Battery dead after a few days/What is acceptable amp draw on cb7's?

[mrstix]

Hey guys,

I just bought a new Optima yellow top battery. I have been storing my car and only start it up once a week take a short drive around the block and park it again while I am waiting for a new transmission to come in. Up until recently I have disconnected the negative terminal while I let it sit because I have always been wary of a possible draw on the car and didn't want to charge the battery every week when I start it up. It has been working fine doing it this way.

Recently I moved the car in the garage to actually test if there was an amp draw using a multimeter. The meter I had must have been broken because after getting a 0 amp draw reading and leaving the battery hooked up completely, it died after trying to start it up. I suspected the battery was low because the lights looked dim, but was hopeful because the dash was lit up and everything but when I tried to crank it it just died. No turn or anything. Then the dash and the lights would not come back on.

So today I purchased a new multimeter from Sears and did a quick reading, running it in series between the negative battery post and the negative terminal, using the positive lead on the 10A and the multimeter switch on the 10A, and it would read a little high for the first couple of seconds - I could hear the doors unlocking and maybe the antenna move or something - and then it would go to a reading of about .03

I looked up a conversion and this is about 30 milliamps which google said is acceptable but I wanted to know if it was normal for OUR car. I know everyone's is different because they might have an alarm or what not, but I thought I would ask. Also, is it normal for this much draw to drain the battery in a week? I don't think it should be and I would like to think that I could leave my car sitting for a week without disconnecting the battery, but I'm not really sure on this. My other cars I use everyday but also would not expect them to be dead if left for a week so this can't be normal.

Do you think my new meter is also wrong. Could it be an issue with the starter or something? I should note that to start the car the past couple of years has always taken at least 2 cranks. One that will not turn the car over (on) and then a second one that starts it up right away. Maybe that has something to do with it I don't know but don't want to leave any info out. Let me know if there's more that you need to know. I have also disconnected any amp positive wires and removed the fuses that used to go to the amps so none are connected anymore.

Thanks,

[cgr-honda]

With the previous battery, did it have this same issue? It may seem redundant but I would take the battery and get it tested at an auto parts store just to rule that out. It doesn't make sense that the battery would drain that quickly with that small of a current.

[sonikaccord]

Lets do some maff:

30 milliamp draw.
The optima has 38000mAh capacity

It would take 1,267 hours to drain the battery at that draw.

Also your starter could be dying

[mrstix]

With the previous battery, did it have this same issue? It may seem redundant but I would take the battery and get it tested at an auto parts store just to rule that out. It doesn't make sense that the battery would drain that quickly with that small of a current.

Yes, thanks for asking. I did take it to autozone that night to get it checked and they said it was at 67%! They charged it overnight and I picked it up the next morning.

It has been awhile, but I do believe the previous battery had the same issue. Not that it was the battery's fault.

Lets do some maff:

30 milliamp draw.
The optima has 38000mAh capacity

It would take 1,267 hours to drain the battery at that draw.

Also your starter could be dying

That would explain the battery at 67%. Would a bad starter explain why it would die after that? I found it odd that a 67% full battery would give me no lights or dash after trying to start the vehicle. I wish I knew more about this stuff...

[cgr-honda]

If the battery is full, and the car isn't starting, I would check the large ground cable that goes to the motor. It attaches to the motor just left of the starter. It has a section of bare wire strands that get corroded over time. Also check the 10" wire section that goes from the negative terminal to the body. This could cause hard starting when the battery isn't completely full because the ground connection could have high resistance due to corrosion. 67% should be more than enough to start the car.

[Raf99]

I agree with the others. First remove the negative battery cable (so you don't get electrocuted) and then check the starter cables and all major ground cables. For the starter, physically take the rubber boot off, and take the cable off and inspect it. You may notice that its really loose or simply was not on there > same goes for the large ground that cgr-honda mentioned. You could also test the voltage reading on the starter wire (on the starter bolt) or do a ohm reading on that line.
But the "takes two tries to start" thing does sound like a starter issue, but it could be the wiring leading to the starter.

[mrstix]

If the battery is full, and the car isn't starting, I would check the large ground cable that goes to the motor. It attaches to the motor just left of the starter. It has a section of bare wire strands that get corroded over time. Also check the 10" wire section that goes from the negative terminal to the body. This could cause hard starting when the battery isn't completely full because the ground connection could have high resistance due to corrosion. 67% should be more than enough to start the car.

