I’ve had a parasitic draw going on 4 years now.I’ve tried every trick in the book and can’t seem to figure out the fix.So I reached out to a good friend/mechanic and bingo he had the solution..A DIVORCE !!
Thank you for showing the entire process. All other videos simply show if theres a drain, but this was incredibly helpful seeing the process after confirming a drain.
It's somewhere around 0.75w, which is not much but still more than nothing. Maybe enough to see through all the insulating plastic, maybe not. Would have been an interesting test!
Only a tough Russian guy would work in that weather. Done it myself in Edmonton. I moved to Vancouver since I don't have fur. Have voltmeter but no fur.
@@henryhenry3832Hey, I'm proud to know you! Wow you must be tough! Are you Norwegian? Last time I was up there way north of Edmonton it was 60 below. Not fit for man or beast. My dad ran a lumber company that serviced the north. Hayward Lumber where the Coliseum is now. Original ice road truckers. Could only do some routes in the frozen winter. I got out in my early 20's after my electronics and some automotive experience and a trip to UBC out here with nice spring weather, and when the AMA had to get a 10-ton truck to pull out the 3-ton truck that was trying to get my car out of 6 feet of snow in my back lane over on 69th Street at 121 Ave. Tried winching to the tough barricade blocking 121 ave from truck traffic but that didn't work. I absolutely hated the snow and the cold. When we had a good Ukrainian mayor the streets out that way were better maintained. Otherwise if ya drove from Vancouver to Edmonton, the worst roads you would encounter in winter were in East Edmonton.
@@fredbach6039 yah it gets good and cold here but for the most part it sounds worse than it is, the worst jobs in the cold are the ones that only take 1-2 hours because if it’s cold and it’s a big job i pull out my parachute and frostfighter 🤣, I did a job in rainbow lake one time that was tough, it was -52c with a nasty strong wind that kept blowing my parachute off and the stump pan on the excavator was to small to fit in with my heavy winter gear on and it was dripping hydraulic oil all over me🤣, I really started questioning my life choices after the second day.
I had the same Issue with a 2004 Nissan Murano, it was driving me crazy because it used to drain the battery if you let it sit for a week, the vehicle was drawing 110 Milliamps, after testing every circuit I found out a TSB talking about the issue, Nissan have no specific repair procedure, they only recommends to disconnect the vehicle battery if is going to be unused for more than a week to avoid battery discharge! Now after more than a year I clearly see that I did not check for passenger seat and I think neither Nissan's TSB's engineers! Thank you Ivan!
Ivan tracing this current drain at night is either insane, optimistic, and/or knowing the owner needs the truck tomorrow. I would have done the same thing but at my age I need a football stadium floodlight to see anything. I am so glad you came back the next morning everything is so visible. Let there be light!
Man, working in the cold can be miserable on it's own and then on a Nissan with a parasitic drain on top of it 🤧🤮! Thanks for the excellent video Ivan, appreciate your time and the key programming tutorial!
For testing current draw testing I recommend using a "DC" clamp meter, they allow quick testing of individual wires without disconnecting them. The Uni-T UT210E is my preferred as it will display down to a few milliamps
Yes the meters are not great for exact readings and do drift very quickly. In my experience they give reliable indication down to 10mA, you just have to keep using the zero button to cancel the drift
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics Иван, я пользуюсь вышеуказанной моделью токовых клещей. Очень точные измерения на малых токах. Легко измеряют 10 или 20 mA. Великолепный инструмент! Я купил их по почте, прямо из Китая. Дешево.
Things break on one of these old, high milage cars, you have to live with it, it has no manual back and forth so the seat is stuck. Probably was partial close connection sending current through the motor, but not enough to activate it. I am surprised power to the seat adjustment is not cut off when the key is not in.
Ivan solves it again. I saw the notification last night. Waited until this morning to watch. Great way to spend a cold Saturday morning. PHD video and morning coffee.
Don't follow this video. South main auto has a great video on parasitic draw. It's better to check the voltage across the fuses, of there is voltage on a fuse, it means there is current flow. The advantage over unplugging stuff willy nilly is that you don't have to wait after each thing for the draw to stabilise again.
@@kain0m you must have understood the video wrong or you explained it wrong? Because it all you are looking for is voltage across the fuse like you said than it doesn’t mean you have current flow, it means you’re fuse is intact, and if you have voltage drop that means you have a bad fuse lol.
