pdiggitydogg

Well heres a good question for the electrical folks...

I have, what I believe to be, a pretty good drain on my electrical system. If I drive the car monday, not on tuesday, it will not start on wednesday - Voltage drops to ~10.

The charging system is good, 14volts
The battery is good

SO...I have gotten into the habit of just disconnecting the battery (inline switch) since jumping it isnt the best thing (nor is it always an option)


Today, I connected my DMM, inline with the (+) terminal...
Amps were at 0.20
Now, maybe Im mistaken, but that seems like a pretty good reading! I believe more than .30 is significant.

I DO have an alarm installed, but I have it disabled.

I decided to pull fuses anyways...
After pulling one I have rigged to the main fuel pump relay (per my how-to: http://www.hstuners.com/forums...24389) Amps dropped to 0.05.
I have this fuse switched, and the rating is the same, when the switch is set to off.
I know Im just disabling the main relay...

Does anyone else have this kind of amperage for their main relay?
If not, what should it be set to??

Everyone likes pictures....

sicones

The switch you have connected to the relay you installed gets its 12 volts from where??

It sounds like something is wrong with the relay, switch, or diode you connected.

pdiggitydogg

Its a constant 12v...as far as I know, its that way anyways.
(straight from the battery)

sicones

disconnect your relay and see if the drain goes away

instructor74

With the power switch off test across the pins for the contacts if you have a analog meter it will read more quickly set it to zero ohm scale. Look for continuity it should be open if the relay is good if the contacts are fused or closed you should see a dead short 0 ohm. If you read zero ohms pull the relay out and retest it should read open. If you still see a dead short zero ohms then you know the relay is bad. You can test the switch the same way. to test the diode disconnect power set your dmm to diode test the symbol will look like this --->I--- or you might have to use ohm scale if you do not have a diode test on your dmm check for shot or it being leak.

Former User

It sounds like a short in the main relay itself, although you also might have a short in the wire running between the switch and main relay.

pdiggitydogg

Tested the relay today - checks out just fine.

Im really looking for is someone to check their draw, compared to mine. 0.20 should be fine...

pdiggitydogg

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pdiggitydogg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Im really looking for is someone to check their draw, compared to mine. 0.20 should be fine...</TD></TR></TABLE>

up


On a side note:
Can anyone lay out a quick diagram of how I could connect the relay to a momentary switch? Im sure it would require 2 SPDTs but Im really not very good with that kind of stuff
Obviously, it would need 12v once the car started, but constant while being pressed.
Kinda like a push button start, but for the fuel pump...

JSPECSIR

that diagram seems kinda stupid to me. why dont you just put the switch inline with the wire you cut and be done with it. its coming from the ecu to a relay, so its not a hi current circuit. the switch itself would do the same job.

pdiggitydogg

recommended per EE_Chris

either way, the relay isnt going to cause an increase in draw - if anything, its just "useless"

sicones

yea, lose the relay, you don't need it, you only need a relay if you were splicing into the fuel pump power wire

You don't even need the diode because the signal is coming from a switch, the diode is supposed to suppress back EMF which would not damage a regular switch. You only need it when the output is from some sensitive low voltage signal.



Modified by sicones at 5:49 PM 5/8/2008

fastrc2

okay you measured 200 miliiamps, which is excessive, i work in a dealer for benz and anything over 60 milliamps which is read as 0.060ma ona meter is excessive, and we have way more electronics on standby than a honda. i have a 98 hx i havent measured my draw, but i know we should have 40 tops without an aftermarket alarm. the problem you are running into is, that the amount of current, [200ma] is about what it takes for the coil in a relay. so i wonder if a relay is getting partially energized or if it is, and the component it switches on isnt becuase it may need more than 1 switched power, so you only see the draw of the coil, anyhoo, the problem you need to eliminate is weather the relay internally is the cause of the draw, or is something before the relay, like the wiring or the switch is telling the relay to enrgize the one leg, and it is operating normally as a slave to lets say the ignition switch, so unfortunatly, i reviewed my factory service manual, does nto give me a wirinng diagram for the ins and outs of this unit, but i know you should have a contant ground, a contant power, and a at least one switched power. these all need to be functioning correctly for you to blame the relay. if one of the switched pwoers stays on, then the new realy will just do the same.