Parasitic Drain - Bulb Trick

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

That's exactly what you want to have happen. The bulb doesn't light up at
all.

Saludos,

Earle

 

ok, so the battery is halfway good at least.

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

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!

 

ok, so the battery is halfway good at least.

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

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!

 

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.)

 

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.)

 

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.

 

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.

 

BTW,if you want to extend the DC amps range of your inexpensive DMM,use a 1
ohm resistor in series with what you want to measure(use short heavy leads
soldered to the 1 OhmR),and the DMM measures across the 1 ohm R.
Since I=E/R,1 volt across 1 ohm= 1 amp.
If your DMM has a 2V range,that's 2 amps full scale.

I'd use a 10W 1 ohm WW resistor.

 

BTW,if you want to extend the DC amps range of your inexpensive DMM,use a 1
ohm resistor in series with what you want to measure(use short heavy leads
soldered to the 1 OhmR),and the DMM measures across the 1 ohm R.
Since I=E/R,1 volt across 1 ohm= 1 amp.
If your DMM has a 2V range,that's 2 amps full scale.

I'd use a 10W 1 ohm WW resistor.

 

Does the Pioneer have a power antenna output, and is it hooked up?

Just thinking out loud...

 

Does the Pioneer have a power antenna output, and is it hooked up?

Just thinking out loud...