Thread: Current Draw.

Originally Posted by Robflocar

It is true that some of my drive times are shortish. Down into town perhaps 3 km and back. I have to use a battery charger to get it started although it will jump start. I checked with the analogue meter and it is accurate and shows 55 mA. The volts according to Nanocom are 14.4 when the engine is running. The battery was reading only 8.6 volts when I tried to start it yesterday. Perhaps there is not many amps coming from the alternator.

Hi again Rob, I doubt that there is anything wrong with your alternator.

If the your alternator was not able to put out a high enough current to meet demand, the voltage would have been in the low 13v area.

The fact that it was 14.4v would indicate your alternator is fine but your battery is not drawing much current.

Again, this would most likely be because your battery is badly sulphated.

Have a look at the LONG TERM BATTERY MAINTENANCE section on the link below.

This should fix your problem.

On-Line auto electrical info

Originally Posted by Robflocar

has air bags but used to have coils. The Slab has been changed to show airbags. No USB ports. Not locked in the garage no.

May be your issue.

Modern vehicles until locked don’t shut down completely.

Originally Posted by Tombie

May be your issue.

Modern vehicles until locked don’t shut down completely.

I'll try locking it and see if the current draw drops down.

Originally Posted by drivesafe

Hi again Rob, I doubt that there is anything wrong with your alternator.

If the your alternator was not able to put out a high enough current to meet demand, the voltage would have been in the low 13v area.

The fact that it was 14.4v would indicate your alternator is fine but your battery is not drawing much current.

Again, this would most likely be because your battery is badly sulphated.

Have a look at the LONG TERM BATTERY MAINTENANCE section on the link below.

This should fix your problem.

On-Line auto electrical info

Read this and decided to charge the battery everyday for a week as suggested. Allowing it to do its own thing at night when I usually turn off the power to my workshop at the switchboard. Will await the results.