Another great Automotive whodunnit, brilliant methodical diagnosis as per usual. -6C is chilly, for me in the UK. I have worked in Michigan, Iowa, and Ontario Canada in the winter, first time refuelling the car was COLD. Thanks for sharing.
Classic battery hold down. Bungee cord. Wow if I had a dollar for every time I saw a bungee cord being used for a battery hold down! Nice work Ivan. I’ve gotta get one of those cameras.
Ivan the Transponder is the chip in the key(for the immobiliser), they're just remotes(key fobs or whatever you guys call them over there) that generally communicate with the BCM.
Be careful with the waiting times for modules to go to sleep. I had a Ford Taurus that had me chasing in loops around a battery drain, just gave it around 15 minutes and saw about 300ma and I would start chasing the draw, it always ended up at the center junction box low current module and I could not see which modules was not going to sleep. I ended up following the manual and gave it 40 minutes prior starting my test and I noticed the draw was down to 12ma around 35 minutes later, the issue was that the battery was not holding charge anymore but customer said that the drain had been happening for a while (almost a year) so I was convinced that there was a drain because I felt I had given it enough time to sleep. I say give it at least 1 hour before doing any parasitic draw troubleshooting.
20*F huh? Where's the 15mph wind that _I_ must endure? Must be nice- my LCD on my DVM just freezes here! Come to my Mohawk Valley- such high humidity- the cold & wind knock you over. Put away the tools- go inside and hibernate like a bear- get under blankets with your beautiful Wife- and forget about this cruel world. Please don't ever forget- you are surrounded by many who love you, Ivan.
I had a 70ma drain Honda Odyssey and it was coming from the radio because kit had been installed in back of radio. After removing it it was down to 20-30ma. I used the same process and free harbor freight tools multi-meter Great video there.
I dream of living in a climate like that! Born and raised in Massachusetts, USA. Today the high was 26°F. This morning it was 11°F. Will be single-digit temps all next week, along with some snow. Sun sets at 4:53PM, and rises at 7:08AM right now. Days have been getting longer for a month now, thankfully!
My wife's one car has a seat control switch that sticks in the back position. The guy who worked on her car has long legs and had to adjust the seat all the way back, but would never remember that the switch stuck so when she picked up her car the battery was always dead. Our solution was to always put a note on the seat reminding him to move the control switch back to neutral after he adjusted the seat.
Great Isolation of the battery draw!...My G35 even when new, the draw was about 75ma...I would have to drive the car at least once a week to keep the battery charged.
Coincidentally I had to perform a parasitic draw test today on the trusty Honda winter beater. Due to the UK lock down it gets used once a week to the supermarket and back. For the last couple of months it's been getting labored on the start culminating in a no crank this week. Draw was only 20 mA and the alternators putting out over 14v, so had to order a new battery after all. Thanks to your videos it's nice to be actually sure rather than just shooting the parts cannon.
Well, looks like I got burned by my old multi meter. New battery is going flat despite the meter still indicating 20mA draw, so did the voltage test on the fuses and bingo, drivers window motor. Time to order an new meter, any recommendations for the home gamer?
Oh dear, I'm missing the Russian no parts fix of the passenger seat switch! Going into withdrawl! Not! 8-)). I am curious to see if the switch is indeed at fault and if a little glue would fix it.
I do also enjoy Russian Repairs but ,I feel time is money and the customer did not want spend any more money...It's a shame because it looks like a truck worth fixing right.
I think it's my favourite thing aftermarket garbage to make a mechanics life so easy to diagnose just remove the garbage install OEM parts and your sorted .
Great video as always, Ivan. Once, just once, I'd love to get a parasitic draw culprit that pointed to a single component right off the bat. But noooooo. It always seems to start with the largest amp fuse powering the greatest number of components, from the horn in the front to the license plate light in the back and everything in between, lol. My FLIR often cuts the diag time down considerably and paid for itself within a few days.
