Battery dead next morning.

[kolelt]

So I think I have the meter figured out.

If I plug the red wire into the right side of the multi meter.

Set the meter to V and tested the battery. It read 12.5v

That's the only way it works. I guess the 10A is for higher volts/amps testing.

So tomorrow I'll do what you guys all told me to do and post my info and tell me if everything is good

 

[pluton]

Do yourself...and your new battery... a favor: Unhook the negative cable when you are are not driving or testing or working on the truck. Whatever the drain is that killed your previous battery will kill the new one. No battery can survive being drained all the way flat without permanent damage.

 

[kolelt]

Do yourself...and your new battery... a favor: Unhook the negative cable when you are are not driving or testing or working on the truck. Whatever the drain is that killed your previous battery will kill the new one. No battery can survive being drained all the way flat without permanent damage.

I'm trying to find out if a drain killed my battery or simply the old battery took a shit.

 

[MStudt]

I'm trying to find out if a drain killed my battery or simply the old battery took a shit.

Very simple. Get a cheap lighted probe from the store. Loosen your negative clamp on the battery, but don't pull it off yet. Take the clamp from the probe, and put it on the body ground next to the battery. Then put the point of the probe on the negative terminal, and lift negative clamp off the battery. The probe should be lit prior to removing the negative clamp. Once that clamp is off the battery the lit should dim to almost nothing. If that light stays lit you have a drain, and if it dims down to nothing you don't.

You can also do this with a volt meter. The exact same process will be used, but you should see the volts drop rather than the light dim. You'll still see a slight volt reading, but you should also see the volts drop on the meter once you pull the clamp.

If you're getting a high reading start pulling fuses to see which fuse triggers the meter to drop, and that's the problem. If you don't have a high reading you have bad battery.

 

[amalik]

You can also do this with a volt meter. The exact same process will be used, but you should see the volts drop rather than the light dim. You'll still see a slight volt reading, but you should also see the volts drop on the meter once you pull the clamp.

If you're getting a high reading start pulling fuses to see which fuse triggers the meter to drop, and that's the problem. If you don't have a high reading you have bad battery.

So if multi-meter is used for same test, positive on negative terminal and negative on body ground?

 

[MStudt]

So if multi-meter is used for same test, positive on negative terminal and negative on body ground?

Yep, but the terminals don't matter. You're not trying to determine positive vs negative in this situation. You're only trying to see if there's a draw.

When you pull the negative clamp off the terminal the volts on the meter will drop down. It won't zero out since you have items constantly drawing power. Items like a clock, radio, and random accessories will have a minor draw.

 

[thegipper]

I still think you may have blown the fuse. If I were you, I'd grab a couple new fuses and follow my directions that I gave you and test it again. There is no way it should be drawing no current at all (0.0). You need to make sure you hook it up and test it exactly how I described, if it is hooked up incorrectly it will blow that fuse.

The only other possible scenario is that when it is on that 10A setting if the draw is really low, it may not register (0.0). In that case, switch it to the next setting (mA).

.03 amps would read 30mA
.3 amps would read 300mA
3 amps would read 3000mA

Double check your work to make sure you don't ruin your new, very expensive battery.

 

[thegipper]

I checked the 10A fuse and it looks good. It's a solid white so it's not like a regular fuse where you can see inside it and tell if the fuse has burnt up.

But I try to simply test the battery for 12v and it reads 0. DUDE SHOOT ME !

Im going to try to get a new fuse for volt meter. Because I really want to make sure I don't have a parasitic draw.

If you checked for 12v with the probes in the same position as I told you to put them to test for amps, then you 100% blew the fuse....guaranteed.

When you put the probes in the position I described, you can only test for amp's (draw). If you test for voltage, it will blow that fuse...every time. That fuse is in there because if you did this, you would destroy your volt meter.

I know this because I have made this mistake before....several times. You cannot test for voltage with the probes in that amp testing position. Again, the volt meters are designed so when dopes like us make this mistake, we don't blow up our volt meter and it just pops the fuse.

I still don't think you have successfully tested for a draw. Get yourself some new fuses and test it exactly how I described before.

Good luck man!

 

[TheDurk]

Very simple. Get a cheap lighted probe from the store. Loosen your negative clamp on the battery, but don't pull it off yet. Take the clamp from the probe, and put it on the body ground next to the battery. Then put the point of the probe on the negative terminal, and lift negative clamp off the battery. The probe should be lit prior to removing the negative clamp. Once that clamp is off the battery the lit should dim to almost nothing. If that light stays lit you have a drain, and if it dims down to nothing you don't.

You can also do this with a volt meter. The exact same process will be used, but you should see the volts drop rather than the light dim. You'll still see a slight volt reading, but you should also see the volts drop on the meter once you pull the clamp.

If you're getting a high reading start pulling fuses to see which fuse triggers the meter to drop, and that's the problem. If you don't have a high reading you have bad battery.

Uhhh, clamp on body ground and probe on negative (ground) terminal? How on Earth (see what I did there?) is that bulb going to be lit before you pull the terminal? You're going ground-to-ground.

Other than that, a good gross test for a parasitic drain. I prefer the test light for most 12V work. If I need an exact measurement of Volts, I use the analog meter on my load tester which is the perfect scale and super easy to read. The digital meter is just for ohms.

 

[thegipper]

This really isn't that hard to do and I hope you are not getting confused. Follow my method which is the exact same method used in this video. This is how you do it. Again, make sure you replace that fuse first because I strongly believe you blew it.

Fast forward to 5:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF1gijj03_0

 

[TheDurk]

If you checked for 12v with the probes in the same position as I told you to put them to test for amps, then you 100% blew the fuse....guaranteed.

