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Parasitic Drain... What is normal

viffer_pilot

Guest
Guest
Hello all. Can anyone tell me what the normal battery draw should be with the ignition off? I installed a dash cam system this weekend and when I went to start the bike on Monday the battery was dead. The battery is the one which was in the bike when I bought it 7 years ago so I knew I was on borrowed time. I ordered a new Yuasa battery from RMATVMC which came today. When I disconnected the old battery, there was some arcing when removing the frame ground (let me just say that the battery mounting scheme used in the C14 must have been developed by a drunk engineer that was barely a D student). I put the new battery in and got everything hooked up, noting the arcing again when connecting the ground. When I went to start the bike, it did start but did not run smoothly (the old battery would not start it even after being fully recharged). I disconnected the ground again and started a search for the parasitic draw. My ammeter would peak at about 160 mA when I connected the leads and then settle out at about 77 mA. Also, there is an audible relay click and the gauges go full range and settle back at zero, kind of like when you switch the bike on. Not sure if this is normal but I don't remember it happening before. I started with the dash cam, disconnecting the power lead which is connected to the rear accessory pigtails. No change. After that I pulled fuses in the three under seat fuse boxes and checked with each removed. Same reading. Not sure where to go from here. I had the ECU out to get to the pig tails but didn't disconnect anything back there...just moved it out of the way. I don't know where to go next. Any suggestions? Battery is new and I wire brushed the ground so it is clean. Thanks.
 
See if you can find the fuse for the clock and pull that. Other than the clock and the red dash light that blinks for a day after riding, I can’t think of anything else that might be s factory circuit that lasts past switch cutoff. Any aftermarket items that might stay hot? If so pull those and reconnect them back one at a time.
 
viffer-pilot any updates on your battery issue? When I purchased my '10 back in 2014 the PO had replaced the OEM battery with a YUASA about 6 months prior. About 6 months later the bike started acting really weird when I would try to start it. The YUASA was bad. I would check your new battery and make sure it's good before I start chasing other problems. Your comment about the dash acting wonky when you installed the new battery got my attention and reminded me of my issue. Good luck.
 
77mA seems excessive to me but I'm not 100%.. Comparing it to a auto/truck, It's about twice the normal draw. I was always told the maximum draw on a car once everything times out and goes to sleep is 35mA
 
Sorry for the delay in response. So I rode the bike the other day. It's running fine. I may have been imagining things when I thought it was running rough. As for the parasitic drain. It appears that the ECU or some other computer onboard goes through a process when it gets power... Gauges cycle (~160mA) and then it must do some other diagnostic (~77mA) after which it settles down to about 2.5mA. This whole thing takes about 10 seconds. When I was doing my original measurements, I was only taking readings for a second or two...not long enough for this process, whatever it is, to clear. WRT the hard start after installing the new battery, It may have been due to being very rich when I started it because the old battery would crank but not catch...that's all I can think of. Since I ran it to work and back, it seems to start fine. I think I worried myself over nothing.
 
I used to work with a guy who'd get in my truck to go to lunch with me and as soon as I'd start down the street, would ask, "What's that noise?" knowing good and well there was NO noise, but then I'd be listening and listening.... On the other hand some people hear the engine knocking and just turn up the radio. LOL...
 
In the manual it speaks of battery draw down because of the radio link to the Key FOB. It also says you should charge the battery if it is not ridden for 6 weeks.
 
My 09's Manuel says 2 weeks. And that is what I use for putting on a trickle charger. Normally doesn't take long for either bike to be topped off.

I lost the 09 OEM battery for waiting too long between charging cycles.
 
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In the manual it speaks of battery draw down because of the radio link to the Key FOB. It also says you should charge the battery if it is not ridden for 6 weeks.
Huh? What page is that on? The only drain because of the bike looking for the FOB should be when you push the stove knob key down. (or when the bike is running)
 
A little late to the party, but just wanted to point out that depending on the Dash cam system you installed, your original instinct of it being the culprit might be right. Many of them continue to put a draw on the battery even after M/C switched off. Some of them try and use a capacitor to overcome the problem, but the majority don't. See one writeup and how that owner overcame the issue: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/battery-drain.36325/
 
I used to work with a guy who'd get in my truck to go to lunch with me and as soon as I'd start down the street, would ask, "What's that noise?" knowing good and well there was NO noise, but then I'd be listening and listening.... On the other hand some people hear the engine knocking and just turn up the radio. LOL...
Since I have gotten hearing aides all my vehicles sound like they are on there last leg.
 
77 milliamps is way too high. It should be 10ma or less. However, you have to be careful how you measure it. If you're measuring using an in-line amp meter, then you need to wait at least a full minute after the connections are made before taking a reading. This is because the computers on the bike will all be rebooting and drawing more power for the first minute or so.
 
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