Hey Ivan: good catch on that passenger door switch. Good thing you caught it before it turned into a "smoker". BTW: I got some bad news last week when I tried to register my Launch Diagun IV on AutoAuth. I learned that it is not listed among the "authorized" scan tools. I suppose that wasn't all that surprising but, when I called the Launch USA telephone number that AutoAuth provides to ask if there were any plans to get the Launch DiaGun IV included among the authorized scan tools they told me, "The Launch DiaGun IV is NOT a Launch USA supported tool, nor is it covered by the Launch Warranty or update programs in the USA. Only Launch USA is partnered with AutoAuth, not Launch International". The nice lady at Launch USA made it "crystal clear" that the DiaGun IV is a grey-market import. They don't sell it, they don't support it, and they sure as heck won't fix it. Man... talk about a kick in the nuts! I had no trouble at all registering my Snap-On Verus Edge, Solus Ultra, or my AutoEnginuity. Oh... and they didn't like my old Autel DS708 either.
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics Since 2018 most FCA employ a Secure Gateway module. AutoAuth is a third-party clearing house who facilitates "authorized" scan tools access to vehicles employing secure gateway technology. Ostensibly, the reason for the secure gateway is to keep hackers out of the electronics of modern cars. You will find, as I did, that you can NOT clear codes, view live data PIDs, or do bi-directional controls on a Secure Gateway vehicle UNLESS you are using an "authorized", registered, current, and internet connected scan tool. If you Google AutoAuth or Secure Gateway you'll get dozens of different explanations and descriptions from every perspective. My perspective... well, lets just say that it isn't surprising to see thousands of Google hits on how to bypass the secure gateway... if you don't mind wasting hours physically locating the gateway module and hundreds of dollars for the tools, in order to bypass it. It's certainly another hoop for independent shops to jump through. Seems that every morning we wake up to another ass-hole trying to mess with our livelihood. In this case, I must pay another $50 a year to some organization so they may condescend to "permit me" to use my scan tools so that I may make a living... while making it as difficult and expensive as they possibly can. Please note that even though my AutoEnginuity scan tool is blessed by AutoAuth, they have actually made it useless because I can't use the WiFi connection to the OBDII dongle because the scan tool "MUST" also be connected to the internet while you are accessing the vehicle (my old laptop can only connect to one thing at a time... so now I need a new $2,000 laptop). Sorry for the rant... but the more I try to comply with (or circumnavigate) these new piles of crap, the more I find how much a relatively simple process has been made more complicated, more convoluted, and MUCH more expensive. Where the hell did our R2R rights go?
I have a very similar issue with my 2013 subaru outback passenger seat. That front/back switch sticks if you push it forward and if you forget to manually click it back to center position the motor will stay on draining the battery pretty quickly
Once again demonstrating the versatility of the Diagun. Another person also asks, would the thermal imaging camera have shown heat from the bad switch? Wiring diagrams r invaluable. Too bad BBB doesn’t seem to offer them any more. Someone mentioned many local library’s have links to All Data or Mitchell. Good reason to get a library card
I stopped doing this about 20 years ago. Customer shows up at 6 and wants his/her ride fixed. At 9 or 10 pm..i get done. Customer now says. O...i don't have that much on me..takes off and never seen again.
Every time I hear "very interesting" I think of Arte Johnson`s german soldier in Rowan and Martin`s Laugh in. lol Nice fix Ivan. Surprised it wasn`t the aftermarket junk remote start.
Interesting the one key FOB would be transmitting in the 433 MHZ range which is in the 70 cm ham band in the US. Doesn't seem legal to use without a ham license.
These parasitic draws always seem to pop up in winter months. My 2016 F150 is doing it. Leaving key inside ( NO PUSH BUTTON START OPTION) and or very low draw device plugged into cig. lighter 12v socket, can sometimes leave me with 11.8vdc by morning at battery terminals - recent new battery. I suspect one of the two above items does not allow vehicle screen (sync ) to fully shut down.
Thanks for making this video I have an 05 Titan with this issues I will start working on soon. Question what kit is that you are using withe all the different wires and clamps and probes?
I worked on an Audi that had an odd problem like that once. Every time the wife drove the car the battery would be dead the next day so it would have to be jumped and the husband would drive the car for a few days to see if it would happen to him and it would be fine. They switch back and the next morning the battery would be dead again and she was getting blamed for leaving the headlights on or something. He brought the car and there was no issue that could be detected at that point and again the first time she drove the car the battery died, so she brought the car to be looked at and the problem was the position she put the seat at was shorting out the wiring and causing a massive draw. After rerouting the wires so they had more slack the problem was solved. No parts required.
