Parasitic drain - what’s normal?

If you have an auto lights switch fitted, please be aware that if left in "auto" it WILL drain some battery power when not in use. To stop this just switch to "off" then draws no power.
 
Pinkythelabrat said:
Let’s see you go flat now Mr Battery!

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You could always install a house solar roof panel on the roof of the A2 that way you get ¼ of a kilowatt of power
I think you main problem though with solar charging is where you live I hear the sun never shines that far North


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Small power bank jump starter slightly lighter and easier to fit. Although BSS to SSS ( solar sky system ) may be an interesting project for someone.
 
Hopefully there will be sufficient light to offset to small standby drain. It only needs maybe half an Amp average during daylight hours

It’s a flexible 40w panel so weighs very little. It’s just connected to a solar charge controller and a 12v cigarette socket so easy to disconnect - although I can drive with it in place too.

I do have an emergency jump starter but it’s bad for my battery to discharge so low all the time. 11.8v after one drive in the last two weeks since charging.

I’ll turn off auto function. Thats a good idea.


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depronman said:
You could always install a house solar roof panel on the roof of the A2 that way you get ¼ of a kilowatt of power
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To what point? 250w is way more than required by the battery. Even for an EV, 1A is not very useful. Indeed the minimum charge rate for most EV's is 5A and that's with AC.

RAB
 
Thanks RAB.

I was aware there was some loss of energy due to the glass but I had no idea it was so high! 60% is ridiculous! Lucky I overspecced the panel I guess.

11.8v is a worry. I agree. The battery is only about a year old and is an F18 or whatever was recommended by the forum - I can’t currently check. I hope it hasn’t been damaged by overly deep discharging but I’m going to keep an eye on it.

Time will tell but for now stable at 11.8v beats the ever downwards spiral.

Hopefully the garage have kept it charged while it’s been getting repaired for the last few weeks... (sudden panic!)


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The glass is formulated to minimise heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter, hence the 60% loss.

Your car's battery will be the least of the garage's worries (in my experience) - until they get around to starting it. You needed a new one anyway! Deep discharging is usually fatal, it depends how long it was flat for.

RAB
 
Not that it is relevant to the A2 but I suspect if you used one with a heated screen that loss would be more than 60%?
 
RAB said:
The glass is formulated to minimise heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter, hence the 60% loss.

Your car's battery will be the least of the garage's worries (in my experience) - until they get around to starting it. You needed a new one anyway! Deep discharging is usually fatal, it depends how long it was flat for.

RAB
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At least I’ll be in the right place for a jump start.

I didn’t immediately note the parasitic drain at the beginning of the COVID outbreak. I went from 300 miles a week to pretty much nothing for a couple of months. Hesitant starting and some light dimming was my clue and a volt meter showed I think about 10.8 on the cigarette socket.

I hope it’s not irreparably damaged but I’m going to hold off replacing until I’m sure the parasitic drain is suitably countered by the panel.

Or I’ve managed to completely sort it (Timmus-Time maybe). I managed to lower the drain level but it’s still higher than I’d like...


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This is useful for measuring battery drain:

Home Page, Thomas Electrical Distributors Ltd

Home Page
thomaselectricaldistributors.co.uk thomaselectricaldistributors.co.uk

Measurement down to 1mA. Just clamp around the +ve battery cable. No need to dis/re-connect anything. From memory, the normal battery drain is 40 to 50mA, so left for a couple of months, a battery might not have too much charge left, even without any unnormal drain.

RAB
 
RAB said:
This is useful for measuring battery drain:

Home Page, Thomas Electrical Distributors Ltd

Home Page
thomaselectricaldistributors.co.uk thomaselectricaldistributors.co.uk

Measurement down to 1mA. Just clamp around the +ve battery cable. No need to dis/re-connect anything. From memory, the normal battery drain is 40 to 50mA, so left for a couple of months, a battery might not have too much charge left, even without any unnormal drain.

RAB
Click to expand...

Thanks RAB.

I’ve actually already got a DC clamp meter but mine wasn’t accurate enough to give me a good idea of drain - a fair bit of fluctuation.

I ended up using Spike’s in line recording method.

It’s just a nuisance to be honest and a new issue for me. The car hasn’t ever actually failed to start. Good boy that he is.


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Pinkythelabrat said:
At least I’ll be in the right place for a jump start.

I didn’t immediately note the parasitic drain at the beginning of the COVID outbreak. I went from 300 miles a week to pretty much nothing for a couple of months. Hesitant starting and some light dimming was my clue and a volt meter showed I think about 10.8 on the cigarette socket.

I hope it’s not irreparably damaged but I’m going to hold off replacing until I’m sure the parasitic drain is suitably countered by the panel.

Or I’ve managed to completely sort it (Timmus-Time maybe). I managed to lower the drain level but it’s still higher than I’d like...


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Have you fitted a USB PSU perhaps? For phone/dash cam/etc? Unless they're on an ignition switched supply, they draw current even when no load is being drawn.
Mac.
 
Thanks Mac. I do have a dash cam but it is ignition switched

I suspect my door lock de-safe issue perhaps or maybe my Connects2 USB media player.

Things to check when I get the car back.


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