When you put the probes in the position I described, you can only test for amp's (draw). If you test for voltage, it will blow that fuse...every time. That fuse is in there because if you did this, you would destroy your volt meter.

I know this because I have made this mistake before....several times. You cannot test for voltage with the probes in that amp testing position. Again, the volt meters are designed so when dopes like us make this mistake, we don't blow up our volt meter and it just pops the fuse.

I still don't think you have successfully tested for a draw. Get yourself some new fuses and test it exactly how I described before.

Good luck man!

You have it backwards. You will NOT blow the fuse testing for volts in the amp set up. You WILL blow the fuse testing for amps in the volt set up (direct bridge across full battery potential). His voltmeter is not blown, he can read volts on his house outlet. His 10A fuse is certainly blown. I agree we don't have a draw value we can bank on.

I also agree completely with your next to last sentence, which is what is important.

 

[thegipper]

One last thing, if you want to know for sure if the fuse is blown, test it this way (continuity). Hook it up exactly like this, if it makes a beeping noise the fuse is good. If not, the fuse is blown.

Hope this helps

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[MStudt]

Uhhh, clamp on body ground and probe on negative (ground) terminal? How on Earth (see what I did there?) is that bulb going to be lit before you pull the terminal? You're going ground-to-ground.

Fast forward to 5:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF1gijj03_0

Negative enough? This was the exact video I was going to post for you, but someone else beat me to it. Exactly what I did when I was having the same issues. There ended up being no parasitic drain on mine. Replaced the battery, and never looked back.

 

[nevada]

I checked the 10A fuse and it looks good. It's a solid white so it's not like a regular fuse where you can see inside it and tell if the fuse has burnt up.

But I try to simply test the battery for 12v and it reads 0. DUDE SHOOT ME !

Im going to try to get a new fuse for volt meter. Because I really want to make sure I don't have a parasitic draw.

use the OHM setting to test the fuse.
but, if there is any question, just replace it. it does sound like its bad.

edit: geez. late to the party. that's what I get for opening a thread, but not reading it until later...

 

[thegipper]

You have it backwards. You will NOT blow the fuse testing for volts in the amp set up. You WILL blow the fuse testing for amps in the volt set up (direct bridge across full battery potential). His voltmeter is not blown, he can read volts on his house outlet. His 10A fuse is certainly blown. I agree we don't have a draw value we can bank on.

I also agree completely with your next to last sentence, which is what is important.

That is what I was saying (maybe i worded it wrong). His 10amp fuse for testing DC current draw would be blown if he had the probes in the correct position for testing amp draw but put it on the negative/positive terminals on the battery (testing for voltage but not moving the red probe back to the correct position and turning the knob to the volt setting).

His fuse for testing voltage would be fine (which is why he can still test for voltage) but the fuse for testing amperage would blow when he accidentally left the probes in the amp testing position and tested for voltage instead.

Sorry, it's been awhile but this should be correct (great more confusion..lol).

 

[TheDurk]

That is what I was saying (maybe i worded it wrong). His 10amp fuse for testing DC current draw would be blown if he had the probes in the correct position for testing amp draw but put it on the negative/positive terminals on the battery (testing for voltage but not moving the red probe back to the correct position and turning the knob to the volt setting).

His fuse for testing voltage would be fine (which is why he can still test for voltage) but the fuse for testing amperage would blow when he accidentally left the probes in the amp testing position and tested for voltage instead.

Sorry, it's been awhile but this should be correct (great more confusion..lol).

Yeah, now you have it right. Sorry, I'm just trying to keep things electrically correct.

 

[TheDurk]

Negative enough? This was the exact video I was going to post for you, but someone else beat me to it. Exactly what I did when I was having the same issues. There ended up being no parasitic drain on mine. Replaced the battery, and never looked back.

You quoted me, but you didn't answer me. The video doesn't support what you said. Not that it is real important, but it could confuse the OP if he tries it.

 

[Scramble]

If you continue to have problems, even after the new battery, than you definitely have a parasitic drain. When you tested it you must have not had it hooked up right because it will never be drawing 0.0 amps. Your old battery may have got messed up because of a parasitic drain, I would still test it for it even with the new battery. You don't want to mess up your new battery either.

If you do have a draw somewhere, use the method of pulling fuses until the draw in amps goes away, that is how you find out what is sucking the juice. If you are confused on how to do it, just google it or search on youtube.

Not to be an alarmist but I bought a Optima red top battery a couple years ago and it was the worst battery I ever bought. It didn't last 2.5 years before it failed a load test. Many people are reporting that the new Optima red tops are junk. Hopefully that won't be the case with yours.

Optima's are not made in the US anymore & are over priced Mexican crap.
I've never been a fan of Autozone products either.
I'm using an Excide battery right now thats 2 years old. It's ok but I dont love it. It's seems to drain faster when tailgating with the stereo on than previous Die Hards I've owned. I need to start researching it's replacement.

 

[4-Ripcord]

Have installed a aux bussmann fuse box. It's wires to a breaker. I can turn the lights on even with the key not in the ignition. But I keep the switches in the off position. So I don't see how it could be draining the battery if it is. I highly doubt it.

I am 90% sure this is your problem, OP.

I was having drain issues after I put in an AUX fusebox wired directly to the battery, even though the things running off of it had individual switches. I would suggest adding in a switchable breaker to turn that off when the truck is not in use.. or possibly an ignition relay for the fusebox.

 

[kolelt]

One last thing, if you want to know for sure if the fuse is blown, test it this way (continuity). Hook it up exactly like this, if it makes a beeping noise the fuse is good. If not, the fuse is blown.

Hope this helps

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Did it like you just said. And it beeps. So now should I keep the probe the same way and go check the battery ? What are normal number the battery should be reading.