Any amp experts online today?

I have a slow drain on my battery and I can't track down where the
problems is. I spent this afternoon tracking down where the problem
might be. I thought it was with a modification to my lighting system I
did but I eliminated that and I'm still having the drain problem.

I just checked my system and it seems that both of my amps are showing
continuity between their power and ground terminals. Continuity also
shows between those terminals and the remote terminal. This doesn't seem
right to me.

When I put the probes from my old multimeter on the power and ground
terminals the needle swings all the way past 0 Ohms and slowly drifts
back past 0 Ohms and eventually stops around 1k Ohms.

Is there something wrong with my amps that's causing this battery drain
or is this continuity on these terminals normal for a disconnected amp?
Or is it some sort of stored charge on the internal caps that are
simulating this continuity?

BTW, the amps are PG ZXTi's, a 475 and a 600. The strange thing is these
amps seem to be operating normally.

Any ideas would be appreciated, this is really pi**ing me off.

Chris

[Scott Johnson]

you will show some continuity between those terminals. it is normal.



> wrote in message
...
> I have a slow drain on my battery and I can't track down where the
> problems is. I spent this afternoon tracking down where the problem
> might be. I thought it was with a modification to my lighting system I
> did but I eliminated that and I'm still having the drain problem.
>
> I just checked my system and it seems that both of my amps are showing
> continuity between their power and ground terminals. Continuity also
> shows between those terminals and the remote terminal. This doesn't seem
> right to me.
>
> When I put the probes from my old multimeter on the power and ground
> terminals the needle swings all the way past 0 Ohms and slowly drifts
> back past 0 Ohms and eventually stops around 1k Ohms.
>
> Is there something wrong with my amps that's causing this battery drain
> or is this continuity on these terminals normal for a disconnected amp?
> Or is it some sort of stored charge on the internal caps that are
> simulating this continuity?
>
> BTW, the amps are PG ZXTi's, a 475 and a 600. The strange thing is these
> amps seem to be operating normally.
>
> Any ideas would be appreciated, this is really pi**ing me off.
>
> Chris

[MZ]

--
Mark
remove "remove" and "spam" to reply


> wrote in message
...
> I have a slow drain on my battery and I can't track down where the
> problems is. I spent this afternoon tracking down where the problem
> might be. I thought it was with a modification to my lighting system I
> did but I eliminated that and I'm still having the drain problem.
>
> I just checked my system and it seems that both of my amps are showing
> continuity between their power and ground terminals. Continuity also
> shows between those terminals and the remote terminal. This doesn't seem
> right to me.
>
> When I put the probes from my old multimeter on the power and ground
> terminals the needle swings all the way past 0 Ohms and slowly drifts
> back past 0 Ohms and eventually stops around 1k Ohms.
>
> Is there something wrong with my amps that's causing this battery drain
> or is this continuity on these terminals normal for a disconnected amp?
> Or is it some sort of stored charge on the internal caps that are
> simulating this continuity?
>
> BTW, the amps are PG ZXTi's, a 475 and a 600. The strange thing is these
> amps seem to be operating normally.
>
> Any ideas would be appreciated, this is really pi**ing me off.

What you're describing is a case of the capacitors basically charging.
That's why it starts at zero. Put your meter in current mode and directly
measure the current.

[Kevin McMurtrie]

In article >,
> wrote:

> I have a slow drain on my battery and I can't track down where the
> problems is. I spent this afternoon tracking down where the problem
> might be. I thought it was with a modification to my lighting system I
> did but I eliminated that and I'm still having the drain problem.
>
> I just checked my system and it seems that both of my amps are showing
> continuity between their power and ground terminals. Continuity also
> shows between those terminals and the remote terminal. This doesn't seem
> right to me.
>
> When I put the probes from my old multimeter on the power and ground
> terminals the needle swings all the way past 0 Ohms and slowly drifts
> back past 0 Ohms and eventually stops around 1k Ohms.
>
> Is there something wrong with my amps that's causing this battery drain
> or is this continuity on these terminals normal for a disconnected amp?
> Or is it some sort of stored charge on the internal caps that are
> simulating this continuity?
>
> BTW, the amps are PG ZXTi's, a 475 and a 600. The strange thing is these
> amps seem to be operating normally.
>
> Any ideas would be appreciated, this is really pi**ing me off.
>
> Chris

That's not the right way to diagnose the problem.

Pull one of the cables off the battery. Wrap one stripped wire around
the battery post and another around the cable. Put the cable back on
the battery post loosely. Attach an ampmeter (5+ Amp range first)
between the two wires. Now lift the cable off the battery and monitor
the current. It's important that the car's electrical system be powered
to 12V before sending current through the amp meter; the rush of power
would kill it. Slide the cable back on the battery while you change
ampmeter modes to avoid current surges.

