draining battery...

[jtgh]

the issue: battery bad, alternator bad, or parasitic load (ghost). which is it?

above test.
all accessories off, headlamps, radio, heater-fan, parking lamps, Radio,cd , servo amps, lowjack, all doors closed, including any glove box lamps, or console tray lamps.
when if fact EVERTHING is off ( key out of ignition).
then look for things on in the dark , if you can. look for lamps on everwhere.

after all that, then place the amp meter in series with neg lead.
put leads of meter on 20amp ( or 10) amp measure ports of the meter
connect as shown.
take a reading with knob on amps.
if it looks low then put the leads back to normal , then put the meter knob to 200ma range
repeat the test, take a reading, if current is below 30 ma, ( 0.03 amps ) then car is ok.
mine reads 10 to 20 ma on 3 cars ma, miliamps. a miliamp is .01 amps.

there are 2 natural loads on any car, the radio channel memery wire and the ECU memory wire. Add 10 ma more for an alarm.
this answers is to everyone checking loads, not just you.

what to do if i find a load, like say 200ma.
easy , pull every fuse 1 at a time until it goes away.
one time , I had to pull the alternator because it was leaking. (in the regulator)
btw: it charged perfectly , aint that a hoot.

finding leakers can be easy or very hard.

[jtgh]

If you have a ghost current try my page on this topic

drain

[JLX 1993]

Thanks guys!! This is great... truly a family of Suzukis

[JLX 1993]

I managed to test with the car running, it's about 45 Vma, and closer to 50 not running, what does this mean? When I want to test the alternator, where do I hook up the tester? Do I need to take off alternator, or wires, etc? Thanks again.

[JLX 1993]

testing thru the neg. terminal and the battery post, it's approx 45-47 Vma...

[JLX 1993]

Battery dead again!! Charged it yesterday evening, was running earlier, turned it off, now it's dead again.... please help!!

[jtgh]

47 ma or .047 amperes is mostly ok, tad high but current rises at lower temps.

really it gets down to 3 things (assuming wires good, connections clean, non missing )
1- battery is no good.
2- alternator is no good.
3- huge drain with key off.

there are two paths here for people
people with a Mulitmeter (dmm , dvm etc)
and those with out.
WITH:
in my first post , i gave you the 2 magic numbers, I even looked them up for your climate.
if you measure any battery that was fully charged by you , you can tell if it is fully charged 12.6 volts. (rarely we see a battery pass and be bad, more later)
if your alternator puts out (measure volts across the battery terms),
14.5 to 15.3 volts dc at 2k rpm then the alternator is good. (FSM quote)

WITHOUT tools:
no tools, or no DMM.?

then replace the battery with a known good one. ( out of a car the starts in your climate)
some batteries can get old and wear down equally and have reduced capacity.
then when it gets cold , your Cap is only 1/4 normal. (Klondike fever).

At any battery store you can drive in and they will throw a load tester on it.
it will say , good or bad ( no question about it)

if the battery is good and the alternator is good and connected, then you must have a drain.

some drains , go away when you lift the battery post and then come back while you are sleeping ( ecu has issues or some other accessory option)

you still have not told us ye? what car you are driving and what options it has nor
what accessories you have and that are non stock oem.

do you have extra wires hanging off that Plus post battery term. in the car, ?
do you have Spaghetti wires wire-nutted on under the dash for gosh knows what.?
45-47 Vma... do you mean 47. mA ? where is the decimal point.?

or 470. ma ( 1/2 amp that is and very bad)

here is my drain test:

drain

can be done with a dome lamp as a test device.


If you do have a drain, and it is one of those that fall into the Tricky catagory, you will
need a special ampmeter to catch it. Sears stores sells this special tool for $60.
it is a AMP CAMP DMM. It can measure DC AMPS. with no connection.
you can with this device find a drain, with out disrupting the circuit !
dont be fooled with cheaper AC. amp DMM clamps , they wont work.

Interm solutions:
you can install a battery disconnect device. ( a huge switch on the battery Plus cable)
turn if off and sleep.

does your dash charge lamp come on with KEYON no start?
does it go out when you start the car ?
lots of unanswered questions.





your car is:?
199x
1.6L
8valve /16v
5sp or auto
2door or 4
no options,or full of them , low jacks , mega amps, CB, sat radio, Alarm, imboblilzer ,etc.


keep in mind , not every problem is simple , some times you need to troubleshoot the problem.

tells us more ,(answer the ? above) and we can give you much better advice.

happy Holiday.

[tracka96]

Here's a really cool thing if you're not into using meters: Walmart has a thing in the auto dept that you plug into your cig lighter and gives you a digital readout. No buttons to push or anything. So, with the engine not running you should read about 12.6, and with it running about 14.5 or so. I think it cost about 15.00, I got one a year ago to keep up with my camper battery. Tracka96

[JLX 1993]

there's an extra wire that goes with the cable going to Positive terminal. there's couple wires that are looped to ?heat sensor and ?? there's no decimal point. I'll put other charged battery later and try/test again.
It's a 16 valve 1994.. with no accesories 5 speed 4 door 1.6

[jtgh]

based on what you said , your battery is no good.
If alternator is putting out 14.5 v while spinning motor at a high rpm, 2k is spec.
"AND" the amp meter was connected properly and dial was on 200ma or 100ma scale or above.
Then the battery is bad.
Here is USA, (canada ?) we just drive to any auto store , and say , hey mista can yah
checks me battery.

this guy jockies out , sticks on the load cell and bingo 15 seconds , the answer.

it's free to everyone. Nanavut? I dont know. that is a little , afield, me reacons.


in my drain page I show how to test the meter, I do that because every meter I pick up
has a blown AMP fuse inside , so any meter not tested , shows NO drain.
sending me , on a wild goose chase.
Always validate the meter when using amps. ( the school of hard knocks)

that hand held LED voltage tester , $2 at my local, will tell you , alternator or battery bad. it has instructions. with a drain, get up in AM , place too. it will say,dead battery.
bingo DRAIN you have. finding is a WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY.

You have 3 choices,
guess and spend money ( may take many tries)
pay someone to do it.
or buy a $3-15 volt meter and take 2 readings.
It is your choice.

By the way, in the FSM , they warn that you do not want to have a short in the
charge light circuit (to ground or 12v) or the Alternator regulator will blow up.
so in this case , you can see people replacing alternators up to 3 times.
There is one guy on here that did that same thing. Sadly.
the truth is , guessing , does not always work .

I hope I have helped.

Question:
Have you tried another battery yet? , moms, dads, sis? ( a loaner)
check the height very careful acid burns are not fun, expecially in the eyes.
Suzuki's have limited height.