Parasitic draw test.. am I doing this right ? ( pics )

[2013ecof150]

I wanted to check what kind of draw my 04 Marauder has when it’s sitting. I attached some pics of what I’m seeing. Battery is 2.5 years old and always seems like it’s slow to crank if I let it sit for a week or so. I’ve since started keeping it on a Noco 5 amp smart charger. I tested the battery and it came back as “ good, recharge “
This setting I see nothing on the meter when removing the negative cable and touching the red lead to the negative clamp and the black lead to the battery.


This is on the 600ma setting


This is on the 60ma setting


If I reattach the cables to the battery and touch the leads to the battery, I get the same result.

Am I correct in seeing this as a 25ma draw?

 

[Rand]

you should use small clips on the leads leave the battery connected initially.
then connect inline at the ground and the battery terminal while removing the battery ground then after wires are positioned
fully remove the battery ground cable.

While leaving the meter wires clipped onto the neg cable and the battery negative.

some cars wake up and take 30min to quiet down if you disconnect the battery then hook it up.

if that doesnt make sense let me know.

Have you tried the lead in the 10 plug on the left vs the ma on the right? (where you connect lead to meter)


disclaimer.. not a pro.

 

[2013ecof150]

Yeah I tried it on the 10amp setting with the red lead in the left plug in the first pic. All those pics were taken with the negative battery cable disconnected for several hours

 

[HemiBenny]

Without typing a long post, here’s a pretty good video to watch.
3 methods, with the last two being the ones you want to pay attention to.

 

[twX]

It seems to be measuring 2.57 mA on the 60 mA setting, and 25.6 mA on the 600 mA setting. It's odd that they're different by a factor of exactly 10, when they both indicate that the reading is in mA, and there's no multiplier indicated. Maybe it's the way this meter works. Check the user manual. It's not surprising that the current is too low to register on the 10A setting.

In any case, it doesn't really matter whether it's actually 2.5 mA or 25 mA. Both should be within spec. A 25 mA draw for one week would amount to 4.2 Ah, or maybe close to 10% of the battery capacity, especially if the battery is cold. If you're often going a week between drives, you should put the battery on a charger once in a while.

 

[2013ecof150]

Without typing a long post, here’s a pretty good video to watch.
3 methods, with the last two being the ones you want to pay attention to.

Haha that was one of the first videos I watched. His meter is a bit different than mine. I was just unsure if I was using the meter correctly.

 

[2013ecof150]

If you're often going a week between drives, you should put the battery on a charger once in a while.

Agree 100%

I drive the car a lot more when it’s warmer but during deer season I tend to let it sit. Any accident would likely total the car.

I bought myself a Noco genius 5 amp charger to replace my old diehard 3 amp smart charger. The Noco has a battery repair option which I used the other day. Took about 4 hrs to complete. Even after a full charge prior to the repair cycle, 24 hrs later a battery test would indicate it needs to be recharged, which is why I thought it may have had a draw.

Now a battery test after the repair cycle indicates a good battery. I’m guessing the battery had sulfated a bit and the charger was able to reverse some of it.

 

[PontiacHO]

Use an automotive test light rigged the same way. If the light doesn’t illuminate then there is no draw.