Now start pulling fuses and disconnecting things. You'll see exactly
how much current each device is using by watching the reading on your
ampmeter drop.

It's possible that nothing is drawing too much power. Anything less
than 50mA is OK. That's 1.2 AH per day of drain. Batteries can self
discharge if they're in poor condition or if unpure water has been added
to them.

[scott and barb]

Maybe your alternator is dying.....
> wrote in message
...
> I have a slow drain on my battery and I can't track down where the
> problems is. I spent this afternoon tracking down where the problem
> might be. I thought it was with a modification to my lighting system I
> did but I eliminated that and I'm still having the drain problem.
>
> I just checked my system and it seems that both of my amps are showing
> continuity between their power and ground terminals. Continuity also
> shows between those terminals and the remote terminal. This doesn't seem
> right to me.
>
> When I put the probes from my old multimeter on the power and ground
> terminals the needle swings all the way past 0 Ohms and slowly drifts
> back past 0 Ohms and eventually stops around 1k Ohms.
>
> Is there something wrong with my amps that's causing this battery drain
> or is this continuity on these terminals normal for a disconnected amp?
> Or is it some sort of stored charge on the internal caps that are
> simulating this continuity?
>
> BTW, the amps are PG ZXTi's, a 475 and a 600. The strange thing is these
> amps seem to be operating normally.
>
> Any ideas would be appreciated, this is really pi**ing me off.
>
> Chris

> In article >,
> > wrote:
>
>> I have a slow drain on my battery and I can't track down where the
>> problems is. I spent this afternoon tracking down where the problem
>> might be. I thought it was with a modification to my lighting system
>> I did but I eliminated that and I'm still having the drain problem.
>>
<snip>

In > Kevin
McMurtrie wrote:
>
> That's not the right way to diagnose the problem.
>
> Pull one of the cables off the battery. Wrap one stripped wire around
> the battery post and another around the cable. Put the cable back on
> the battery post loosely. Attach an ampmeter (5+ Amp range first)
> between the two wires. Now lift the cable off the battery and monitor
> the current. It's important that the car's electrical system be
> powered to 12V before sending current through the amp meter; the rush
> of power would kill it. Slide the cable back on the battery while
> you change ampmeter modes to avoid current surges.
>
> Now start pulling fuses and disconnecting things. You'll see exactly
> how much current each device is using by watching the reading on your
> ampmeter drop.
>
> It's possible that nothing is drawing too much power. Anything less
> than 50mA is OK. That's 1.2 AH per day of drain. Batteries can self
> discharge if they're in poor condition or if unpure water has been
> added to them.

Thanks for this little tutorial on properly measuring the current and
troubleshooting this sort of thing. It's always good to get tips from
those more experienced.
I did that test and the initial reading was about 65mA which I'm
guessing could still be safe, yes? no?

I'm starting to suspect that it may now just be that the battery is
going on me. It's almost 5 years old, it has been used on a fairly
powerful system for 2 years, plus last week my wife had to pull over and
feed our 2 month old while she was out and she drained the battery by
trying to run the AC and fan while the engine was off. That probably
pushed the battery over the edge. Since it was down so far that she had
to ask someone for a boost.

Friday night I did disconnect the battery completely from the electrical
system and the voltage on the battery remained at 12.25V. Last night
after I got the car back together around 11PM I took it out for a quick
5 minute spin. When I got back the battery read 12.75V and with all
cables connected it read about 11V this morning. Could the battery just
not have a proper "amp" capacity now and that 65mA current is causing
that drain, whereas on a new charged battery it wouldn't be an issue?

And thanks to the other posters for the info. It's good to know that my
two amps aren't a problems. My voltmeters show that I'm getting 14.2V
when I'm running the car, so I'm suspecting that my alternator is fine,
though I guess I show check the cables running to it.

Thanks again.

Is there some way I can test this? The voltmeters in my car constantly
read between 13.9V and 14.2V while the car is running. Can I assume that
my alternator is fine if I'm getting these measurements?

In t> scott and barb
wrote:
> Maybe your alternator is dying.....
> > wrote in message
> ...
>> I have a slow drain on my battery and I can't track down where the
>> problems is. I spent this afternoon tracking down where the problem
>> might be. I thought it was with a modification to my lighting system
>> I did but I eliminated that and I'm still having the drain problem.
>>

[Scott Johnson]

go to Advance auto parts, NAPA, or any other parts store and have them check
your battery. they usually do it for free.



