Parasitic draw

[Biquer]

I've been experiencing what I think is excessive parasitic draw on my 2008, 80,000 miles. Battery is new and good, 14 volts on the move so charging is ok. If I park up for a few days I get a slow crank and whilst it has always started, sometimes the ABS light will stay on. I tried checking for parasitic draw and this is where I need help. I have a calibrated fluke multi-meter, I connected it in line between the earth lead and the battery negative. This is where the problem is.

Immediately I connect the multi-meter I get a reading of around 25 milliamps, only for a second or two.

Then the tacho and speedo needles sweep across the whole face and then go back to zero. During the sweep it reads 60 milliamps.

After this the reading is 0.6 milliamps.

Anyone know how I can properly check for parasitic draw?

 

[Viper Pilot]

I doubt very very much your sudden problem is due to current draw from the keep alive state of your bikes electronics. And, just because you are seeing a charging voltage of 14 volts doesn't mean your battery is good. All that is telling you is your generator (alternator) and R/R are working ok. What is your battery voltage after sitting say for a day or two. It should be staying up at approx 13 volts . Get your battery tested with a load tester and see how it performs. My guess is you need a new battery. Oh, and also make sure your battery connections are good and tight as well.

 

[Fred W]

I've been experiencing what I think is excessive parasitic draw on my 2008, 80,000 miles. Battery is new and good, 14 volts on the move so charging is ok. If I park up for a few days I get a slow crank and whilst it has always started, sometimes the ABS light will stay on. I tried checking for parasitic draw and this is where I need help. I have a calibrated fluke multi-meter, I connected it in line between the earth lead and the battery negative. This is where the problem is.Immediately I connect the multi-meter I get a reading of around 25 milliamps, only for a second or two.

Then the tacho and speedo needles sweep across the whole face and then go back to zero. During the sweep it reads 60 milliamps.

After this the reading is 0.6 milliamps.

Anyone know how I can properly check for parasitic draw?

You just did. The parasitic draw is the last number: 0.6 milliamps. These are not the droids you're looking for.

The 14.0 volts is from the alternator. That would suggest that the charging system is working fine, but the battery is not holding the charge.

New battery time

 

[Biquer]

Good to know I have the proper figure, thanks for that.

Re:batteries. I had a Motobatt battery for just over a year when I experienced the problem. The evidence pointed to a weak battery to me and kudos to Motobatt they replaced the battery, outside of warranty, with a new one. I know new can be dud also but that would be 2 dud batteries? The new battery behaves identically to the old one. The bike is used every week day and most weekends. A night on a battery tender keeps it sweet for about a week before it starts slowing down. I can live with that but it didn't used to need it.

 

[Queensland Ken]

Better if you can use a DC tong tester (a clamp around the cable one).

I'm sure there was an old post on the forum about it.

As mentioned .6 mA seems ok