mark105 Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 I need a second opinion on this. There is some thing my car which is draining the battery and i suspect it might be the amp gauge as the entire car runs through it. It also seems to have started happening about the time the amp gauge got stuck on -15 amps constant. Now i think it has blown the gauge as it used to return to 0 if i fully unplugged it but now it is just stuck on -15 amps no matter what i do with it. I am mostly familiar with how an amp gauge works but i am unsure if it is capable of flattening a battery or not. Any thoughts on this would be helpful? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmatt4 Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 not likely unless it has shorted to earth as current flows through the gauge not to the gauge. Check that it hasnt blown open circut and your generator / alternator is charging the battery as the charging current runs from the generator through the ammeter to the battery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoKer Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 something has to be drawing for it to read anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark105 Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 yeah exactly which is why i think it is broken as it reads -15 amps all the time even when unplugged. So thats why i am wondering if it is acting as a resistor and loading the circuit maybe as there is stuff using power all the time through it like the alarm and battery memory for the head unit. As it feeds the whole car i dont think it has gone open circuit as if it had nothing would be running any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bling Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Is it not easy to remove it from the circuit to see if that stops the draining? Then test it on the bench? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sholdowa Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 be a lot safer to run it off a shunt than put everything through it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 be a lot safer to run it off a shunt than put everything through it... +1 - your ammeter probably isn't designed to have the load of the whole car running through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowzer Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 It's the factory wiring though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowzer Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 The power feed should run through a built in current shunt, and then the ammeter gauge taps off that. There shouldn't be an earth connection anywhere in it for it to drain. What I am thinking is the ammeter coil has shorted out somehow. This will cause it to swing right to the max, but then I would have thought it'd burn the coil out straight away too.. They're pretty tiny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark105 Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 ahh yup guess its not that then. next guess is going to be with the newly found electrics on this vehicle im going to guess the alternator is now to small and just not getting the battery back up to max charge. still running factory one and have added EFI, alarm, sounds and so on hah. considering when i turn my high beams on my head unit powers off i think this could be a valid starting point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyfive Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Use an ammeter to see how much current your ammeter is drawing/ Inception diagnosis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowzer Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 The ECU shouldn't be cranking that much, the injectors would be around 15 watts a piece max, but they only run a tiny duty cycle so overall the power consumption should be pretty minimal. The ignition system is probably taxing the battery a bit more than the original though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Still the factory alternator should be anywhere from 40-60amp which should happily keep up if your battery is healthy as well. As said see what your current draw is with the car off, check voltage over the battery when cars on. Start with the basics 105 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowzer Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 I have a current clamp somewhere, can do some probing this weekend probably Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyteler Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 ...and if it turns out your ammeter is fucked, I might have a spare/you should have one anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark105 Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 sweet will have a look at it this weekend yowzer and yeh ky i have a spare, you can by pass it also but will prob just pop a replacement in as it is very handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
japawagons Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Have you connected a multimeter between the battery terminal and cable to see whether there is any current draw / how much? Do that then disconnect the ammeter and other accessories that are suspicious of until you find the current draw disappears / drops significantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toucan Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Problem is likely caused by not enough boating 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark105 Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 Problem is likely caused by not enough boating this is highly true. when you back in hamilton D? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Bithday at the Lake again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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