> wrote in message
...
> Is there some way I can test this? The voltmeters in my car constantly
> read between 13.9V and 14.2V while the car is running. Can I assume that
> my alternator is fine if I'm getting these measurements?
>
> In t> scott and barb
> wrote:
> > Maybe your alternator is dying.....
> > > wrote in message
> > ...
> >> I have a slow drain on my battery and I can't track down where the
> >> problems is. I spent this afternoon tracking down where the problem
> >> might be. I thought it was with a modification to my lighting system
> >> I did but I eliminated that and I'm still having the drain problem.
> >>

[krem]

The AC can't work if the car isn't running ......... no compressor

> wrote in message
...
> > In article >,
> > > wrote:
> >
> >> I have a slow drain on my battery and I can't track down where the
> >> problems is. I spent this afternoon tracking down where the problem
> >> might be. I thought it was with a modification to my lighting system
> >> I did but I eliminated that and I'm still having the drain problem.
> >>
> <snip>
>
> In > Kevin
> McMurtrie wrote:
> >
> > That's not the right way to diagnose the problem.
> >
> > Pull one of the cables off the battery. Wrap one stripped wire around
> > the battery post and another around the cable. Put the cable back on
> > the battery post loosely. Attach an ampmeter (5+ Amp range first)
> > between the two wires. Now lift the cable off the battery and monitor
> > the current. It's important that the car's electrical system be
> > powered to 12V before sending current through the amp meter; the rush
> > of power would kill it. Slide the cable back on the battery while
> > you change ampmeter modes to avoid current surges.
> >
> > Now start pulling fuses and disconnecting things. You'll see exactly
> > how much current each device is using by watching the reading on your
> > ampmeter drop.
> >
> > It's possible that nothing is drawing too much power. Anything less
> > than 50mA is OK. That's 1.2 AH per day of drain. Batteries can self
> > discharge if they're in poor condition or if unpure water has been
> > added to them.
>
> Thanks for this little tutorial on properly measuring the current and
> troubleshooting this sort of thing. It's always good to get tips from
> those more experienced.
> I did that test and the initial reading was about 65mA which I'm
> guessing could still be safe, yes? no?
>
> I'm starting to suspect that it may now just be that the battery is
> going on me. It's almost 5 years old, it has been used on a fairly
> powerful system for 2 years, plus last week my wife had to pull over and
> feed our 2 month old while she was out and she drained the battery by
> trying to run the AC and fan while the engine was off. That probably
> pushed the battery over the edge. Since it was down so far that she had
> to ask someone for a boost.
>
> Friday night I did disconnect the battery completely from the electrical
> system and the voltage on the battery remained at 12.25V. Last night
> after I got the car back together around 11PM I took it out for a quick
> 5 minute spin. When I got back the battery read 12.75V and with all
> cables connected it read about 11V this morning. Could the battery just
> not have a proper "amp" capacity now and that 65mA current is causing
> that drain, whereas on a new charged battery it wouldn't be an issue?
>
> And thanks to the other posters for the info. It's good to know that my
> two amps aren't a problems. My voltmeters show that I'm getting 14.2V
> when I'm running the car, so I'm suspecting that my alternator is fine,
> though I guess I show check the cables running to it.
>
> Thanks again.

I know that and you know that, but do you really expect a "yummy mummy"
with a hot bod and great sense of humour to know that? Come on...
really!

(c;



In > krem wrote:
> From: "krem" >
> Newsgroups: rec.audio.car
> Subject: Re: Any amp experts online today?
> Date: Sun, 02 May 2004 19:28:02 GMT
>
> The AC can't work if the car isn't running ......... no compressor
>
> > wrote in message
> ...
>> > In article >,
>> > > wrote:
>> >
>> >> I have a slow drain on my battery and I can't track down where the
>> >> problems is. I spent this afternoon tracking down where the
>> >> problem might be. I thought it was with a modification to my
>> >> lighting system I did but I eliminated that and I'm still having
>> >> the drain problem.
>> >>
>> <snip>
>>
>> In > Kevin
>> McMurtrie wrote:
>> >
>> > That's not the right way to diagnose the problem.
>> >
>> > Pull one of the cables off the battery. Wrap one stripped wire
>> > around the battery post and another around the cable. Put the
>> > cable back on the battery post loosely. Attach an ampmeter (5+ Amp
>> > range first) between the two wires. Now lift the cable off the
>> > battery and monitor the current. It's important that the car's
>> > electrical system be powered to 12V before sending current through
>> > the amp meter; the rush of power would kill it. Slide the cable
>> > back on the battery while you change ampmeter modes to avoid
>> > current surges.
>> >
>> > Now start pulling fuses and disconnecting things. You'll see
>> > exactly how much current each device is using by watching the
>> > reading on your ampmeter drop.
>> >
>> > It's possible that nothing is drawing too much power. Anything
>> > less than 50mA is OK. That's 1.2 AH per day of drain. Batteries
>> > can self discharge if they're in poor condition or if unpure water
>> > has been added to them.
>>
>> Thanks for this little tutorial on properly measuring the current and
>> troubleshooting this sort of thing. It's always good to get tips from
>> those more experienced.
>> I did that test and the initial reading was about 65mA which I'm
>> guessing could still be safe, yes? no?
>>
>> I'm starting to suspect that it may now just be that the battery is
>> going on me. It's almost 5 years old, it has been used on a fairly
>> powerful system for 2 years, plus last week my wife had to pull over
>> and feed our 2 month old while she was out and she drained the
>> battery by trying to run the AC and fan while the engine was off.
>> That probably pushed the battery over the edge. Since it was down so
>> far that she had to ask someone for a boost.
>>
>> Friday night I did disconnect the battery completely from the
>> electrical system and the voltage on the battery remained at 12.25V.
>> Last night after I got the car back together around 11PM I took it
>> out for a quick 5 minute spin. When I got back the battery read 12.
>> 75V and with all cables connected it read about 11V this morning.
>> Could the battery just not have a proper "amp" capacity now and that
>> 65mA current is causing that drain, whereas on a new charged battery
>> it wouldn't be an issue?
>>
>> And thanks to the other posters for the info. It's good to know that
>> my two amps aren't a problems. My voltmeters show that I'm getting 14.
>> 2V when I'm running the car, so I'm suspecting that my alternator is
>> fine, though I guess I show check the cables running to it.
>>
>> Thanks again.
>
>
>

