EASY - Diagnose/Fix PARASITIC BATTERY DRAW

Having trouble keeping your battery charged? Finding that you vehicle will not start every morning due to low battery voltage? You may be the victim of PARASITIC DRAW. This is phantom current (amps) being drawn from your battery by something in your vehicle while the vehicle is shut down. This can lead to loss of battery charge and even destruction of the battery.

Thankfully there is a EASY way to test for parasitic draw using nothing more than a Multi-meter

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We hope you enjoyed this video and will keep in mind that all information included is intended to be purely academic and in fact is only the opinion of D&E. We are not professionals, nor are we qualified to knight you a professional. D&E want to ensure that anyone modify or fixing their own vehicle does so in a safe manner which leaves the vehicle in a legal, roadworthy state. In short, DON'T BE A MONKEY WITH A TOOL BOX! If you don't know what you are doing, leave it the professionals!

[overthehill]

Had a coworker that relaced the battery, alternator and cables. After a week of sitting idle the battery would be dead. He got so mad he sold it to me for $500. This was in the early 80s and the car was in excellent shape. I got the car home and parked it in the driveway. That night I looked outside from the upstairs window and thought I saw a little glow from the car. It was the glove compartment light. Removed the bulb and drove the car to work for 4 years with no problems. Your videos are very helpful. Thank You.

[split.black]

I'm a retired mechanic, with a draw on my battery, just wanted to say you filmed an excellent video, to the point, easy to understand,
Great job .

[qnytzxw]

Great video, working through this issue on a friend’s car.
0.25 is actually 250mA (not 25mA) :-(

[JoelHenleyMusic]

I've watched several of these parasitic draw videos and this one was the easiest to understand by far. Thank you!

[readplanet]

Thank You D and E for the informative video. I appreciate it when good people explain technical problems in a way “commoners” ( like myself ) can easily understand. Have A Good Day! And I appreciate the comedy relief inside the video. 😁👍🏼😎

[MichaelFeldman]

Great video! Perfect presentation, really clear instructions and well narrated! Thanks!

[dashcan]

Best video on this topic. I am in the category of buying a car when I did not know fully what the prior owner installed. Found a draw that was making my battery go to 4.5v overnight. Found aux cable for radio behind the radio in a aux box. Removed that 3 weeks ago and now still having draw. Remote starter needs to be investigated. Radio fuse was the amp drop but could have other components on it. Just this week it is drawing again. Even has kill switch I/O on underside of dash. I have to trace this circuit as you say. I hope to get this fixed and do biz with you guys. Thanks.

[zoexj]

You gotta be kidding me on the timing of this video!. We have a 99 Grand with the very same problem. Just found out this morning. You guys ROCK!!! Much love, brothers...

[mrdiyguy]

I applaud you for sharing what you know with the youtube community. @404 your meter was actually measuring 250 mA (0.25A), not 25 mA. You are correct that ~50 mA is a typical and acceptable parasitic draw. If you had waited a minute or 2 after connecting the leads in series, that 250mA would likely have dropped to the expected 50mA draw. Additionally, you were completely correct when you say it takes a while (some vehicles are quicker than others) for the current draw to reach steady state and stabilize. Most vehicles take <2 minutes. However, the way you disconnected the battery, then completed the circuit again with the ammeter will eliminate any benefit of waiting for it to stabilize before disconnecting the battery. You simply need to wait after reconnecting the ammeter for it to stabilize.
Good job - you share a lot of great tips on diagnosis.

[vaughanellis]

One of the major causes of parasitic draw is a faulty relay, that is one of the first thing I'd check, the cause the draw by being 'frozen' in the closed position when they should be in the open position when they car is turned off.

[dknollRX]

Unplugging fuses and plugging them back in can wake up the car again. The best way to pinpoint it with just a DVOM is to do a voltage drop across each fuse, with the meter reading mV. Power Probe has a chart that shows what mV reading equates to what mA draw, depending on the fuse type and size. Your voltage drop at each fuse should be 0mV. If you have a voltage drop across the fuse, it’s because the circuit is still active. Once you’ve pinpointed the fuse that’s the culprit, you then have to figure out what that fuse powers. Let’s say there are 3 components that are powered by the fuse that has a voltage drop reading across the poles. Don’t take that fuse out, but put your meter in series to read out the mA draw at the battery, and disconnect the given components one at a time until the draw goes away. When it does, you know what was causing your issue.

[plsNohtmlvid]

One of the factual, informative videos I have ever seen on any subject on YouTube... Great Job ❗

[brainpilot]

This may be one of the most useful videos I've ever seen on YouTube. That it's using the exact same Jeep I'm working on is an even better coincidence. Thanks!

[felmypeto]

Good video dude, so many are out there giving incorrect or incomplete advise, you did great, clearly not your first rodeo.

[isabellabaraz]

You HAVE NO IDEA HOW THANKFUL AND HAPPY AM THAT CAME ACROSS YOU AND YOUR CHANNEL!!!! THAAAANK YOU!!

[stuartcoppenhall]

FANTASTIC, Never used a meter before in my life. Just bought one and found fault already. Very well explained, easy to follow. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Definately subscribed

[Fiveohth]

i have seen numerous videos on this subject, your video has to be the best explained video so far, good work.

[davjohno]

Great video, exactly what I wanted and clearly explained, Thanks.

[tonyobrien]

This is the best video i have seen for along time in its presentation. it explains everything in layman language and assumes the person watching has a limited knowledge of the subject. No terms are used that leaves the viewer asking "what the hell does that mean". You also explains how to use the multi meter .clearly. You should go into teaching as you keep the lesson at the student level without going over their heads. Well done.

[robert]

Thank you, finally a video that is step by step, understandable explained and a meter I can buy cheap. I'm going to try and find my Jeep's parasitic draw myself before I take it to the shop.