[DML] Re: tracking down a power drain

["bitsyncmater" <david.mckeen@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Depending on the condition of your battery that load most likely is to much for one week.  It takes a good long drive to bring your battery up to full charge after sitting with that load for a week.

Say your battery has 50 amp/hours of capacity.  That 60 ma. load would drain 25% of the charge in one week.  Without a full charge (long drive) that load would just accumulate the discharge each week.  When batteries age they loose capacity.  Also your OEM clock if you have one draws 6.5 ma and your radio if it has a clock draws another 5 to 6 ma.

You would need to keep a battery tender on each week or use a relay to power down your amp.


--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Soma576@... wrote:
>
> Hi Group,
>  
> I'm trying to determine why my battery is too drained to start the car  
> after 5 to 6 days of sitting.  By inserting a digital multimeter in-line  with 
> my battery, I determined that my Lockzilla draws about .01 A while sitting  
> (drops to zero when Lockzilla is disconnected).  In addition, I have a  
> stereo system with an amplifier.  The amplifier, when isolated, seems to be  
> drawing about .03 - .04 A with the key out of the ignition.  The draw is  
> constant even when I remove the remote and speaker leads from it.  The amp  is 
> not on as per the LED's on it, but it is definitely pulling some power.   When 
> I disconnect this amp and the Lockzilla, my DMM fluctuates between 0.00 and 
>  0.01A (I can't find that last half-amp by pulling fuses, maybe the meter 
> is a  little off) and when both are plugged back in it reads about 0.05 A.   
> Is this enough juice to drain a battery in less than a week?  I have not  
> put a meter on the battery to read the voltage after it sits for a week so I  
> don't know how low it's getting, but certainly low enough to not turn  over.
>  
> I know it's not exactly DeLorean related, but the amp is a JL Audio 250/1  
> monoblock amp for a subwoofer.  The instructions don't give a resting draw,  
> so I'm wondering if that is typical?  Seems a little high, so aside from an 
>  internal problem with the amp, what else could go wrong with it?
>  
> Andy
>




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