[krem]

haha good point, good luck with finding a solution by the way.....

> wrote in message
...
> I know that and you know that, but do you really expect a "yummy mummy"
> with a hot bod and great sense of humour to know that? Come on...
> really!
>
> (c;
>
>
>
> In > krem wrote:
> > From: "krem" >
> > Newsgroups: rec.audio.car
> > Subject: Re: Any amp experts online today?
> > Date: Sun, 02 May 2004 19:28:02 GMT
> >
> > The AC can't work if the car isn't running ......... no compressor
> >
> > > wrote in message
> > ...
> >> > In article >,
> >> > > wrote:
> >> >
> >> >> I have a slow drain on my battery and I can't track down where the
> >> >> problems is. I spent this afternoon tracking down where the
> >> >> problem might be. I thought it was with a modification to my
> >> >> lighting system I did but I eliminated that and I'm still having
> >> >> the drain problem.
> >> >>
> >> <snip>
> >>
> >> In > Kevin
> >> McMurtrie wrote:
> >> >
> >> > That's not the right way to diagnose the problem.
> >> >
> >> > Pull one of the cables off the battery. Wrap one stripped wire
> >> > around the battery post and another around the cable. Put the
> >> > cable back on the battery post loosely. Attach an ampmeter (5+ Amp
> >> > range first) between the two wires. Now lift the cable off the
> >> > battery and monitor the current. It's important that the car's
> >> > electrical system be powered to 12V before sending current through
> >> > the amp meter; the rush of power would kill it. Slide the cable
> >> > back on the battery while you change ampmeter modes to avoid
> >> > current surges.
> >> >
> >> > Now start pulling fuses and disconnecting things. You'll see
> >> > exactly how much current each device is using by watching the
> >> > reading on your ampmeter drop.
> >> >
> >> > It's possible that nothing is drawing too much power. Anything
> >> > less than 50mA is OK. That's 1.2 AH per day of drain. Batteries
> >> > can self discharge if they're in poor condition or if unpure water
> >> > has been added to them.
> >>
> >> Thanks for this little tutorial on properly measuring the current and
> >> troubleshooting this sort of thing. It's always good to get tips from
> >> those more experienced.
> >> I did that test and the initial reading was about 65mA which I'm
> >> guessing could still be safe, yes? no?
> >>
> >> I'm starting to suspect that it may now just be that the battery is
> >> going on me. It's almost 5 years old, it has been used on a fairly
> >> powerful system for 2 years, plus last week my wife had to pull over
> >> and feed our 2 month old while she was out and she drained the
> >> battery by trying to run the AC and fan while the engine was off.
> >> That probably pushed the battery over the edge. Since it was down so
> >> far that she had to ask someone for a boost.
> >>
> >> Friday night I did disconnect the battery completely from the
> >> electrical system and the voltage on the battery remained at 12.25V.
> >> Last night after I got the car back together around 11PM I took it
> >> out for a quick 5 minute spin. When I got back the battery read 12.
> >> 75V and with all cables connected it read about 11V this morning.
> >> Could the battery just not have a proper "amp" capacity now and that
> >> 65mA current is causing that drain, whereas on a new charged battery
> >> it wouldn't be an issue?
> >>
> >> And thanks to the other posters for the info. It's good to know that
> >> my two amps aren't a problems. My voltmeters show that I'm getting 14.
> >> 2V when I'm running the car, so I'm suspecting that my alternator is
> >> fine, though I guess I show check the cables running to it.
> >>
> >> Thanks again.
> >
> >
> >