headlight fuse pulling .54amps draw?!?! parasitic draw [SATURN Alternator]

ApexVIII · Aug 3, 2009

ok sooo,
i am getting .50amps draw, i think i should be at like .005amps or something which is causing my battery to go dead really fast.

i pulled all the fuses in the car and nothing changed. i pulled the radio/ room lamp on the under hood and it dropped to 0.43

then I pulled the 60amp fuse under the hood for the Fuse (+B) Fusible
and it dropped to .43 again

so then i pulled both the radio and the Fuse(+B) and it stayed at 0.43

then i pulled the 40amp from the under hood headlights and it dropped to .08 then i pulled the radio one again and it dropped to .01

so it seems like the head lights at causing the draw, i do have HID's, i unpluged them from the balasts and it did not change the draw at all. it stayed at .50amps

any deas?

EDIT: i would like to note that this is with the headligths TURNED OFF!
i am using a multi meter, and it it with the neg terminal off and the neg. Multimeter wire going to the terminal and the positive wire going to the neg batterycable

tenn-gsx · Aug 3, 2009

Disconnect the balast power supply and see what you get.

ApexVIII · Aug 3, 2009

tenn-gsx said:
Disconnect the balast power supply and see what you get.

i thought that i did, but then i realized that what i did was disconnect the ballast from the wires that go to the HID bulb.... at least i think i will double check this again later tonight when i get home.

does any one have a wiring diagram that i can look and see exactly what all goes threw the head light fuse? is high beams, headlights maybe foglights??(i dont have any)

TOONAH · Aug 3, 2009

Ok. I am an electronic technician. A 500 mA drain is a little high but not unusual. Most ecm/ecu's draw that much. A fully charged car battery should be able to supply that for months before becoming fully discharged. So you have some other problem you have not mentioned. Would "abnormal/premature battery discharge" describe it? Is your battery in nominal condition? Is your battery charging properly?. Is your alternator output
13.6V @ 60A load? Please describe your actual problem. Test and verify each component
in the charging system.

ApexVIII · Aug 3, 2009

TOONAH said:
Ok. I am an electronic technician. A 500 mA drain is a little high but not unusual. Most ecm/ecu's draw that much. A fully charged car battery should be able to supply that for months before becoming fully discharged. So you have some other problem you have not mentioned. Would "abnormal/premature battery discharge" describe it? Is your battery in nominal condition? Is your battery charging properly?. Is your alternator output
13.6V @ 60A load? Please describe your actual problem. Test and verify each component
in the charging system.

i am running a Saturn 95amp alternator, i get mid to high 13v driving

if i turn my headlights on and the fan for the AC or heater on high i can dip down to low 12's at idle but driving i am maybe low 13;s with both of those on.

i thoguth 50 to 25mili amps is normal anything above that was to much? im saying i am at .50amps so half an amp

PieEyedPiper · Aug 4, 2009

ApexVIII said:
i am running a Saturn 95amp alternator, i get mid to high 13v driving

if i turn my headlights on and the fan for the AC or heater on high i can dip down to low 12's at idle but driving i am maybe low 13;s with both of those on.

Sounds like old/bad wiring, have you done "the big 3" upgrade?

ApexVIII · Aug 4, 2009

PieEyedPiper said:
Sounds like old/bad wiring, have you done "the big 3" upgrade?

umm have not heard of it LOL

, so probably not

wanna share what it is? LOL

Cesar · Aug 4, 2009

how are you measuring it, and where?

ApexVIII · Aug 4, 2009

Cesar said:
how are you measuring it, and where?

i am using a multi meter, and it it with the neg terminal off and the neg. Multimeter wire going to the terminal and the positive wire going to the neg batterycable

i should note that this is with the headlights OFF, nothing is reciving power to it, just what normally draws current when the car is off,

that is the problem because the headlights should not draw any where near this ammount of amperage when they are not turned on.

luv2rallye · Aug 4, 2009

TOONAH said:
A 500 mA drain is a little high but not unusual. Most ecm/ecu's draw that much.

Not true with car off! The ECU and radio memories together draw less than 50mA max.
You don't have the interior lights on due to the door open? Aftermarket alarm? Try pulling the headlight and taillight relays to see draw effect.

ApexVIII · Aug 4, 2009

luv2rallye said:
Not true with car off! The ECU and radio memories together draw less than 50mA max.
You don't have the interior lights on due to the door open? Aftermarket alarm? Try pulling the headlight and taillight relays to see draw effect.

i do have an aftermarket alarm,
when i ran the test no doors were open and no lights were on, i opend the door just the check and the number jumped LOL

do you know what all runs threw the headlights fuse?

PieEyedPiper · Aug 4, 2009

ApexVIII said:
umm have not heard of it , so probably not

wanna share what it is?

SoundDomain: "Big 3" Upgrade Thread, With Pictures
That should fill in the blanks for everyone. While you have a separate issue, I recommend this to everyone. It sure don't hurt and the results are well documented and this is not limited to just the audio enthusiasts.

Hope you solve you drain problems though!

luv2rallye · Aug 4, 2009

ApexVIII said:
do you know what all runs threw the headlights fuse?

The 40A "headlamp" fuse powers the alt, headlight relay, and taillight relay. The headlight relay then powers the headlights themselves, fog lights, hi beam indicator, stock theft alarm. Try disconnecting your aftermarket alarm to see drain effect.

ApexVIII · Aug 4, 2009

luv2rallye said:
The 40A "headlamp" fuse powers the alt, headlight relay, and taillight relay. The headlight relay then powers the headlights themselves, fog lights, hi beam indicator, stock theft alarm. Try disconnecting your aftermarket alarm to see drain effect.

did not even think about that LOL

i will try that right now!! thanks!!

ApexVIII · Aug 4, 2009

ok, this is is not
Alarm,
Gauge cluster (LED's)
HID's
Headlights

update

well its the saturn alternator, i pull the plug and it drops from .54 to .08

ApexVIII · Aug 5, 2009

the alternator should ne draw any amp,s being that it is a saturn alternator correct? so it only has the 2 wires i think its the Field and another one

matthewdesigns · Aug 5, 2009

There's a weird parasitic draw issue with Saturn alternators if they are not wired up correctly. I'm pretty sure my friend found the cure for it over on the Link forums...I see that you have Link, so you might try searching over there. Or PM JackM here (owner of JacksTransmissions) and see if he'll tell you himself, or give you the thread over on the Link forums.

ApexVIII · Aug 5, 2009

ahh ok sweet i will pm him now!

matthewdesigns said:
There's a weird parasitic draw issue with Saturn alternators if they are not wired up correctly. I'm pretty sure my friend found the cure for it over on the Link forums...I see that you have Link, so you might try searching over there. Or PM JackM here (owner of JacksTransmissions) and see if he'll tell you himself, or give you the thread over on the Link forums.

The Top DSM Community on the Web

headlight fuse pulling .54amps draw?!?! parasitic draw [SATURN Alternator]

ApexVIII

tenn-gsx

ApexVIII

TOONAH

ApexVIII

PieEyedPiper

ApexVIII

Cesar

ApexVIII

luv2rallye

ApexVIII

PieEyedPiper

luv2rallye

ApexVIII

ApexVIII

ApexVIII

matthewdesigns

ApexVIII

Similar threads

Latest posts

Build Thread Updates

Vendor Updates

Latest Classifieds