I'm having a similar issue, except my '04 is running .76 amp. I tried to isolate the draw and thought I had it figured out. I had no idea that this block was stock. I disconnected the forward plug and dropped my draw by half. I thought I'd try starting the truck and my dash looked like a Christmas tree. Had to reconnect that. I'll have to go to the fuses next. I thought it might be the radio. It doesn't have sound. It's obviously picking up a signal. I scanned for Country stations and it found one. Anyhow, I have had radios pull batteries down before.
Hello Ivan, Brilliant diagnosis. I often wonder, is it possible to find a parasitic drain using only a test light? Great educational video. Thanks for sharing
@@irishmanshamrock8563 I helped my friend last week with a .65amp draw on a 1998 Nissan Skyline imported from Japan. We tracked it down the the engine control module. It was a pain in the ass, since we didn’t have any electrical schematics.
My husbands 2018 Titan has a drain it’s driving us nuts. I have appointment with Nissan the 8th hopefully they will be as through as u are.. it’s frustrating getting into your vehicle an not start an nothing look like it’s on. 2 days an it won’t stay charged
Hey Ivan -- nice work as usual. A puzzle about using FLIR in this manner. I've seen, more than once, people assuming or suggesting that this FLIR method works best if the ambient temperature is cold (ie: cold weather -- in winter, leave the vehicle outside the shop, rather than letting it acclimate to a comfy shop temperature). This makes no sense to me. Sure, the vehicle as a whole has to cool down uniformly to ambient temperature in order for the FLIR camera to pick out a small local difference somewhere. But surely, for a particular parasitic current, the fuse in the culprit circuit (or the culprit component itself) will rise in temperature above ambient by the same amount regardless of what that the ambient temperature is. On that basis, it should be equally identifiable on FLIR regardless of ambient temperature. What do you think? How does this pan out in practice?
@@robinrousseau1087 Yes, he's probably the best overall mechanic on youtube. But this guy is the best diagnostic technician. I think even better than Scanner Danner at this point.
Great Video as usual ! I was hoping you would take it out for a drive. ( You know, possible driveability issue after problem switch disconnected, Lol ) Actually I just wanted to hear your take on the 5.6. It is a Beast ! 305 HP . Yesssir.
I remember the day when 250MA on a carb car was normal. lol. I just did a 13 Rogue with a 185MA draw, that would kill the battery in 2 days. The smart PW switch was the problem. After that, it had a draw of 12 MA after 20 mins of sleep time.
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics Yes, the smart power window switch was the problem on that Rogue. Sometimes it would try to turn on by itself after the window was physically already in the full up position. Just a quick blip and shut off, about every 10-12 mins. It would do it so quickly that my Fluke 88 set up inline would only register 185mA, then back down to about 86mA. My scope was down, so it might've been more, I dunno. Didn't matter, the Fluke was good enough to catch it. I tried the re-learn procedure twice on the stock switch but it would do the same thing. New switch, re-learn and all is well. The dealer said it needed a new BCM....
@Ivan, Just a few questions: (1.)What about, instead of using that thermal imaging device, use an inexpensive point and measure thermometer? (2.)Would a 'no parts needed fix' include removing the switch, cleaning, the contacts, jumping the foward/reverse seat motors? (3.)And lastly, taping into a 'key or engine on' power supply (obviously after u've fixed the switch and eliminated/fixed the motors)?
Darn, not quick enough to be first. Said it was posted 16 mins. ago. I predict aftermarket remote start is the problem. Well I was half right. Interesting find on power seat switch being ever so slightly engaged.
Might have already been mentioned but I noticed that you erased all of the key fobs but only programmed the new one's in and left out the key fob on the keychain
Ah, all too common. When I hear parasitic draw and confirm it does, first thing I do is check for a remote start or a gps (the Honda dealership use to do that to high risk buyers.) 9/10 it would have a shorted remote start. 1/10 it would be a weird anomaly, left over audio splice ins, failing modules (Honda HFL are notorious and the D pillar ground in the vans) or a battery kissing death and causing modules to go into limbo.
Doesn't happen on a Toyota because seats are manual adjust. Toyota finally offers a power driver seat in 20 Tacoma and Tundra. My new Tundra has the power seat BUT here is a great example of why simple is infallible.
@@mariosaccoccio1688 I have never....never had a problem with a manual adjust seat on ANY Toyota yet....come to think about it I have rarely had ANY problems at all on anything with a Toyota. The worst for problems was the 04 Corolla...fuel pump and main computer....the newer ones were literally problem free.
