Electrical draw chased and fixed
03-21-2019, 03:13 PM
#1
Audiworld Junior Member
Thread Starter
Electrical draw chased and fixed
Over the last two months if left sitting for more than 3-4 days the battery would drain to the point of no start, but still had electrical power for
windows/cluster and such. I had a couple hours today after work so I hooked my Fluke meter up set on milliamps between the battery negative
and neg cable while I finished some console work with everything else off. Tripped the door latch closed, and watched it go from about a half an
amp to 160-170 milliamps, and stayed there. At almost 2 tenths of an amp I had my draw, enough to pull the small battery down in 3-4 days.
I had the notion it had something to do with the radio, so pulled that fuse and in half a minute the parasitic load was 35-40 milliamps. Pulled the
radio and removed the aux I-pod usb adapter I got off ebay, reconnected the radio and fuse back in. Back to 160 milliamps or so for a minute,
then dropped to 40.
Just to verify I plugged the adapter back in and rechecked, and it held 160-170 as long as it took me to finish the console. Evidently the circuitry in
the adapter was not allowing the radio to go to 'sleep', causing the draw.
I like my usb sticks, so I may investigate a micro toggle switch to remove the power input to the adapter when the car is off. FM sucks, and discs are a hassle.
Cheers!
windows/cluster and such. I had a couple hours today after work so I hooked my Fluke meter up set on milliamps between the battery negative
and neg cable while I finished some console work with everything else off. Tripped the door latch closed, and watched it go from about a half an
amp to 160-170 milliamps, and stayed there. At almost 2 tenths of an amp I had my draw, enough to pull the small battery down in 3-4 days.
I had the notion it had something to do with the radio, so pulled that fuse and in half a minute the parasitic load was 35-40 milliamps. Pulled the
radio and removed the aux I-pod usb adapter I got off ebay, reconnected the radio and fuse back in. Back to 160 milliamps or so for a minute,
then dropped to 40.
Just to verify I plugged the adapter back in and rechecked, and it held 160-170 as long as it took me to finish the console. Evidently the circuitry in
the adapter was not allowing the radio to go to 'sleep', causing the draw.
I like my usb sticks, so I may investigate a micro toggle switch to remove the power input to the adapter when the car is off. FM sucks, and discs are a hassle.
Cheers!
03-23-2019, 03:44 AM
#3
Audiworld Junior Member
Thread Starter
I would suspect all aftermarket equipment as first culprit, then go from there.
Cheap cool tool, allows you to let the car go into sleep mode and switch from straight connection
to multimeter without loss of connection. $11, used one for years.
A good multimeter with amps/milliamps is a must, Fluke, Klein or equivalent.
Remember to open the drivers door and flip the latch closed with a screwdriver to simulate a closed car, gives you access to the fuse
panel for pulling each circuit.
The TT should have a 50 milliamp draw or less while resting. If the car sits for more than a week a battery tender is recommended. These
cars are sensitive to low voltage. A volt meter in the cluster would have been handy, vs going into the Climatronic codes,
Cheap cool tool, allows you to let the car go into sleep mode and switch from straight connection
to multimeter without loss of connection. $11, used one for years.
A good multimeter with amps/milliamps is a must, Fluke, Klein or equivalent.
Remember to open the drivers door and flip the latch closed with a screwdriver to simulate a closed car, gives you access to the fuse
panel for pulling each circuit.
The TT should have a 50 milliamp draw or less while resting. If the car sits for more than a week a battery tender is recommended. These
cars are sensitive to low voltage. A volt meter in the cluster would have been handy, vs going into the Climatronic codes,
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