Parasitic Drain

[br427]

Hi all, has anyone had a problem with parasitic drain on a 2014 Ram 1500 Hemi? I think I have a bad Battery, but I hooked a test light between the positive terminal and the terminal clamp and the test light lights up. That's how one used to check for a drain years ago. Is this still a valid test? Or should I be checking some other way? And are there known areas that cause a drain? Any advice would be welcome, thanks.

 

[RamDiver]

Hi all, has anyone had a problem with parasitic drain on a 2014 Ram 1500 Hemi? I think I have a bad Battery, but I hooked a test light between the positive terminal and the terminal clamp and the test light lights up. That's how one used to check for a drain years ago. Is this still a valid test? Or should I be checking some other way? And are there known areas that cause a drain? Any advice would be welcome, thanks.

If you're stating that your test light illuminated when connected across the positive battery terminal and the positive battery terminal clamp, you have a messed up connection that requires cleaning.

You can get these battery post/clamp cleaning tools many places for $5 or less.
They are great for cleaning.

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.

 

[BossHogg]

Hi all, has anyone had a problem with parasitic drain on a 2014 Ram 1500 Hemi? I think I have a bad Battery, but I hooked a test light between the positive terminal and the terminal clamp and the test light lights up. That's how one used to check for a drain years ago. Is this still a valid test? Or should I be checking some other way? And are there known areas that cause a drain? Any advice would be welcome, thanks.

Finding a parasitic drain can be tricky, but hundreds of "How To" videos on YouTube can guide you through the process.

 

[Fast69Mopar]

Hi all, has anyone had a problem with parasitic drain on a 2014 Ram 1500 Hemi? I think I have a bad Battery, but I hooked a test light between the positive terminal and the terminal clamp and the test light lights up. That's how one used to check for a drain years ago. Is this still a valid test? Or should I be checking some other way? And are there known areas that cause a drain? Any advice would be welcome, thanks.

A parasitic voltage draw can be caused by multiple things today. One of the main things I find causing a voltage draw is a module staying awake like an ABS Module keeping the ABS pump engaged or an RF Hub or WIN Module that will not go to sleep.

There are plenty of times where working on these trucks can be difficult without a scan tool. One of the first things I do is connect either the WiTech or my
Snap-On Versus and take a look at the network topology and make sure that all of the modules are communicating on the bus and then I shut the key off and watch and wait and see if any of the modules stay awake.

The next thing I do is setup up my DVOM to monitor the battery voltage draw and then I let the vehicle sit for 30 minutes and I record the voltage and then I start unplugging modules and seeing what happens to the voltage.

 

[62Blazer]

Not quite sure what you are talking about on your test? So you are saying you hooked the ground side of the test light (typically a wire with an alligator clamp or something) on the positive battery terminal and touched the positive side clamp with the probe end? You usually test for voltage across the negative side.....disconnect the battery ground cable and connect the test light between the negative battery terminal and the now disconnected negative cable.

 

[Fast69Mopar]

Not quite sure what you are talking about on your test? So you are saying you hooked the ground side of the test light (typically a wire with an alligator clamp or something) on the positive battery terminal and touched the positive side clamp with the probe end? You usually test for voltage across the negative side.....disconnect the battery ground cable and connect the test light between the negative battery terminal and the now disconnected negative cable.

I do it on the ground side with my DVOM but I also use a dual amp clamp for my meter so I can see amperage on the B+ terminal. I have run in to some issues where the parasitic draw was B+ battery related and not ground side related because of a direct short to B+.

 

[BossHogg]

I do it on the ground side with my DVOM but I also use a dual amp clamp for my meter so I can see amperage on the B+ terminal. I have run in to some issues where the parasitic draw was B+ battery related and not ground side related because of a direct short to B+.

Would it not be easier to measure the voltage drop across each fuse and, using a lookup table, convert the voltage drop across the fuse to the circuit's current flow, looking for an unexpected current flow? This is how I do it, or should I say I used to do it. I haven't had a parasitic drain issue in 12 years.

DC clamp meters do not have the granularity to measure milliamp current flow, the type of flow related to parasitic drains. I've been challenged on this before, but no one has said what DC clamp meter they are using outside of the Hantek, which does not have the range to be useful in searching for a low current parasitic drain.