I would think something was spilled into the switch or they left window open and rain entered. assuming they have wife/kids on that side, those are the usual "spill" culprits lmao :)
I know for VW Jetta, Passat normal parasitic drain should be about 4-6mA, which is the circuit that keeps the factory alarm running. This can be a nightmare. You also have to remember with most newer cars that use CAN bus, if you disconnect one module, the other module could be trying to communicate with the disconnected one and never go into the sleep mode.
Hi PHAD. I have a 2007 RAV4 V6 with 410,000 miles. I have changed the 5 TPMS sensors with ones from Rockauto. Toyota says something wong! The light blinks and goes on and sometimes goes off. Toyota won't fix as its aftermarket. Would you want a shot? I am in Maryland near Columbia.
Can I ask where you got those meter connections? They clamp onto the negative post and terminal a lot easier then normal meter but you don’t have to hold them. I think they are called the meter probes.
Dude you have no idea you are freaking awesome freaking awesome I'm a widow I try to save money and diagnose I shouldn't let your awesome you found my problem oh my goodness you're freaking awesome dude
I’ve had a parasitic draw going on 4 years now.I’ve tried every trick in the book and can’t seem to figure out the fix.So I reached out to a good friend/mechanic and bingo he had the solution..A DIVORCE !!
and you married the friend? Good for you!
You certain your friend wasn't a divorce lawyer? Don't listen to lawyers about things they specialize in!
Oh damn it’s another great episode of Pennsylvania’s best diagnostician
:D
7:11 Ivan moves the amp meter and the sun turns off. 14:42 Finds the fault, reconnects everything and the sun switches back on.
😁
That's why I like using the amp clamp. Don't have to interrupt the circuit.
Thank you for showing the entire process. All other videos simply show if theres a drain, but this was incredibly helpful seeing the process after confirming a drain.
I wonder if the thermal camera would have shown the heat in the switch? Good one Ivan. Thanks!
It's somewhere around 0.75w, which is not much but still more than nothing. Maybe enough to see through all the insulating plastic, maybe not. Would have been an interesting test!
Maybe not the switch, but the motor itself under the seat :)
Only a tough Russian guy would work in that weather. Done it myself in Edmonton. I moved to Vancouver since I don't have fur. Have voltmeter but no fur.
I must have a lot of fur because I’ve been a field mechanic for 19 years and live 6 hours north of Edmonton ☃️
@@henryhenry3832Hey, I'm proud to know you! Wow you must be tough! Are you Norwegian? Last time I was up there way north of Edmonton it was 60 below. Not fit for man or beast. My dad ran a lumber company that serviced the north. Hayward Lumber where the Coliseum is now. Original ice road truckers. Could only do some routes in the frozen winter. I got out in my early 20's after my electronics and some automotive experience and a trip to UBC out here with nice spring weather, and when the AMA had to get a 10-ton truck to pull out the 3-ton truck that was trying to get my car out of 6 feet of snow in my back lane over on 69th Street at 121 Ave. Tried winching to the tough barricade blocking 121 ave from truck traffic but that didn't work. I absolutely hated the snow and the cold. When we had a good Ukrainian mayor the streets out that way were better maintained. Otherwise if ya drove from Vancouver to Edmonton, the worst roads you would encounter in winter were in East Edmonton.
@@fredbach6039 yah it gets good and cold here but for the most part it sounds worse than it is, the worst jobs in the cold are the ones that only take 1-2 hours because if it’s cold and it’s a big job i pull out my parachute and frostfighter 🤣, I did a job in rainbow lake one time that was tough, it was -52c with a nasty strong wind that kept blowing my parachute off and the stump pan on the excavator was to small to fit in with my heavy winter gear on and it was dripping hydraulic oil all over me🤣, I really started questioning my life choices after the second day.
I had the same Issue with a 2004 Nissan Murano, it was driving me crazy because it used to drain the battery if you let it sit for a week, the vehicle was drawing 110 Milliamps, after testing every circuit I found out a TSB talking about the issue, Nissan have no specific repair procedure, they only recommends to disconnect the vehicle battery if is going to be unused for more than a week to avoid battery discharge! Now after more than a year I clearly see that I did not check for passenger seat and I think neither Nissan's TSB's engineers! Thank you Ivan!
