ovlovturbo Posted August 13, 2016 Report Share Posted August 13, 2016 hello, i have a 2002 s60 t5 manual, the car does not get driven that much but the battery goes completely dead all the time, the last time i jumped it and charged it up it went dead again 4 days later, the battery is about a year old, can there be a phantom draw somewhere in the car and if so how would i find this? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichKelley Posted August 14, 2016 Report Share Posted August 14, 2016 The answer to your question is yes you "could have an amp draw" that is discharging your battery. You said you charged the battery. Did you test the battery after you charged it to ensure it was in fact a good battery or is this an assumption? Once you know you have a good battery then It is a good idea to test the alternator to ensure it is charging the battery correctly. Once you know that you have a good battery and a good alternator you can proceed to determine if you have a parasitic draw on the battery. You will need to have a meter that can read amps. I prefer the clamp on style that can tell you what the amp draw is, you can find a cheap one from 39-100 dollars. With the hood open and the hood locks shut manually, lock your car and let it go to sleep. (10 minutes) Now clamp the amp draw around the negative battery cable, you should have .03 or less. If you have more then you have an amp draw. Start pulling fuses while watching the meter, when you pull the correct fuse the draw will drop to where it belongs. This can be a long drawn out process to find the amp draw. Sometimes it is worth letting a shop test your electrical system and determine if you have an amp draw and what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ovlovturbo Posted August 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2016 ah ok, thanks for the help. i did not test the battery after charging but it is a new one so i just assumed it was fine, i will see what i can get done, might just get a shop to do it as the time it may take is a factor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdog Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 On 8/14/2016 at 11:18 AM, RichKelley said: The answer to your question is yes you "could have an amp draw" that is discharging your battery. You said you charged the battery. Did you test the battery after you charged it to ensure it was in fact a good battery or is this an assumption? Once you know you have a good battery then It is a good idea to test the alternator to ensure it is charging the battery correctly. Once you know that you have a good battery and a good alternator you can proceed to determine if you have a parasitic draw on the battery. You will need to have a meter that can read amps. I prefer the clamp on style that can tell you what the amp draw is, you can find a cheap one from 39-100 dollars. With the hood open and the hood locks shut manually, lock your car and let it go to sleep. (10 minutes) Now clamp the amp draw around the negative battery cable, you should have .03 or less. If you have more then you have an amp draw. Start pulling fuses while watching the meter, when you pull the correct fuse the draw will drop to where it belongs. This can be a long drawn out process to find the amp draw. Sometimes it is worth letting a shop test your electrical system and determine if you have an amp draw and what it is. 0.03A is 30 mA; do you have a clamp-on ammeter than can read that low? If so, please post a link to where I can buy one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fudge_Brownie Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 Pulling fuses via trial and error, or using a multimeter might reveal it. I believe a common tricky one is either a glove box or trunk light that doesn't go off when the door is closed. Or one of the red lights on the inside of the door jam. Check your water levels in the battery, make sure they're good. And you're letting it charge back up right? Not just jumping it, driving to the corner store, and parking it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ovlovturbo Posted August 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2016 yeah I jump the car then drive it around for about 40 mins or so. the battery is about a year old. I will check it in the sleep position with the multi meter. if I start checking fyses and find where the draw is what then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fudge_Brownie Posted August 18, 2016 Report Share Posted August 18, 2016 47 minutes ago, ovlovturbo said: if I start checking fyses and find where the draw is what then? Inspect the components associated with that fuse for obvious signs of failure, broken wires, maybe a stuck relay, a faulty glove box door switch not turning the light off etc. Can also consult wiring diagrams, but this is all pretty hypothetical. Focus on narrowing the problem down first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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