Diagnosing parasitic drain

Went through this exact issue over the past year. Could never find it. Finally caved and took it to a recommended guy in town. He found that my front camera mod was constantly pulling power. I disconnected and hooked it up to an ignition on only add a fuse. Haven't looked back since. Try testing any and all aftermarket stuff added to the truck/battery

 

Yeah was just using that clip to hold the wire before - put it on the end of the probe after to see as well and read the same thing.

I feel the same way that it has something to do with the meter. Let me try that.

The strange this is on this is this is 100% stock and started happening 6 months after I bought it and I have done nothing to it.

 

On to something - there is no connection between the cable and battery with the DMM inline.

With the alligator clips I was able to unlock and lock my car. With the DDM between I cannot do so. This is why I bought the cheap DMM since I wasn't trusting the boat lab Fluke.

Even with this cheap one its not conducting that current either (being cheap shouldn't be the issue should it since lots of people use these kinds all the time?)

Is it possible my truck is blowing the fuses? There shouldn't be that much flow through it or my battery would be dead right away?

Both read voltage just find.

 

Pull the back cover off the fluke and check the fuses. The Fluke 87 is a very good meter.

 

Both blown? Other reads the same

 

Looks that way. Easy to do. Buy extras.

 

Will do.

so do you think it was the vehicle the blew the fuses or someone before me blew the fuses?

 

already know there is a drain..................already know it runs the batt down

NOT known ?!?!?!?1

what

where

how

keep measuring at the batt only tells U what U already know

U have to isolate upstream from the batt

disconnect ALL the accessories / ADD Ons !!

a wire (. ANY Wire ) could be side crossed with another wire...............or a ground / frame

causing the drain

metering as iv mentioned will get U there

 

Nailed it!

 

Who knows... Those are little fuses. Get them fixed and go back to what your were doing with the meter in series between the negative cable and the bat. But all this going to show you is what you think you already know - which is that you have a drain. From there you need to isolate the circuit by pulling fuses, or what the guy in the video was doing which is checking the voltage across the fuse looking for current. From there isolate things on the offending circuit. Start with unplugging things before you start chasing shorted wires and such.

 

not sure what Ur attempting to accomplish

blown fuses indicate overloaded issues...................seldom parasitic

replace fuses & then troubleshooting starts

sounds like U have BIGGER Issues

again isolate ANY & ALL additional accessories wiring that is NOT OEM !!!!!!

then start tracing wires ...............

 

I have an arsenal now.

I know I have a drain I just need something that reads what the level of drain is. I will set the DMM in-line and start pulling fuses and see which fuse causes the drop. Once I know what fuse I can see what’s on that circuit and isolate from there. Again, there is nothing in this vehicle that is aftermarket, bone stock everything.

I’ve just been having a problem reading the current and now know why. Then onto the next step of fuses

 

Just referring to my guess earlier that the fuses might be blown, resulting in erroneous readings...

It's easy to blow the fuses if you correct/set-up the meter incorrectly. I doubt there's an issue with the vehicle relating to the fuses.

 

Going back to the picture of the red meter in post #25.

The meter's dial is set to measure 200 ohm. The leads are across the fuse. The meter reading indicates OL. This means Over Load, the resistance is above 200 ohms. Try again on the max resistance setting, 200M. If you get a reading, then begin reducing the scale.

I'm not sure those fuses are blown. You've only shown the resistance is above the 200 ohm setting, based on that picture.

 

never seen a meter result in blown fuses

most meters will work either way if hooked up correct or backwards

some meters have fuses in the event that a connection is SOOOOOO Wrong Not to damage the meter

 

Hes using it to measure amps and to jumper the big battery cables through the small leads to measure the current, if he were to try and turn the key on or something it will certainly blow the fuse on that meter.

 

true on the meter.......................NOT the vehicle fuse block

zaps the meter making it useless

in series a meter between pos post then cranking tells absolutely NOTHING

cranking amps vary more than the weather..................always way toooooooo many variables

 

You could always try the non meter method of checking for battery drain, unhook the battery cable and the touch it back to the battery post, it should make a very small arc from the memory setting and stuff on the truck. If it makes a big arc something is held on. Try unplugging relays and stuff to see if the arc gets significantly smaller.
If it's pretty cold out where your at and the battery has been hooked up overnight and truck is completely cold try feeling the alternator and relays for any warmth. The warm stuff will be where the problem is.

 

Comment deleted for being flat our wrong....

 

Sorry, but that's incorrect. A 2KOhm fuse is not a fuse, it's a resistor.

Just to confirm, using OE fuses, 'cause a picture is worth a thousand words ohms...

My trusty old Fluke 77 (Ignore the upside down buttons... I'll fix that eventually) continuity test:


One fuse (I can never remember which is which until I open the meter)...


and the other:


1.4 Ohms and 0.2 Ohms respectively.