I think my alarm is slowly draining my battery. My question is how do you perform a parasitic draw test? Can a bad ground on a alarm cause it to drain my battery? If it is the alarm, can it be any wire, or is it normally a few wires in particular i should look for? Thanks.

 

The simple test is to unplug the alarm, and see if you still have the problem, if you need to know right away you will need a multimeter, set the DC amps disconnect batt. pos.(+) and install meter in between the batt. and batt. terminal, that will tell you what the draw is, [there will always be a little, memory for HU, clock, alarm] then you can pull fuses for things that are on constant power, when the draw drops, you have found the draw. 94

 

if I do indeed have a parasitic drain, how long would it take for the battery to die?

Over the past 2.5 years, I've have used up 3 batteries. Each battery I have owned lasted between 10-14 months. The only aftermarket electronic accessory I have installed is a alarm. Does this sound like a parasitic drain or just bad luck with battery cells? 2 of the batteries were Optimas.

 

That will depend on how big a draw it is.

What is the make and model of the alarm? 94

 

the alarm is a clifford avantgaurd 5 with remote start, no "extra accessories installed like smart windows.

 

depends what Optima batteries.. they aren't really made for cranking over the car unless its the redtop

 

Verify you don't have a Lojack system in your car. If you do, you might need to have Lojack inspect the battery that comes with that system (unless you know where that battery is stashed. If it's bad, you can have Lojack replace it. If you aren't sure, you might want to call Lojack to find out if your car does have a transmitter (based on youv VIN).