Battery drain after amp install

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bony_13

Member
 Cambs
I have been suffering from battery drain which I believe is linked to my aftermarket amp, because the car was fine over winter before my audio install. I plan to charge up the car and do some testing with a mutli-meter this weekend.

I disconnected the remote wire thinking this was the cause but the problem of battery drain has continued. Is it possible that the amp needs to be told to switch off as well as on?! Or do I have some sort of short?

I’m really not an electronics guru – it’s probably evident! So looking for some help on here:
- How is it best to measure battery drain / current draw?
- Is it worth testing the alternator and battery as well? And how do I do that?
- Where is the best place to take a switched live feed to use as the amp remote?

thanks :thumbsup:
 
The remote wire is what would turn the amp on and off.

Has the amp been damaged/smell burnt?

In terms of measuring current draw, you'd need to disconnect one of the battery terminals and put your multimeter in between.

To test your alternator, start the car up. Test the voltage across the battery. It should be around 14v.

Checking your battery, it should rest at 12v. I believe halfords do a free battery check.

Unsure on where to get a switched feed from in the boot, I'd run a breakout fuse from the fusebox behind the dash and run the remote that way.
 
thanks Neil.

Yes I have got a breakout fuse ready to fit it at the weekend. Just thought i'd ask for alternative options before i go lifting the trim again.

So if I'm correct ??
1) To test alternator I need the car running and to put the voltmeter across +ve and -ve terminals on the battery.
2) To test the battery I need to put the voltmeter across +ve and -ve terminals with the ignition off.
3) To test for current draw, I need to disonnect the negative terminal, and test the ammeter across the +ve and ground point.
 
bony_13 said:
thanks Neil.

Yes I have got a breakout fuse ready to fit it at the weekend. Just thought i'd ask for alternative options before i go lifting the trim again.

So if I'm correct ??
1) To test alternator I need the car running and to put the voltmeter across +ve and -ve terminals on the battery.
2) To test the battery I need to put the voltmeter across +ve and -ve terminals with the ignition off.
3) To test for current draw, I need to disonnect the negative terminal, and test the ammeter across the +ve and ground point.
Click to expand...

All good apart from point 3.
To test for drain disconnect negative terminal from battery put the ammeter between the negative terminal of the battery and the negative cable from the car you have just removed, effectively reconnecting the battery through the ammeter. NEVER put the ammeter between the live and earth you WILL either blow the internal fuse in the meter or melt the leads.

Also resting voltage of a good battery should be above 12.2v minimum, if you have just switched the engine off it could be as much as 12.6v

Have you changed the radio from the oem unit ?


Stuart
 
to test current i would dsconnect either of the battery wires and then put my meter in series with the disconnected wires
 
Thanks for the advice gents, will have a play around at the weekend - without frying my multimeter or myself!

I have disconnected the amp completely tonight and given it some charge, will see if it holds until the weekend and that would pretty much guarantee it is the amp.

It's an aftermarket headunit, but when I tested the blue remote-live wire there was 0amps so took the feed of the headunit loom itself (a spare pin in the main block).
 
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