Parasitic Drain - Bulb Trick

jim beam wrote:
> wrote:
>> In rec.autos.makers.honda sharx333 > wrote:
>> .... also draws a tiny amount of
>> power in standby. There should be another switched control that comes
>> on with the radio or ignition that cause the Pioneer to turn on its
>> amplifiers. I think yours is switched on all the time.
>>
>> Or maybe not... ;-) Check the manual for some specs on the Pioneer.
>>
> but the 170mA is /after/ the audio is disconnected! yes, the audio
> needs to be addressed, but there's still unusually high residual drain.

The obvious question is - can you see the Pioneer front panel lit up?


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Yes, jim's right, there is 170mA *after* the Pioneer's fuse is
disconnected. With it connected, the bulb glows brightly and it's too
high for my ammeter.

Strangely though, the battery has not discharged yet. I've left it
connected for two days now without charging/starting it.

And of course, all the measurements were taken with the Pioneer off,
front panel dark, "demo" mode off..

Hard to see how the wiring could be wrong, but yes, the standby draw
seems too high. I'll look into the manual for the specs. Will post
again ASAP.

Many thanks.

"sharx333" > wrote in message
ps.com...
> Yes, jim's right, there is 170mA *after* the Pioneer's fuse is
> disconnected. With it connected, the bulb glows brightly and it's too
> high for my ammeter.
>
> Strangely though, the battery has not discharged yet. I've left it
> connected for two days now without charging/starting it.
>
> And of course, all the measurements were taken with the Pioneer off,
> front panel dark, "demo" mode off..
>
> Hard to see how the wiring could be wrong, but yes, the standby draw
> seems too high. I'll look into the manual for the specs. Will post
> again ASAP.
>
> Many thanks.
>

I'm not sure exactly what it should be, but 170 ma besides the audio system
is way high. I'd expect more like 20-30 ma, mostly for the alarm system.

Mike

Even more strange, the Pioneer manuals doesn't mention standby power
draw. It mentions allowable voltage range, max power draw, db levels
etc, but no standby draw.

And also, this model does not have an alarm system. There's a digital
clock, though.

I also tried my "test bulb" on a '96 Civic (also with clock, no alarm),
and the bulb didn't light up at all. Puzzling.

Sorry, I meant "..the Pioneer manuals *don't* mention.." Please excuse
me.

sharx333 Wrote:
> Just wanted to ask:
>
> Is the "light bulb" test (putting a 12v bulb in series with the battery
> circuit) an accurate test for a parasitic drain? My ammeter only goes
> up to 0.25A, and I don't want to risk overloading the meter.
>
> How bright should the bulb light up, if it should at all, for a
> "normal" drain? (clock, ECU, radio memory)
>
> Thanks!

Bulb can be used but a good volt/ohm meter is better.
And remember if a later model you have to let the computers and memory
savers power down before you can get a good test.


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"sharx333" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Even more strange, the Pioneer manuals doesn't mention standby power
> draw. It mentions allowable voltage range, max power draw, db levels
> etc, but no standby draw.
>
> And also, this model does not have an alarm system. There's a digital
> clock, though.
>
> I also tried my "test bulb" on a '96 Civic (also with clock, no alarm),
> and the bulb didn't light up at all. Puzzling.
>
That's exactly what you want to have happen. The bulb doesn't light up at
all.

Saludos,

Earle




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sharx333 wrote:
> Yes, jim's right, there is 170mA *after* the Pioneer's fuse is
> disconnected. With it connected, the bulb glows brightly and it's too
> high for my ammeter.
>
> Strangely though, the battery has not discharged yet. I've left it
> connected for two days now without charging/starting it.

ok, so the battery is halfway good at least.

>
> And of course, all the measurements were taken with the Pioneer off,
> front panel dark, "demo" mode off..

ok, but the audio thing is a red herring - come back to that later.

>
> Hard to see how the wiring could be wrong, but yes, the standby draw
> seems too high. I'll look into the manual for the specs. Will post
> again ASAP.
>
> Many thanks.
>

look through the fuses making measurements - that'll tell you which
circuit to look in. as before, your drain indicates something like a 2w
bulb - look when it's night time!

In rec.autos.makers.honda sharx333 > wrote:
> Even more strange, the Pioneer manuals doesn't mention standby power
> draw. It mentions allowable voltage range, max power draw, db levels
> etc, but no standby draw.

I could be wrong about the head unit. I was thinking of high power units
that can draw a lot of power. If this is is a lower power unit, it might
not have the high current lead. It would probably have a "pink" wire for
the low current memory lead, and the current required might be tiny, and
not mentioned in the consumer level manuals. I see a rating of 5mA for
some head units.

What about the light bulb in series with just the power for the Pioneer?
You could connect it across the fuse holder with the fuse out.
(The draw of the Pioneer is interesting to me. I don't know what the draw
for the rest of the car ought to be.)

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---
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Just re-measured the standby drain today... Now it's at around 60 mA.
I haven't really changed anything, so I'm really baffled now.

Maybe it was a "ground" of some kind caused by water from the engine
wash (alternator got wet)?

The water could have dried out by now, resulting in the more normal
reading.