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,
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,
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