Normal amp draw when off?

[MXR597]

Been trying to diagnose a dead battery all day and still can't figure it out. With doors closed and everything off I'm pulling .37 Amps. With doors open I pull .70 Amps. If I pull the CTSY fuse with doors closed I get .05 Amps. I pulled all the lights out (including the glovebox and cigarette tray lights) and it still pulls .37 to .40 amps... So what is the normal amp pull with everything normal, the battery is a year old and I can't get it tested till Monday. But something just doesn't seem right, I'm leaving it unplugged right now to see what happens but hopefully it's an easy fix. I have a big trip on Sunday back to school and just need the truck to work right now.

 

[Ruger_556]

That's too high, general rule of thumb is .05 amps (50 milliamps) but it'll take awhile to drain the battery. I'd take the battery and get it tested just to be sure, age means nothing with those... Do you have an amp or anything wired in? Couple ways to find parasitic draws, you can simply pull fuses until it goes away, then you know what circuit it's on. You can check for a voltage drop across the fuses, tells you the same thing as pulling the fuses basically. If you have an amp clamp you can just follow wires once you have a circuit

 

[21Actual]

^^^ yup, too high.

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[MXR597]

Okay, I finally figured out it is the head unit causing the issue. With it unplugged and the CTSY fuse in it stays at .05 with it plugged in it goes to .47 or around there. I have two amps both independently wired, pulled the fuses and saw no change. I connected both the ground and the constant wires to different connections I know are solid and saw the same draw.

Is it possible a speaker connection could be causing this?
Or is it possible for the head unit to go bad?

I'll take the battery to Advanced Auto and get them to warranty it once I get back to school if needed.

 

[df2x4]

My money is on a fault in the head unit itself, especially if it's aftermarket.

Do you have a relay wired in to provide power to your amps' remote wires or are they wired straight into the back of the unit? If no remote relay is in place, my money is on the head unit even more.

 

[MXR597]

My money is on a fault in the head unit itself, especially if it's aftermarket.

Do you have a relay wired in to provide power to your amps' remote wires or are they wired straight into the back of the unit? If no remote relay is in place, my money is on the head unit even more.

I have one remote wire running to the unit and one of the amps has a pass through for the remote to the second one, soo disconnect that and see what happens?

 

[MXR597]

I have one remote wire running to the unit and one of the amps has a pass through for the remote to the second one, soo disconnect that and see what happens?

I just ordered a new head unit, this sucks but can always send the new one back if that doesn't fix it.

 

[df2x4]

I have one remote wire running to the unit and one of the amps has a pass through for the remote to the second one, soo disconnect that and see what happens?

Eh, I wouldn't bother. Like I said, my concern was whether or not you had a relay supplying power to the remote circuit. A lot of people with multiple amps do this to prevent blowing internal fuses in their head units. If you try and draw too much current straight off of the remote wire it will pop that internal pico fuse and you lose your remote wire. If your remote circuit is functioning normally, don't mess with it. Basically was just wondering if maybe the hypothetical relay was going bad and drawing current when it wasn't supposed to. Not an issue in your case, though.

I'd bet the new head unit will fix it. While you're in there, take the opportunity to double check all your wiring, and the harness plugs.

 

[MXR597]

Alright I put the new head unit in today, last reading with the old one was .52 Amps, Put the new one in and it pulls .22 amps, I guess I'm going to have to live with that, it's a big drop but not as big as I'd like

 

[Ruger_556]

Alright I put the new head unit in today, last reading with the old one was .52 Amps, Put the new one in and it pulls .22 amps, I guess I'm going to have to live with that, it's a big drop but not as big as I'd like

Higher than it should be but it's not going to kill the battery overnight. What brand head unit out of curiosity? I just walked out and checked my truck, 0.03 amps with an aftermarket head unit, powered sub, and a CB radio.