Parasitic Battery Drain Troubleshooting

Basic tech questions such as future setups, different turbo kits, car diagnosis, etc
Post Reply
User avatar
pidass
Dreams of owning a 240!
Posts: 85
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 9:16 am
Location: SC

Parasitic Battery Drain Troubleshooting

Post by pidass »

So I'm almost done with KA-T project (several months in the making).

Got a new battery and it maintains a charge for days if not connected (so I know the battery is good) but if I leave it hooked up to the car, the battery is completely drained the next day.

Pulling fuses I noticed that it does not drain if I pull the big alternator fuse out. I did have to slightly remove the alt when I swapped out the PCV valve with a straight fitting. So I did mess with the alternator (though I'm not sure if the problem existed before this). Is this an alternator issue or is something else on the same circuit with the alt?

BTW the car does run, and the alternator seems to be working, I read about 13-14V on the battery with the car running.
User avatar
Jmcc
Encyclopedia-Nissan
Posts: 1436
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:42 pm
Location: FL

Post by Jmcc »

since you did mess with the alt it could be in the same circuit, just check and make sure first. also the alt fuse does power the cabin. so if you pull just that fuse. it would stop a draw if it had to do with somthing in side the cabin.
User avatar
airman
KA-T.org OWNER
Posts: 2144
Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:51 pm
Location: Anderson, SC

Post by airman »

Yeah, that big fuse powers a LOT of stuff inside the car, i.e. turn signals, radio, blower, windows, etc. Pretty much everything inside of the fuse box inside of the cabin.
R.I.P. 1990 Red Hatch - DOHC 5 speed // CP 9:1 - Eagle Rods - Clevite - ARP // Holset HX35 - 20psi daily - MSPNP2
8-bit wrote:You could spend your life building a ladder to the moon, or work for 5 years to pay for a trip.
User avatar
pidass
Dreams of owning a 240!
Posts: 85
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 9:16 am
Location: SC

Post by pidass »

that's great. what would be the best next steps in troubleshooting this? pull the fuses in the driver's side fuse panel one by one till I find the one that stops the draining? Weird that I haven't messed with really anything in the inside of the car.
User avatar
Jmcc
Encyclopedia-Nissan
Posts: 1436
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:42 pm
Location: FL

Post by Jmcc »

sh!t just happens. and yes one by one. but leave each one you pull out till you come across something.

edit: what are the draw numbers ????
User avatar
sicks13
Dont Question My Nissan Knowledge
Posts: 607
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2006 12:56 pm
Location: W.N.C

Post by sicks13 »

Did you upgrade the fuel pump power wire? I ask because i had the same problem and it turned out to be the relay i added at the fuel pump.
Image
User avatar
pidass
Dreams of owning a 240!
Posts: 85
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 9:16 am
Location: SC

Post by pidass »

I installed the walbro probably a year ago, can't remember if I replaced a power wire, did it come with the install kit? The fuel pump is on it's own fuse though so how could that be related?
User avatar
sicks13
Dont Question My Nissan Knowledge
Posts: 607
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2006 12:56 pm
Location: W.N.C

Post by sicks13 »

My problem was when i did the fuel pump hard wire mod. you would know if you did it.. just start testing each component on that circuit
Image
User avatar
nismoautoxr
Encyclopedia-Nissan
Posts: 1153
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2008 8:16 am
Location: Leeds,Alabama
Contact:

Post by nismoautoxr »

First of all ...I didnt see in your post where you said what year and trim model 240 you have ...but....this is how to check for parasitic draw....

method 1) disconnect negative battery cable . Connect a 12v test light between the neg. bat.post and the neg cable . If there is a draw then the test light will be lit bright. Pull fuses untill the light goes out . You must disable the interior lights to do this becuase you will obviously have the doors open and this in itself will cause a draw.

method 2)disconnect negative battery cable. connect a DVOM or an analog ameter between the neg.bat post and neg.bat cable...it there is a draw you will have more than 500 miliamps(1/2 an AMP) showing on the meter . Pull fuses untill the draw goes away. Again...you must disable the interior lamps because you will obviously have the doors open and this will in itself cause a draw.

I would expect a draw that is capable of running a battery down overnight to be at least 2-3 amps. or a very bright test lamp(depending on which method you use)

The test lamp method works but you have to take into account that if you have a radio in the car and the ecu in the car ...they will consume a little bit of energy as part of their keepalive memory . If you dont want to have to account for that then just disconnect the radio and ECU to take that out of the equation. Make sure the ignition key is out of the switch if the dinger still works :wink:

If its an S14 SE it will have a factory alarm sytem that will also draw a small amount of current also ...

Happy hunting!!
Ricky Ragan,
95 SE ,LS1 N/A and T56, 230/232 @.050 cam, MS3 with MS3X,GC coilovers,17x8.5 Enkei RPF1 on 255 40 17 RS3 Hankooks, 377HP/351TQ , megasquirt3 fully sequential
User avatar
ppctx
Belongs To The TOP CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS!
Posts: 1667
Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2007 1:23 pm
Location: Panther City, TX

Post by ppctx »

Thanks for that. Dont have the issue but if I did, I wouldn't have known where to start. For me, electrical issue are so much more difficult to diagnose.
Original owner of a 93' champagne colored, corn eating fastback. Growl and bite is a bit meaner, but she's still my little girl.


I'm not out, just doing a couple of other things for a bit.. brb
User avatar
nismoautoxr
Encyclopedia-Nissan
Posts: 1153
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2008 8:16 am
Location: Leeds,Alabama
Contact:

Post by nismoautoxr »

ppctx wrote:Thanks for that. Dont have the issue but if I did, I wouldn't have known where to start. For me, electrical issue are so much more difficult to diagnose.
y/w :)
Ricky Ragan,
95 SE ,LS1 N/A and T56, 230/232 @.050 cam, MS3 with MS3X,GC coilovers,17x8.5 Enkei RPF1 on 255 40 17 RS3 Hankooks, 377HP/351TQ , megasquirt3 fully sequential
User avatar
Jmcc
Encyclopedia-Nissan
Posts: 1436
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:42 pm
Location: FL

Post by Jmcc »

never seen some body use a test light for this kinda test..

but i would deff have a dvom for this. also i wouldnt dissconect any thing in the car.

you could have an exccesive draw say from a radio and wouldn't see it if you already unhooked it before the test. also leave all the doors closed and so on. start with the relays in the eng. bay then the fuses, then work your way into the cabin.
cypher02xd
240sx Wannabe
Posts: 113
Joined: Sat May 09, 2009 4:04 pm

Post by cypher02xd »

Jmcc wrote:never seen some body use a test light for this kinda test..

but i would deff have a dvom for this. also i wouldnt dissconect any thing in the car.

you could have an exccesive draw say from a radio and wouldn't see it if you already unhooked it before the test. also leave all the doors closed and so on. start with the relays in the eng. bay then the fuses, then work your way into the cabin.
Test light is what I've used in the past and it works great, I have a draw on my 240 but all I do is pull the fuse that causes the draw when I get in and out lol I don't feel like hunting it down and am going to wire in a kill switch eventually.
User avatar
Jmcc
Encyclopedia-Nissan
Posts: 1436
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:42 pm
Location: FL

Post by Jmcc »

^^ lol wow if you know witch fuse to pull why couldn't you figure out the problem instead of wiring in a switch??
Post Reply