Can a Bad Ground Cause a Parasitic Draw

Asked by: Andreina Aristin

asked in category: General Last Updated: 3rd March, 2020

What is a parasitic draw?

Parasitic draw or drain is a term for an electrical component consuming electricity when it should not, even after it and the vehicle has been shut off. This will cause the vehicle's electrical system to function improperly and the vehicle may exhibit one or more of the following symptoms: A persistently dead battery.

The most common causes of parasitic drain are under hood lights, trunk lights, headlights or glove box lights that do not turn off when the door is closed. Relay switches that are stuck in the "on" position can also cause a battery to drain. Alternators with bad diodes can cause battery drain.

what is a normal battery draw? Parasitic Battery Draw A normal amount of parasitic draw for newer cars is between 50-milliamp to 85-milliamp current draw. A normal amount of parasitic draw for older cars is a reading less than 50-milliamp. Anything past these amounts indicates an electrical issue and should be addressed by a mechanic.

Subsequently, question is, what is a parasitic draw on a battery?

A parasitic battery drain is when an abnormal and continuous discharge of power occurs after having shut off the engine. Usually, this is caused by a short circuit or an electrical device that remains in the "on" position or energized, such as: A trunk. An under-hood or a glove-compartment light.

What is acceptable parasitic draw?

In that same conversation, it was suggested that a 200-milliamp draw was "acceptable." That is certainly not the case. In fact, we suggest a 25-milliamp draw is normal and anything that exceeds 100-milliamps indicates an electrical issue that needs to be addressed.

32 Related Question Answers Found

How do you test for a draw?

Pull the negative off the battery. Put the test light between the post and the ground wire. If the light illuminates, you have a draw. Use the fuse pull method to find the draw; when the light goes out, you found the draw.

Can a blown fuse drain car battery?

The fuse is only a conduit. The fuse in and of itself cannot be the cause of the power drain. It is, however, an indication of where the power drain is coming from. If by pulling the fuse you get a noticeable drop in battery drain, whatever is causing the drain is on that circuit.

How do you do a voltage drop test?

To do a voltage drop test, you create a load in the circuit that's being tested. Then you use a digital volt meter (DVM) to measure the voltage drop across the live connection while it is under the load.

Does leaving the radio on drain the car battery?

In theory, leaving the radio on while the engine is off could drain the car battery. However, radios usually don't use a lot of power, so battery drainage is more likely to be caused by other things such as lights, fans and heaters.

Can a bad ground cause a parasitic draw?

A bad ground would not cause this. This is called a parastic loss. That is when there is too much current being drained from the battery with the key in the off position.

How do you check a relay?

Listen for a click when the relay is energized. Check the energized condition of the relay contacts. Use a digital multimeter (DMM) to test the resistance between each pole of the relay and the corresponding NC and NO contacts for that pole. All NC contacts should read infinite resistance to the corresponding pole.

What can cause a battery to drain?

Your car battery may begin to drain for 8 reasons: Human Error. Parasitic Drain. Faulty Charging. Defective Alternator. Extreme Temperature. Excessive Short Drives. Corroded or Loose Battery Cables. Old battery.

Can a starter drain a battery?

A 'bad' starter wont drain the battery while it is not being used to start the car, if that is what you mean. If the starter has a damaged commutator, it will not run at full power and so could mean that you have to turn the engine over longer to get the engine to start which will use more energy from the battery.

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