I have the Hantek, and the issue I have with it under the hood is its clamp opening; it isn't large enough to capture a battery cable. As you know, the clamp must be fully closed to work correctly. I have set up a small gauge wire to replace the battery cable so the Hantek would work. I find it much easier to measure the voltage drop across each fuse.

Those who use current clamps, which brand/model are you using?

 

[62Blazer]

I do it on the ground side with my DVOM but I also use a dual amp clamp for my meter so I can see amperage on the B+ terminal. I have run in to some issues where the parasitic draw was B+ battery related and not ground side related because of a direct short to B+.

Yes, I typically use a volt meter also. Either on the ground side, or check for voltage drop across the fuses. To be honest never used a test light when checking for parasitic drain.

As a comment for other people that made read this (not specifically replying to Fast69Mopar) and just to provide a little more information. You need to make sure the vehicle is in "sleep" mode, meaning all of the different modules and stuff have fully shut down. When you first turn off the engine and leave the vehicle several modules are still awake and pulling a small amount of current, but will eventually go to sleep (turn off completely) from anywhere from a couple of minutes to maybe an hour or so later. If they are shutting down on a normal schedule those situations are not causing any abnormal parasitic draw. It's those modules or accessories that never go to sleep and continue to pull power all night that are draining the battery. Point being you will never be able to test for an abnormal parasitic draw if the normal modules are still awake because there will be multiple circuits showing power draws.

 

[RamDiver]

Would it not be easier to measure the voltage drop across each fuse and, using a lookup table, convert the voltage drop across the fuse to the circuit's current flow, looking for an unexpected current flow? This is how I do it, or should I say I used to do it. I haven't had a parasitic drain issue in 12 years.

DC clamp meters do not have the granularity to measure milliamp current flow, the type of flow related to parasitic drains. I've been challenged on this before, but no one has said what DC clamp meter they are using outside of the Hantek, which does not have the range to be useful in searching for a low current parasitic drain.

I have the Hantek, and the issue I have with it under the hood is its clamp opening; it isn't large enough to capture a battery cable. As you know, the clamp must be fully closed to work correctly. I have set up a small gauge wire to replace the battery cable so the Hantek would work. I find it much easier to measure the voltage drop across each fuse.

Those who use current clamps, which brand/model are you using?

I recently bought this clamp meter specifically for future truck gremlin adventures, among other DC current issues at home. This unit's resolution only defines to 10s of mA, but for the price difference, it should be adequate for most gremlin searches.

Amazon link fixed. 13:51

It fits over all but 1 of the large wires connected to a battery clamp fuse.

I'm confident I could cut a tie-wrap and re-dress the harness such that this wire would be bundled with the others, if required.

I like the idea of reading the voltage drops across the fuses, but I also want a clamp meter to help. Standard ATC fuse voltage drop chart attached below.






.

 

[Fast69Mopar]

Would it not be easier to measure the voltage drop across each fuse and, using a lookup table, convert the voltage drop across the fuse to the circuit's current flow, looking for an unexpected current flow? This is how I do it, or should I say I used to do it. I haven't had a parasitic drain issue in 12 years.

DC clamp meters do not have the granularity to measure milliamp current flow, the type of flow related to parasitic drains. I've been challenged on this before, but no one has said what DC clamp meter they are using outside of the Hantek, which does not have the range to be useful in searching for a low current parasitic drain.

I have the Hantek, and the issue I have with it under the hood is its clamp opening; it isn't large enough to capture a battery cable. As you know, the clamp must be fully closed to work correctly. I have set up a small gauge wire to replace the battery cable so the Hantek would work. I find it much easier to measure the voltage drop across each fuse.

Those who use current clamps, which brand/model are you using?

The two clamp meters I own and use are from General Technologies Corp. I have the CM100 and that CM600. The CM100 clamp size is 1/2" in diameter and works fine on most battery cables. The CM600 helps with larger diameter cables like when I'm working on larger diesels.and some EV's.

Category: Clamp-Meters

gtc.ca

 

[BossHogg]

The two clamp meters I own and use are from General Technologies Corp. I have the CM100 and that CM600. The CM100 clamp size is 1/2" in diameter and works fine on most battery cables. The CM600 helps with larger diameter cables like when I'm working on larger diesels.and some EV's.

