Battery Drain - 2005 Camry

[Mike Murrell]

4 cyl automatic - factory alarm - no elect. add-ons.

Car belongs to a relative in a rural area. She had it looked over by an independent shop. Their belief is the alarm system or some consumer on that path is depleting the battery.

Traditional parastic drain situations were chased down and none of these were found to be the culprit.

I realize it's dealer-bound, but am wondering if anyone knows of a TSB or other "known" condition that's been seen on this year/make.

Thanks for your time.

[johnnyzee]

you sure it's not the battery itself?

[danorthface]

use an amp meter and see if there's actually a leak

[w203]

take out the fuse to the alarm "brain" and see if there is any more drain

[CharmCityES]

the alarm is a common source of power drain for any car....try disconnecting the alarm fuse or the alarm itself and see if the car still kills its battery....if not, there could be some sort of issue with the charging system that is causing the battery to lose a charge

[marc780]

These small power drains can be a true pain to track down. In the meantime a solar battery charger on the dash might be worth a try. Use the biggest one that will fit and not be a pain to handle.
A good one will charge some, even on overcast days.

[TRD VVTi]

I have a couple of questions.

What's the symptom(s)?
How long does it take to drain the battery (if that's the symptom)?
Has the battery been load tested?
What is the amount of the draw?

[CharmCityES]

it should not be drawing more than 50mA i believe....10mA is normal parasitic load
and check the battery condition as well....ll batteries must be in good enough condition to withstand normal parasitic loads such as the memory fpor the radio and clock etc.

[Mike Murrell]

Originally Posted by TRD VVTi

I have a couple of questions.

What's the symptom(s)?
How long does it take to drain the battery (if that's the symptom)?
Has the battery been load tested?
What is the amount of the draw?

TRD VVTi:

You've asked the same questions I would have. Unfortunately, I'm handling this thing long distance and thru email; in reality I'm going to have to get close to the car myself. I know that. What I was after in the opening thread was a TSB relevant to this issue. I have no idea what the tech did when he analyzed her car. I can only assume and that is a very dangerous thing to do. She told me that he tested the battery and charging system, so I'm "assuming" he did all and more of what I'm going to do - that list is further down.

Car drains down overnight as I'm told, but with a "tired" battery and "whatever" is going on, that in itself is not all that unusual a thing to have happen.

This weekend I plan on:

- Cleaning battery cables & posts
- Check battery cable connections at the body(-) and at the starter(+)
-Check OCV which in reality is a meaningless test unless the reading is low. Encouraging OCV readings mean little. I've seen cars read 12.65 one day and be dead the next. I recently had one read 12.72 and fail a load test.
- Charge up battery
- Have it load tested afterwards.
- Reconnect battery and test for draw with DVOM

The suggestion to pull the alarm fuse will come in handy when I do the draw test. With the fuse out, I will also read the amp draw at that spot with fuse out.

I appreciate everyone's input.

[carlo$]

click each link:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2034953/11
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2379797/8

[Mike Murrell]

Carlo$:

I appreciate the links.

Something to think about though when draw testing a newer car.

They have circuitry that "wakes up" when you make you amp meter connection.

When all of this modern day circuitry wakes up, additonal laod is drawn and you get a false reading.

One way of handling this is by installing a quick-disconnect device on the neg. battery terminal/cable.

I see you have an MB.

You may be a member at mercedesshop.com

Steve Brotherton discussed this in one of his threads over there, but this issue is not specific to MB. It's relevant to any modern car with "memories".

[gdanaher]

If you are trying to keep it to a diy project and are handy, consider getting a cheap multimeter that will measure dc amperage or an amp meter in the 200-500 mA range capacity. See the link here for a cheap panel mount meter. I'd suggest the first one listed-- zero to 200 mA. Multimeters are better though.

www.futurlec.com/Panel_Meters.shtml

Using a meter, connect in series to the battery positive. Don't try to start the car or even have the ignition turned on if this meter is in series. It will be toasted. Assuming you have substantial drain, and that could be defined at something over 40 mA (YMMV), continue on by disconnecting the meter, replacing the battery cable, and then checking across fuse holders for a drain. (Pull the fuse and using probes attached to the meter, probe the two contacts on the fuse holder to see if there is current flow.) Everything goes through a fuse, somewhere. Find the circuit that is draining and fix it. Might be the alarm, but also might be a rear window defogger malfunctioning or a courtesy trunk light or numerous other things.

[Mike Murrell]

I just learned there is a relay in a fuse box more towards the front of the car that is "clicking" when the engine is off.

That gives me more to work with. Clicking relay in this case suggests its receiving a command to do something from a system that has not gone to sleep.

Indy tech load tested battery - ok

Also tested alternator - ok.

I'm going to let the dealer take it from here.

Thanks again.

[TRD VVTi]

Originally Posted by Mike Murrell

I just learned there is a relay in a fuse box more towards the front of the car that is "clicking" when the engine is off.

That gives me more to work with. Clicking relay in this case suggests its receiving a command to do something from a system that has not gone to sleep.

Exactly.

[parimento1]

I dont know, that click could be the relay that keeps power on for 30 seconds after the car is shut off so you can roll up the windows even with the engine off.