvo with a security system cranked have let but fob
Awesome thanks for the info
If you are alone, just place the ammeter across each fuse socket one by one until you find the conducting circuit.
Actually thats the way I do it and think its the easy and best way. Just be sure to get proper contact as its easy to miss the test point of these fuses.
man...really helpful video,thanks a lot!!
An easy way to check. thanks
this video really very good and helpful for how to fix a car battery problem.
. Another resource I also found useful for how to recondition lead acid battery with epsom salts
was Panlarko Recondition Planner - find it on google if you want
Hi there my car still has drain even tho I have checked all the fuses
What about IOD fuse? I removed it and multimeter went to 0
What are some of those devices?
thank you man.
Nice video thanks & God bless 🙏
Thank you too
Thank you good info
For years, my car ate batteries. Each year I had to replace the battery. If the car sat unused for a few days, the battery would die.
No mechanic performed or even suggested a parasitic draw test. They just kept selling me replacement batteries.
Finally one day, I realized that the problem was that the rectifiers in the alternator had shorted. The battery was draining through the windings of the alternator.
How do I know this? Because one day I saw a thin stream of smoke drifting from underneath the hood. When I opened the hood, there was an inch tall flame on the alternator, which water couldn't extinguish (because the current from the battery was flowing through the windings, heating them like the filament of an electric light bulb).
The alternator was replaced. A draw check confirmed that the current leak from the battery had stopped. No more dead batteries.
My was a Ford Taurus 99. Was yours was a ford?
Kevin that is scary as hell ! I wonder how long that flame would stay going until it died out? Everytime you had to recharge or jump off the car, and then it starts to flame up again. Double scary. No, much more than that!
fcuking hell😳
thanks...you help me
So your test light says theres a draw but your volt meter says 0amps draw. ??
Hello! I am dealing with a parasitic drain on my 2017 nissan pathfinder that cases my OEM radio to turn on at random times thus killing my battery. Even when I unhook the radio completely from all the harnesses I can see on my multimeter that there is a drain of 3.5 to 4 volts at all times and the only thing that fixes the issue is to pull the extended storage fuse. I have removed the fuse box and found the harness that controlls the extended storage fuse is just a thick copper wire that is hot all the time. I know one of the wires that it controlls is the blue memory wire leading to the back of the radio. Initially I even tried just cutting that wire and running it to a different positive just to see the results and though the radio never turns back on by itself the parasitic drain is still there. I have already spend thousands of dollars at the stealership for module replacements, sensor replacements, radio relacements and all this for them to NOT fix the issue. Now they are swearing that only $8000 more to replace the whole wiring harness will fix the issue. I mean holy crap, who do they think I am and what do they think they are they working on, a Lamborghini? I'm just a regular guy with a family and I need a vehicle that works, especially when I am paying $450 a month for this think. I know this is a lot, but do you have any advice? Thank you so much!
Extremely well explained and soooooo useful . Just had to get a ride with my brother cos came out to a flat battery. So this video will be invaluable in finding the fault.
thanks a lot dude
Awesome vid buddy good job and thanks!
Im glad it was helpful
Lessco Electronics u seem very smart with this stuff ..my mom's positive wire to battery is getting so hot the bolt burns my fingers ...extremely hot...any ideas?
thats dangerous, my guess is the wire is very corroded inside. replace it
Cold it be possible to just take you meter to the fuse box and test for draw on the fuse.
Thats what I did and my radio thatdidnt work was drawing 0.007 , causing my battery to drain
Thanks for the info I guess
Awesome my brother is experiencing a draw from his 2003 Chevy pickup I'll let him know how to check and fix it thank you.
welcome
hi I do have a question how can this test be done if the battery in the trunk while the the doors have to be closed what about the trunk? I have a 2003 Mercedes e500 the main battery in the trunk and there is 2 lights inside the trunk. can this test be done on the auxiliary battery under the hood ? I need your help thanks
You have 2 options, remove the bulbs if they are easy to get to or simply close the trunk latch with a screw driver. When you are all done, don't forget to open the latch before slamming down the trunk lid. The latch method is better since if you have an alarm system, the circuit will think the trunk lid is closed and "sleep" with no draw.
Very helpful and clear. Thank you for posting!
I'm glad it was helpful
ur welcome!
if im getting draw... can I use my cheap test light and keep cjecking while pulling fuses? and once test light wont light il know its that fuse?
Yes! you definitely can. Ive done that many times, Always works terrific.
Love your personal rags to riches video series and on becoming an electronics expert. Setting up ammeter in series with the battery's ground circuit as shown sounds off my car alarm. What do I have to do differently to do the parasitic draw test?
+omnidivisible You can't disable that alarm tentatively? most systems have some method of going into valet mode.
Car alarm on my 95 Corolla is one thing I would like to disable PERMANENTLY. If I have a valet switch by the driverside kick panel, the toggle may be missing. Owner's manual doesn't cover car alarm. Car model-specific reliable consumer instructions on disabling car alarms are hard to come by and time-consuming, and electronic techno instructions are hard to understanding and follow to be actionable. Toyota dealers would not give me a straight answer or touch it. Would you have any pointers for disarming a 95 Corolla or the critical information and skills I need to have to disarm my car successfully?
