Nick M;1970397 said:
Yea the negative is disconnected while the car is parked. What do you think of the numbers my multimeter threw out?
battery keeps going dead
- Thread starter SupraTrbo89
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Yea the negative is disconnected while the car is parked. What do you think of the numbers my multimeter threw out?
10-20mA is normal so parasitic current draw seems fine. Your problem is likely the battery or the cables. When cranking, measure the voltage at the battery terminals. That will tell you whether it is the battery or the cables.
SupraTrbo89;1970276 said:
More than 50 milliamps on any car is too much. Toyota lists 20-30. In computer speak it is keep alive memory. That is for fuel trim and anti-theft. It is typical to have current drop after you connect the DVOM (digital volt-ohm meter) in series. A 12v test light would be ok, but anti-theft systems on newer cars don't cooperate for obvious reasons.
If the top of the battery is wet (or if theres any liquid coming out of the main seam on top) by any means, mix some baking soda and water and put the solution in a spray bottle. Spray it over the top of the battery and or on the sides (wherever its wet) and see if theres any bubbling or fizzing. This would indicate that the battery cell is leaking battery acid and therefore would not be working as it should. Then you buy a new battery.
Oh and doing a system check at any of the chain stores wont be able to detect this problem in its early stages. I work at Advance and i just tested a battery last week that the machine told me was fine, but was leaking battery acid like crazy. The guy had the same issue.
You don't need a $500 wave form tester if you understand Ohm's law and watch what the battery does on a charger.