Thank you for pointing this out. I took a look at that cable and saw that it was very dirty and corroded. I actually noticed it before looking at what you said and determined that it needed to be replaced due to the exposed wire. I thought the sleeve had been cut or something because I found no reason for that wire to be exposed!

I replaced that wire with 1/0 amp wire and also the short one going to the chassis. with 4awg. I also replaced the stock battery terminals as they could easily be pulled off even if fully tightened and they had some rusty looking stuff on them. I replaced them with some Kicker battery terminals that fit nicely. It actually started up the first time after sitting there now (with the negative terminal off, though) for a few days! I also want to replace some of the wires going to the positive battery terminal but have to do some more research about if I need to fuse them or not. I would also like to replace any wires going to the starter/alternator and see if that helps.

However, my drain is still stuck at .3 amps it looks like. I did some fuse pulling under the hood with the multimeter hooked up and got it down to .1 amps when I removed both the 7.5 backup/radio fuse and the 15a interior light fuse. I plugged the interior light fuse back in and tried looking for anylights on but could not find anything. When the door is open and a light really is on the meter jumps to 3-4 amps so I don't know if this small draw is normal or not. I was still checking back here to see if anyone tested their electrical draw to see what was normal.

Also, is there a list of all lights to check for the 15a fuse. And a list of things to check for the 7.5a backup/radio fuse?

Thanks,

[sonikaccord]

I checked mine earlier this week and it was steady at 15 milliamps or 0.015 A. I have no radio or clock currently so the only thing that is probably drawing current is the ECU.

.3 amps of draw is close to 4 watts. Did you mean 0.03 amps?

There is a wiring diagram in this section that tells you what is connected to what.

EDIT: http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=184559

[mrstix]

I checked mine earlier this week and it was steady at 15 milliamps or 0.015 A. I have no radio or clock currently so the only thing that is probably drawing current is the ECU.

.3 amps of draw is close to 4 watts. Did you mean 0.03 amps?

There is a wiring diagram in this section that tells you what is connected to what.

I checked my multimeter again and it has 4 options under the Adc section: 2000u, 20m, 200m, 10A.

With the selector at 2000u I get no reading (000); at 20m it says 0.03; at 200m 00.3; and at 10A it says 0.03. So I'm not sure exactly what that is, but I think you were right, it is .03 with the knob at 10A not .3

It doesn't seem like my meter reads milliamps very well as the number doesn't really change when I switch the selector, but I hope it is the smaller number.

I will look for that wiring diagram, thanks.

[mrstix]

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My first thread gets deleted and this account isn't banned yet? C'mon admins...

[marvin75]

it could be a bad body ground

[deevergote]

Or a bad starter. (I went against everything I believe in and replied without reading anything but the most recent post... my apologies if I'm way off base! A bad starter can be a power drain, though.)

[linkcb7]

Hey there fellow cb7 member. I had bought the yellow top optima battery 2 years ago... 1 year after I bought it, my car quit starting. I bought a new starter and alternator along with the yellow top so it really threw me through a loop.. I did some reaserch on the differences of the yellow top, red top, and blue top optima batteries.. yellow top is for cars with highly modified electric components like subs, or caravans with automatic sliding doors, and cars without alternators. Red top is for regular/stock cars without any huge electric load and regular style alternators, blue top is for boats and other water crafts..... from what I experienced, the yellow top optima battery blew my alternator up which stopped charging my battery.. I took my yellow top battery and receipt back to auto zone and told them what happened and demanded a switch for the red top battery which is a little cheaper. I installed the red top with an alternator from the junk yard and have had ZERO problems since... I hope this helps you.

[linkcb7]

I also ment to add... I was without a license for a while after I got the red top battery. I left my car sitting in my mothers driveway in the middle of winter in Nebraska (yes our winters get very nasty) for a couple of months... got my license back, started the car up just fine on the first try.


Forgot to add the this also.. when I took my YELLOW top back in for the red top.. I took the new alternator back also and had it tested. It was toast. I firmly believe that the yellow top popped my alternator.

[marvin75]

I also ment to add... I was without a license for a while after I got the red top battery. I left my car sitting in my mothers driveway in the middle of winter in Nebraska (yes our winters get very nasty) for a couple of months... got my license back, started the car up just fine on the first try.


Forgot to add the this also.. when I took my YELLOW top back in for the red top.. I took the new alternator back also and had it tested. It was toast. I firmly believe that the yellow top popped my alternator.

your right about the differences of the optima batteries, but the only way it could have made your alternator go out is if it had a bad cell. the difference between the two you have had is just the power demands they can handle. what also may have happened is the alternator may just have been defective and zapped the battery.