I have a 24-year-old E150 it runs okay but the battery goes dead after a day and a half just sitting there it's got a new battery the alternator is putting out 14 volts it's actually the second battery that I have in the vehicle that's less than 4 months old I have to put a battery minder on it so I don't wind up in a situation where it won't start if I need to use the truck I do that a day before I saw what you did and I am an air conditioning contractor I've worked with electricity for 30 years what if it's the ignition switch or if it's the computer how do you diagnose that problem I removed all the bulbs in the dome lights so that can't be a problem even if the door switches are bad if the dome light bulbs out there it's not going to draw an amperage is very little to the truck that has anything in interior wise that could be the problem it might be the computer or maybe the ignition switch because I had a problem with it shutting off and I always make sure that it's in the lock position when it's in the off position because I could take the key out no matter what position it's in so I always make sure that it's locked in the off position but that hasn't helped at all I don't know exactly what the problem is I might have to bring it in I SAW WHAT YOU DID WITH THE FUSES BUT IF IT'S THE IGNITION SWITCH OR THE COMPUTER IT REALLY WOULDN'T MATTER BECAUSE I MIGHT STILL HAVE AN AMP DRAW NOT KNOW WHERE IT'S COMING FROM the only way would be to pull the ignition switch and take all the wires off I wouldn't know how to check the computer I guess I can unplug the computer but I don't want to screw with that I'm pretty expensive to replace
thanks!
My Honda Odyssey has multiple devices connected to fuse 7, which is the one that drains the battery.
How do I go about identifying what device is causing this. The radio, DVD, GPS, automatic door and remote key are connected to this fuse. Any feedback would be appreciated.
AbdulQader Mustafa omg I’m looking for my Odyssey too!!! Same fuse!!! Do I just have to buy another one to replace it???
sir how to confirm this test on a 2003 Mercedes e500 while the battery in the trunk and trunk has lights ?
@Monir
Did you find a fix?
One way is to attach wires at the places specified to attach meter leads.
Run wires outside trunk and close trunk.
Without kinking wires.
Of course, check for drain between your added wires.
Make sure no shorts or crosses in your wires.
2nd try.
Set everything up.
Have a flashlight.
Make sure trunk release is working.
Hop in trunk and shut lid.
Check for drain.
Check for electrical drain.
Check for kitchen sink if ya want.
I took my out.
A standard test light will light up and show you what you need to know and you don't have to worry about damaging your multi-meter.
hey great tutorial but yeah curvy line is AC dotted line is DC or maybe you ve had afew lines
Yeah when he said that I was like What!?
excellent!
thank you !
welcome
You had a draw on the 99cent tester but none on the multi tester,confused me alittle,can you explain.
Exactly! I’ve been searching for an answer to that as well
I must have misunderstood, You had a draw using the continuity test light but when you used the multi meter it should no draw?
Jimmy Cassell
thought the same thing. both should have shown an issue.
Maybe need to set the range on the meter to a lower range. If it has one.
Better to use an analog ammeter. Doesn't have to trigger any circuits to operate.
That’s exactly what I said to this gentleman, if you show a draw with the tester you should had shown a draw with the meter, I truly think that this guy don’t have a clue on what his doing or got confused doing this as maybe it’s hard to record a video and talk at the same time for this guy.
Yeah I know it didn’t make any fucking sense
+Jimmy Cassell
The draw is simply just too small to be shown because he has it at 10 Amp range, he should lower the range and it would show the draw.
Its fine to use your head you know.
Good video for desperate times☺
Thanks
Good video even tho AC and DC were mixed
It's a good idea not to wear any jewelry that could conduct any current, such as watches, and bracelets, or rings...They could cause an arc and turn red hot in a milli second, causing painful burns...Great video.
TANK YOU!!!
So you are safe to drive once you figure out what is eating up your battery?
Great thank you
Welcome
Can I disconnect the battery on a bmw 2011, I was told the computer goes haywire
I see no reason why not
thanks
My moms buick encores battery keeps going down what do you think it could be?
did you do a amperage draw like I explained here yet? there is your answer.
@@Lesscoelectronics just did it still went down so i tried something else
And found out it was the battery so yeah thanks man
i have a 2008 Cadillac CTS 4 and some thing is draining my battery im so sick of it i need help
start by using my tips.
Chandra Epps same here. I have a Volkswagen Beetle. The battery is dead every single AM.
Your vehicle is naturally going to have a draw to it with the key turned off. How do you think your stereo keeps memory? So the light test with the negative terminal is bs. To know if you have a problem you have to use a meter and look at the exact number that its drawing. Example, my mustang Cobra draws .o9 volts when the car is off because its feeding the memory for the stereo.
I think you mean the stereo is drawing .09 Amps, not Volts. The voltage should be pretty close to 12 regardless of amperage.
can I just go over to the fuse box wit the multi meter and test the top of each fuse and see if there is a draw by waiting for the meter to drop to zero? If it doesn't then that would be what would be drawing current...
Only if you check amperage draw, yes
Got it wrong. Ac and dc. Curved vs straight and dashed lines. Good job.
oy, thanks for being the 90th person to mention that, 10 points for originality
Very helpful ! Thank you !
Great video. I found it very helpful and informative when trying to diagnose my battery drain issue. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of battery cable terminal ends are being used on that car in the video? They look really nice and like they are good quality. I would be interested in purchasing a set if I knew where to find them.
+mustangmaniac1983 thanks, and those are memphis top post battery terminals
those are memphis brand top post terminals.