Battery Drain Mystery

[johnboy89]

Noticed in the last month or so that the battery in my Typhoon will go dead. Wasn't driving it for a bit so just brushed it off as normal.

It's to the point now that it will not stay charged overnite.:rant:

The mystery part is when I put a milliammeter in series I'm only drawing about 25ma well within the 50ma., I've always been told is acceptable. Also left the meter installed for a few hours to see if anything changed, peak reading of 25ma. Charging voltage appears to be fine also.

If I disconnect the battery it will be fine, left it disconnected over the weekend and it started fine this morning in the 15deg. weather.

The battery is a cheap a** Walmart one so maybe it's the issue, have not had it load tested yet!!

Thanx

 

[Fitos]

Re: Batery Drain Mystery

Re: Batery Drain Mystery

Take your alternator to get teasted be free and could be the cause on why your battery drains

 

[Don W.]

Re: Battery Drain Mystery

To save the trouble on removing the alt just disconnect it and see what happens. As a different test you could remove all the fuses. If it stays charged when disconnected it's prolly not the bat. Even so load testing the bat is a good next step. Do you have an alarm?

 

[Jkanser]

Re: Battery Drain Mystery

Have the same problem as well. When I bought the truck the battery was mounted in the fender in front of the passenger rear wheel which made attached to a trickle charger a major PITA. Batter is now toast, won't hold a charge and know I have a small drain somewhere. Already have a battery box kit, so it is going in the bed with a new battery and I plan to disconnect it when sitting. Also going to redo the entire wiring of the truck as it is a mess.

 

[johnboy89]

Re: Battery Drain Mystery

UPDATE

No issues right now with truck, starts as it should and not draining overnight. This is most likely why I didn't see a drain with the multimeter. Must be an intermittent issue:rant:

 

[Don W.]

Re: Battery Drain Mystery

UPDATE

No issues right now with truck, starts as it should and not draining overnight. This is most likely why I didn't see a drain with the multimeter. Must be an intermittent issue:rant:

Which is to say either you unknowingly fixed it or it will return. Intermittent electrical issues are a PITA. Next time you're out have the bat load tested. commonly Free. As others have mentioned, If the bat checks good I'd lean toward a bad diode in the alt. Probably worth having checked eventually.

 

[Snoman002]

Re: Battery Drain Mystery

Ugh, intermittent drain issues are the worst.

If it comes back try disconnecting the headlight switch if you can. The contacts can get dirt on them and can get worn because of use and can cause a drain. I can see it causing a drain, but next use resets the contacts or the switch is turn off a little harder, opening up the contacts a little more so no drain the next time...

Good luck.