Parasitic Draw on My battery

[cattmann]

This winter My battery in my 2021 Honda 1000 drained to the point of not starting.The first time was in cold storage for about 2 weeks and the second time was about 0 degrees over 2 weeks.Previously the machine sat for a month with no issues.I removed the battery and had the dealer run a test on it .he said it was bad which was bad luck for me as my warranty ran out this Feb,one month late.I should have had it tested the first time it failed .Anyhow I will get to the point.When installing my new battery I noticed a very small spark when attaching the positive.It is so slight you have a hard time seeing it.When I ran an amp draw test I got .05 ma.If I switch it to micro amps it fluctuates from about 060 to 090 without settling out.I read that new vehicles have a 50ma draw when not in use so I guess my question is ,is there a slight draw on the hondas when not in use? Any input would be greatly appreciated as usual.Thanks Gary

 

[Admin]

 

[Remington]

Yup, you will get a very slight draw But not enough to kill the battery that way.
So u live in a cold area like i do. Ive had a battery do the same thing. There not deep cell so those extreme temps can rake havoc on battery cells if your not careful. I would suggest a float charger and an outlet to charge the machine when its in storage and in cold weather like this….

 

[DRZRon1]

from another post PaulF had .005amps when he measured his, you are 10X that, f you are drawing .05, .05x24=1.2AH/day, 20AH/1.2, so about 17 days to drain it.

seems you have a draw, shorted wire or accessory on, seeing a spark tells you something and yes these do have a small parasitic draw

 

[cattmann]

from another post PaulF had .005amps when he measured his, you are 10X that, f you are drawing .05, .05x24=1.2AH/day, 20AH/1.2, so about 17 days to drain it.

seems you have a draw, shorted wire or accessory on, seeing a spark tells you something and yes these do have a small parasitic draw

Thanks for the reply.I have no acc on my main system.I installed a second battery and fuse panel to handle all acc except the cigarette lighter which powers off with the key.Not sure where to look.When testing the draw I also dissconnect the battery isolater .Nothing but the 2 factory cables when testing.

 

[cattmann]

Yup, you will get a very slight draw But not enough to kill the battery that way.
So u live in a cold area like i do. Ive had a battery do the same thing. There not deep cell so those extreme temps can rake havoc on battery cells if your not careful. I would suggest a float charger and an outlet to charge the machine when its in storage and in cold weather like this….
View attachment 326895View attachment 326896

I have trickle charged both my batteries numerous times this winter.The machine sat at one point for a month and I had no issues.Strange Thanks for the reply.

 

[Hondasxs]

so I guess my question is ,is there a slight draw on the hondas when not in use?

The answer is yes.
But I would bet it is so low of a draw a 9v battery could handle it for a month plus.

 

[Bombardier Convert]

The answer is yes.
But I would bet it is so low of a draw a 9v battery could handle it for a month plus.

That's great information! Thanks! Mine will be sitting for about a month so now I shouldn't have to worry as much.

 

[cattmann]

This winter My battery in my 2021 Honda 1000 drained to the point of not starting.The first time was in cold storage for about 2 weeks and the second time was about 0 degrees over 2 weeks.Previously the machine sat for a month with no issues.I removed the battery and had the dealer run a test on it .he said it was bad which was bad luck for me as my warranty ran out this Feb,one month late.I should have had it tested the first time it failed .Anyhow I will get to the point.When installing my new battery I noticed a very small spark when attaching the positive.It is so slight you have a hard time seeing it.When I ran an amp draw test I got .05 ma.If I switch it to micro amps it fluctuates from about 060 to 090 without settling out.I read that new vehicles have a 50ma draw when not in use so I guess my question is ,is there a slight draw on the hondas when not in use? Any input would be greatly appreciated as usual.Thanks Gary

UPDATE Today I spent some time chasing the draw on my battery by removing fuses.The only fuse that would completely illiminate the draw of .05 mA is the 15 amp ign .With this fuse out the clock stops and will only work with the key on.Cant see the clock drawing .05mA.Anyone know what else feeds from this 15 amp fuse?I assume the power to the coil pack for sure.

 

[HBarlow]

My batteries last for years without ever discharging while stored.

Here is the way to preserve batteries:

 

[Bombardier Convert]

Question: If it is not too hard to take a ground off the battery, would that save the battery for a month or two? I don't really care about the clock not working. Are the mileage and running time lost if the battery is not kept connected?

 

[HondaTech]

from another post PaulF had .005amps when he measured his, you are 10X that, f you are drawing .05, .05x24=1.2AH/day, 20AH/1.2, so about 17 days to drain it.

seems you have a draw, shorted wire or accessory on, seeing a spark tells you something and yes these do have a small parasitic draw

He said .05mA (miliamps) which is nothing.

Honda says the max drain on a 2021 Pioneer is .75mA, which he is nowhere near.

.005 amps would be 5 miliamps. Ive seen certain audio systems draw over 200mA, key off.

 

[cattmann]

Question: If it is not too hard to take a ground off the battery, would that save the battery for a month or two? I don't really care about the clock not working. Are the mileage and running time lost if the battery is not kept connected?

when I removed the 15 amp ign fuse today the vehicle would turn over but not start.If I checked the time on the clock with the key on and then turn the key off for a few minutes and then turn the key back on ,I noticed the clock was still showing the same time unless I left the key on and it would start. When I removed the battery to install a new one a few days later, all info was recalled.

 

[HondaTech]

when I removed the 15 amp ign fuse today the vehicle would turn over but not start.If I checked the time on the clock with the key on and then turn the key off for a few minutes and then turn the key back on ,I noticed the clock was still showing the same time unless I left the key on and it would start. When I removed the battery to install a new one a few days later, all info was recalled.

The ignition fuse kills power to the coils, injectors, etc.

 

[cattmann]

The ignition fuse kills power to the coils, injectors, etc.

This was the only fuse once removed that illimated the small draw on my battery

 

[HondaTech]

This was the only fuse once removed that illimated the small draw on my battery

Its also the battery feed into the meter. That amount of draw is nothing, less than 10x the recommended max amount on a stock machine.
It might have been the cold temps on a already hurt battery.

 

[bjniceguy]

I suggest a C-Tec brand of smart charger. It should come with a pigtail that you can wire permanently inside battery box and have a wire with quick plug hanging out of battery box, When storing, you just plug the charger to it and the wall and it maintains battery (just leave plugged in for weeks plus). They offer an Orange one for very cold weather or normal for most places. I have used them on my stored cars for years and always stayed perfect even in cold (like below zero) weather. Have one on my Mower battery too. They have multiple settings for large & small batteries. They will recondition the battery too if needed. They are not a QUICK charger for jumping.

 

[cattmann]

I suggest a C-Tec brand of smart charger. It should come with a pigtail that you can wire permanently inside battery box and have a wire with quick plug hanging out of battery box, When storing, you just plug the charger to it and the wall and it maintains battery (just leave plugged in for weeks plus). They offer an Orange one for very cold weather or normal for most places. I have used them on my stored cars for years and always stayed perfect even in cold (like below zero) weather. Have one on my Mower battery too. They have multiple settings for large & small batteries. They will recondition the battery too if needed. They are not a QUICK charger for jumping.

Thanks for the info

 

[cattmann]

Thanks for all the input.My battery was definitely bad and I will be purchasing 2 more battery maintainers.

 

[Bastardchild]

Just install a battery on/off switch like a boat has. Problem solved.