Category: Clamp-Meters

gtc.ca

Thank you for posting this. I've never come across this brand. Like every clamp meter, the accuracy rating isn't there. They state an accuracy of ±(2.5%+10), which says the reading will be within 2.5% with a display count accuracy of plus or minus 10 counts. I have several DC clamp meters, well-known brands like Fluke, Klein, and Ideal. Take the Klein CL800, its stated accuracy is ±(1.0% + 8 digits), and even though it has a better specification for half the cost, it still isn't good enough to chase parasitic drains. Of course, this is just my opinion.

I still think the fastest and most accurate way to find a parasitic drain is to measure the voltage drop across each fuse. A clamp meter will tell you that current is moving on a battery cable, but it wouldn't tell you which circuit or circuits are consuming it. You still have to isolate the current drain to a circuit.

 

[RamDiver]

The more tools I have to help investigate or solve a problem the better, AFAIC.

The clamp meter will assist me to establish the severity of the fault and will also verify when it is resolved.

I'm not overly concerned about the accuracy when it will display 10s of mA.

.

 

[4xdad]

Been driving through the mud and water check your trailer plug mine shorted out when we were camping and it killed the battery over night. Needless to say the missus was a little freaked out because we were about 600 clicks from home

 

[4xdad]

Luckily I had my little generator and battery charger and 2 12 volt batteries to power my topper lift and diesel heater

 

[Dean2]

Finding a parasitic drain can be tricky, but hundreds of "How To" videos on YouTube can guide you through the process.

Yes and there are probably a dozen very detailed threads right here in the last 6 months. There are two from the last week alone.

Electrical current draw when truck should be completely off?

One of the posts above said something about if you walk close to the truck with the fob it’ll wake the truck up and draw current. Finally tried that but I never saw the current draw increase when I walked up to the truck. It did have inrush current of thirteen amps when I unlocked the doors...

www.ramforum.com

 

[BossHogg]

The more tools I have to help investigate or solve a problem the better, AFAIC.

The clamp meter will assist me to establish the severity of the fault and will also verify when it is resolved.

I'm not overly concerned about the accuracy when it will display 10s of mA.

.

You can never have too many tools or, clamp meters.

 

[br427]

Thanks to everyone for your assistance.

 

[RamDiver]

Thanks to everyone for your assistance.

You're most welcome.

Did you resolve your battery and/or electrical gremlins?

.

 

[ZLAYER]

I thought I had a parasitic drain, because my truck was randomly failing to start, just making 1click sound when I pushed the button. I swapped batteries, but that wasn’t the issue. I took it to the dealer and they said my TazerRam was the culprit, so I unplugged it. The problem persisted though. I started learning how to diagnose and didn’t feel like the battery was draining after all. I then saw a YouTube video that fixed the same issue by replacing the starter. Many people in the comments were saying that their starter checked out “good”, but replacing it fixed the issue. A couple others said that the bolt connecting the wire to the starter was loose so I kept that in mind. I got a new starter and went to take the original off only to find that, sure enough, the connection was loose. Both the power wire and the wire connection from the solenoid to the starter were loose. I tightened both and the issue was completely solved. I believe that MDS kicking in (especially with aftermarket exhaust, or E-cutout in my case) causes so much vibration that the bolts loosen over time.

Strangely, using a battery jump starter, or jumper cables would allow the truck to start almost every time the issue happened. That and not realizing that the fully charged battery (12.6v) goes down to 12.3 ish when you unlock the truck and wake up all the systems, made me think the battery was draining.
So check the starter wire connection!

 

[Dusty]

Would it not be easier to measure the voltage drop across each fuse and, using a lookup table, convert the voltage drop across the fuse to the circuit's current flow, looking for an unexpected current flow? This is how I do it, or should I say I used to do it. I haven't had a parasitic drain issue in 12 years.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you wrote, but you can't really measure a voltage drop across a fuse. A fuse is not a resistor, it is a conductor. It would be the same thing as trying to measure a voltage drop across 1/2 inch of a power cable.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 130131 miles.