Dead Battery in 2 weeks - Parasitic Drain

[jeff in co]

I did try it with the door open but pin switch closed (that was a strange switch to find)! Same result. I'll do a battery load test and see where I'm at. Overall, the total of 70 milliamps is not a huge draw. This yellow top has been like this for a long time. I did have it replaced under warranty because of a past load test. Although it helps the stereo perform better, I'm not overly impressed with it. Might try Interstate next time.

 

[jeff in co]

Did battery load test at Advance Auto. Battery tested good and had 725 CCA. It is 3 months past the 3 year warranty (of course).

 

[rampage]

According to your numbers you should have 43Ah left after 2 weeks. What’s the voltage read after 2 weeks? My next step would be to connect a headlight to it and see how long it stays at 12V.

 

[jeff in co]

Voltage read afte 2 weeks is going to have to be hypothetical. I don't plan on letting it sit that long normally. So that may be a hard one to measure realistically.

I guess I could try the headlights on over a period of time?! Interesting idea but probably worth a shot out of curiosity.

The second JL amp was removed during this time. I'll put that back in and do another measurement. Might be interesting results and wonder it it will add to that 70 Milliamps.

 

[rampage]

Voltage read afte 2 weeks is going to have to be hypothetical. I don't plan on letting it sit that long normally. So that may be a hard one to measure realistically.

I guess I could try the headlights on over a period of time?! Interesting idea but probably worth a shot out of curiosity.

The second JL amp was removed during this time. I'll put that back in and do another measurement. Might be interesting results and wonder it it will add to that 70 Milliamps.

Assuming you use a 60W bulb it shouldn’t take more than 13 hours. I’d write down the voltage every 30mins or so (just so I could make a pretty graph ).

 

[jeff in co]

I'm an engineer.....I love graphs!!

 

[rampage]

I'm an engineer.....I love graphs!!

Right there with you! (EE if you haven’t figured it out)
I expect a PowerPoint by weeks end.

 

[jeff in co]

Will do! I'll try to have some movement graphics along with it too. CE here but work in a ME (natural gas) world.

 

[Fordum]

<I’d write down the voltage every 30mins or so (just so I could make a pretty graph ).>

No way, not me. I'd program a cheap PLC to do the measurements and log them so I could do something else.
Actually there are some fairly cheap dedicated data loggers out there that would do the logging even easier, but I already have the PLC........

Automation Direct loves me...........

 

[rampage]

<I’d write down the voltage every 30mins or so (just so I could make a pretty graph ).>

No way, not me. I'd program a cheap PLC to do the measurements and log them so I could do something else.
Actually there are some fairly cheap dedicated data loggers out there that would do the logging even easier, but I already have the PLC........

Automation Direct loves me...........

LOL
Time to invest in more tools Jeff.

 

[jeff in co]

I have to be strategic... keep the blazer and suburban running with reliability. Too much money in them and my wife will start questioning why to keep. Heck, this Christmas we drove her Lexus to Idaho instead of suburban because she didn't trust it. But then that allowed me to rent an Expedition....which turned into an Escalade for 2 weeks. That was fun to drive!

And the whole "PLC" thing. I hear a lot about them in out gas compressor stations. Unit PLC's and Station PLC's.

 

[Wes Harden]

My experience with optima batteries is once they have been drained down they are never the same. We even use optima brand chargers, specifically designed to charges agm spiral batteries. I don't see the value. Nice you can mount in any direction and they don't leak or corrode. 1 time drain or poor charging system and they might not come back

 

[rampage]

Right there with you! (EE if you haven’t figured it out)
I expect a PowerPoint by weeks end.

Will do! I'll try to have some movement graphics along with it too. CE here but work in a ME (natural gas) world.

 

[jeff in co]

I know...I know.

Too much relaxing on vacation and didn't get to the garage! Next few days.

 

[jeff in co]

Alright, a wonderful graph that tells me nothing!!

first off, the headlights keep auto-turning off after 15-20 minutes, so I had to keep turning them back on. Things were going decent, but then the last two readings....went the other way!

All doors shut for at least an hour, driver's window open so I could just turn the headlights on or off without opening the door. Hood was open an hour prior to testing as well.

Fun to look at, but does not provide a lot of data to use.

 

[rampage]

You get an A for the graph but the execution leaves something to be desired.
Assuming you had the headlights on low beam and each one was 55W that’d be a 9.16A draw (for both) for only 1.3 hours which is 12.2Ah. That would be equivalent of leaving your truck sitting for 174.3 hours or 7.3 days (12.2Ah /0.07A). Your yellow top has a capacity of 66Ah so you’re only draining it by 1/5.
What I was suggesting you test is the battery (fully charged) and out of the truck connected to only a spare headlight (or two to speed up the process) and then measure the voltage every half hour. IIRC, if the battery is in good condition, it will take 13 hours (6.5 hours if you use two headlights) to drain it using one 55W headlight.
And I wouldn’t worry about the 0.2V fluctuation, could be from several things.

 

[jeff in co]

Thanks for the tips. I was going back and forth while cooking dinner and a movie.....once I saw it go back up again, AND I had to keep turning on the lights all the time, figured the test was a bust.

But I wanted to at least put up a graph to make things look cool!

Might be able to do a better test this weekend. I'll see what I can hook up to make it happen.