Question about electrical draw

TJM

TJM

New member
Last week I went to put my 2002 SR5 into 4WD. I heard an awful clanking/grinding coming from underneath, towards the front axle. 4WD never engaged, and the grinding noise continued.

That night, after it sat for about nine hours, the battery was dead. It started easily with a jump but was dead again the next morning (completely - had to reprogram the radio stations and everything! oh the horror...)

This time when I jumped it and turned it back off I heard a clicking noise from the middle drivers side of the engine compartment, but couldn't narrow it down further than that.

I took it to my mechanic, and he said the grinding was the front right axle arm - the grease had washed out (?) over the winter apparently, and it was grinding itself to oblivion.

So, a new axle arm, head gasket, rotors and brakes, and battery later, its not making the clicking noise anymore but he said there was still a draw from the ABS and tow package.

Is this normal? Should there be a draw from these or is there something else wrong? Would this have been related to the clicking noise/drained battery? I've already had a lot of work done (granted it was all necessary or would be soon), and don't relish the thought of something else deteriorating if it isn't addressed.
 
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Tow package. There was no option.


ABS is easy to diagnose. Just unplug it and see what happens.


You probably have a bad battery or a terminal.
 
Wait, you're having an electrical issue, possibly related to your front end, and your mechanic replaced the head gasket? Am I reading that right?
 
The head gasket needed to be replaced - I knew about it and just had him do it while it was in. He said the battery was bad, and the clicking has stopped now but he said there was a draw on the diagnostic that he couldn't explain. He narrowed it to those two as likely reasons. I was just wondering if that was normal or if something is wrong.
 
You're talking about parasitic drain here, with everything turned off.
To know if it's a problem or not I'd need to know what and how much.
Example, the clock might draw 5 mA, when OFF, no big deal.
Then theres the stereo, alarm system, EFI ECM, body ECM, Trans ECM, Emissions ECM, that could all be drawing some current when OFF. Add it all up and it may be a problem, especially if a problem with one has made the drain higher than normal.
 
fourwd1 said:
You're talking about parasitic drain here, with everything turned off.
To know if it's a problem or not I'd need to know what and how much.
Example, the clock might draw 5 mA, when OFF, no big deal.
Then theres the stereo, alarm system, EFI ECM, body ECM, Trans ECM, Emissions ECM, that could all be drawing some current when OFF. Add it all up and it may be a problem, especially if a problem with one has made the drain higher than normal.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure, I will have to call my mechanic tomorrow and ask him about that. I haven't had any problems since I got it back, so maybe it's not much of a draw at all, but I will get as much info as I can and get back to you.
 
Example, the clock might draw 5 mA, when OFF, no big deal.
Then theres the stereo, alarm system, EFI ECM, body ECM, Trans ECM, Emissions ECM, that could all be drawing some current when OFF. Add it all up and it may be a problem, especially if a problem with one has made the drain higher than normal.
Click to expand...

The 4runner has no trans ecm or emissions ecm and the alarm system (unless it is aftermarket) is the body ecm.


Singtoe said:
Tow package. There was no option.


ABS is easy to diagnose. Just unplug it and see what happens.


You probably have a bad battery or a terminal.
Click to expand...

You still have not fix this yet?

Take it to a autoparts store and have the battery tested. Then clean your battery terminals and re-install.

Get a new mechanic too. Anybody worth his weight in skills should have diagnosis and offered a prognosis when they looked at it.

Fwiw - My wife leaves the dome light on all the time, over night and it always starts up the next morning. It is enough draw to prevent a 2' circle from forming frost on the roof in the morning.
 
Ok I just got off the phone with him and he said it is less than 50 mili amps, closer to .04. He expected it was regular clock/computer draw but was concerned since the vehicle had died twice in the past 24 hours. When they pulled the battery it tested full voltage on a cold morning and dropped drastically in the heat the next afternoon. According to him this indicated a bad cell (?) and thought it should be replaced. It was probably about 3-4 years old, so I wasn't too surprised that it was time for a new one.
 
TJM said:
Last week I went to put my 2002 SR5 into 4WD. I heard an awful clanking/grinding coming from underneath, towards the front axle. 4WD never engaged, and the grinding noise continued.

That night, after it sat for about nine hours, the battery was dead. It started easily with a jump but was dead again the next morning (completely - had to reprogram the radio stations and everything! oh the horror...)

This time when I jumped it and turned it back off I heard a clicking noise from the middle drivers side of the engine compartment, but couldn't narrow it down further than that.

I took it to my mechanic, and he said the grinding was the front right axle arm - the grease had washed out (?) over the winter apparently, and it was grinding itself to oblivion.

So, a new axle arm, head gasket, rotors and brakes, and battery later, its not making the clicking noise anymore but he said there was still a draw from the ABS and tow package.

Is this normal? Should there be a draw from these or is there something else wrong? Would this have been related to the clicking noise/drained battery? I've already had a lot of work done (granted it was all necessary or would be soon), and don't relish the thought of something else deteriorating if it isn't addressed.
Click to expand...

TJM said:
Ok I just got off the phone with him and he said it is less than 50 mili amps, closer to .04. He expected it was regular clock/computer draw but was concerned since the vehicle had died twice in the past 24 hours. When they pulled the battery it tested full voltage on a cold morning and dropped drastically in the heat the next afternoon. According to him this indicated a bad cell (?) and thought it should be replaced. It was probably about 3-4 years old, so I wasn't too surprised that it was time for a new one.
Click to expand...

So you bought a used battery from your mechanic?

Or Your Mechanic put a used battery in your car?

Or your mechanic is a flaming returd and doesn't know what the hell he is doing?

Has your truck been at the shop since the beginning of the thread?


Tell us the name of your shop so that none of our fellow T4R memebrs don't use him.
 
What did I say that made you think I put a used battery in? The battery I had was 3-4 years old. The one my mechanic put in is brand new. I don't get where you thought I bought a used battery.
 
Fwiw - My wife leaves the dome light on all the time said:
The t4r has smart lights so if she left those on they will automatically turn after several minutes...to conserve the battery
Click to expand...
 
wadle5 said:
The t4r has smart lights so if she left those on they will automatically turn after several minutes...to conserve the battery
Click to expand...

Maybe in your fancy whatever gen you have....


I know in my 3rd, if I leave the map lights on, or the dome light, or the trunk light, it STAYS on.
[MENTION=59542]Singtoe[/MENTION]-I guess the silver ones were just the bastard childern of Toyota. :D

I'm going to swing by at some point either Friday or Sunday if you're not busy....
 
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