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No. And a better way
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Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Wed, 11 Dec 2002 11:26:31 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: Anybody know good source for INDUCTIVE ammeter......., Bruce A, Tue, 10 Dec 2002 14:57:23
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Typical quiescent current draw is on the order of 15-35 ma. Any inductive current meter you'll find will be hideously expensive. There is a much better way.

Step 1- disconnect the negative lead from the battery. Take a jumper wire with alligator clips on both sides and connect the negative lead to the battery. Any 20 gauge wire will be fine. Next, hook up your ammmeter between the battery and the negative lead. Yes, the ammeter and jumper are in parallel.

Wait one minute, set the ammeter to on the order of 100 ma range or so, and disconnect the jumper. You will now be reading the quiescent current draw.

A couple of caveats - DO NOT open a door - this will turn on the dome light and draw a lot more current. There is (depending on year) a push button on the frame member just above the radiator that tells if the hood is open - put something heavy on this button to hold it down.

Typical current draw is about 10-15 ma from the clock, another 10 ma or so from the dome light/alarm system, and a fraction for the radio.

OK, why all the roundy-round with the jumper? When you disconnect the battery to insert an ammeter, a bunch of electronics lose power. When you reconnect the ammeter, that same bunch of electronics pull a decent amount of current resetting themselves, charging input capacitors, and the like. The dome light also goes on for about 30 seconds. So instead of pulling that relatively large amount of current (1-2 amps) through your current meter, it flows through the jumper. Once that dies down, you disconnect the jumper, and the quiescent current flows through the meter.

Again, 25 ma is a normal quiescent current for the car after everything has calmed down. However, if your battery is losing charge, the car isn't the only draw. Clean off your battery, top and sides, with a weak solution of baking soda and water. Batteries outgas, and that outgassing contains some acid. This acid combines with crud in the air and deposits on the outside of the battery. This is a weak conductor, but acts as a current path on the case of the battery - this is called 'self-discharge', and can be pretty substantial.

I'll bet you won't find any sneak paths in the car - you'll see low (25 ma or so) current draw. This is assuming you don't have a trunk light that stays on because the switch is misaligned. A battery that dies quickly is usually either dirty on the outside, or has an internal defect.

Good luck!


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