Parasitic load test

Is your battery having trouble starting your engine? There may be something draining the battery down. Pull the negative off the battery. Put the test light between the post and the ground wire.

With regard to electrical appliances, it represents the power consumed even when the appliance is shut off, that is standby power.

Includes troubleshooting tips and advice for all levels of auto repair experience.

A parasitic load , or key off battery draw will kill your car battery and can be very difficult to track down.

Here you can see how it is done…. It shows the right was to test everything and the tools need to do so. Doing this test wrong can waste time, and that will waste money . Say you leave your vehicle sit for long periods of time and the battery goes dead. A parasitic draw is an excessive electrical load on the system that happens after the vehicle is . Key off, power needs to (almost) stop flowing!

Step one, check the battery voltage, 12. All vehicles draw some power from the batteries when the car is shut off. Certain accessories such as clocks, radios remote door openers and alarms always need power.

The normal power used is called parasitic draw. Note: be careful when handling your multimeter in the Amps setting . FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases. For testing purposes, we will select 2A or 200mA in the amp section of the meter. This is where we can see the parasitic draw on the battery.

There is an inline fuse along the negative cable that is used to prevent current from the electrical system from blowing the multi-meter fuse. Gain access to the Fuse Voltage Drop Charts by filling out this form. Buy online, pick up in-store in minutes. To obtain the correct parasitic drain values it is essential to make sure that the vehicle battery is serviceable and fully charged with all accessories switched off.

The electrical or electronic device may be actively on or may even draw power when not active or switched off.