In today's cars, which have many controllers, the permissible quiescent current is 60-70 mA, in older cars it was 20mA. Best regards
So, today's cars have bigger batteries?
Ivan tracing this current drain at night is either insane, optimistic, and/or knowing the owner needs the truck tomorrow. I would have done the same thing but at my age I need a football stadium floodlight to see anything. I am so glad you came back the next morning everything is so visible. Let there be light!
Man, working in the cold can be miserable on it's own and then on a Nissan with a parasitic drain on top of it 🤧🤮!
Thanks for the excellent video Ivan, appreciate your time and the key programming tutorial!
For testing current draw testing I recommend using a "DC" clamp meter, they allow quick testing of individual wires without disconnecting them. The Uni-T UT210E is my preferred as it will display down to a few milliamps
Interesting little meter. However, measuring very small amounts of current with clamp meter is not as accurate as in-series.
I'll check that out. In my experience amp clamps are not reliable under 200mA...they jump around and drift too much at those low currents.
Yes the meters are not great for exact readings and do drift very quickly. In my experience they give reliable indication down to 10mA, you just have to keep using the zero button to cancel the drift
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics Иван, я пользуюсь вышеуказанной моделью токовых клещей. Очень точные измерения на малых токах. Легко измеряют 10 или 20 mA. Великолепный инструмент! Я купил их по почте, прямо из Китая. Дешево.
Thank you Ivan. Good job. Have a blessed and safe week to you and your family.
Nice job Ivan. You followed the clues and traced the problem right to the source
Another finely produced video young man. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me.
Things break on one of these old, high milage cars, you have to live with it, it has no manual back and forth so the seat is stuck. Probably was partial close connection sending current through the motor, but not enough to activate it. I am surprised power to the seat adjustment is not cut off when the key is not in.
Ivan solves it again. I saw the notification last night. Waited until this morning to watch. Great way to spend a cold Saturday morning. PHD video and morning coffee.
You are hard-core working in what looks like under freezing in the night
One of my cars has this problem - glad to see how to diagnose this...
Don't follow this video. South main auto has a great video on parasitic draw. It's better to check the voltage across the fuses, of there is voltage on a fuse, it means there is current flow. The advantage over unplugging stuff willy nilly is that you don't have to wait after each thing for the draw to stabilise again.
@@kain0m Can't do that on the big fusible links. Otherwise yes, the fuse voltage drop method is excellent :)
@@kain0m you must have understood the video wrong or you explained it wrong? Because it all you are looking for is voltage across the fuse like you said than it doesn’t mean you have current flow, it means you’re fuse is intact, and if you have voltage drop that means you have a bad fuse lol.
Another great Automotive whodunnit, brilliant methodical diagnosis as per usual. -6C is chilly, for me in the UK. I have worked in Michigan, Iowa, and Ontario Canada in the winter, first time refuelling the car was COLD.
Thanks for sharing.
Classic battery hold down. Bungee cord. Wow if I had a dollar for every time I saw a bungee cord being used for a battery hold down! Nice work Ivan. I’ve gotta get one of those cameras.
Ivan the Transponder is the chip in the key(for the immobiliser), they're just remotes(key fobs or whatever you guys call them over there) that generally communicate with the BCM.
Thanks for the video Ivan, great demonstration on how to isolate components to track down a parasitic drain.
Be careful with the waiting times for modules to go to sleep. I had a Ford Taurus that had me chasing in loops around a battery drain, just gave it around 15 minutes and saw about 300ma and I would start chasing the draw, it always ended up at the center junction box low current module and I could not see which modules was not going to sleep. I ended up following the manual and gave it 40 minutes prior starting my test and I noticed the draw was down to 12ma around 35 minutes later, the issue was that the battery was not holding charge anymore but customer said that the drain had been happening for a while (almost a year) so I was convinced that there was a drain because I felt I had given it enough time to sleep. I say give it at least 1 hour before doing any parasitic draw troubleshooting.
That's a good rule of thumb. And a good battery is essential for doing these tests :)
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics yes, I forgot to mention that I had the battery charger on so I was ok there.
Great job. Battery draws can be a pain sometimes. Infrared viewing is a great help.
This just adds one more reason why I'd be hesitant to have any after-market devices installed in any of my vehicles!
20*F huh?
Where's the 15mph wind that _I_ must endure?
Must be nice- my LCD on my DVM just freezes here!
Come to my Mohawk Valley- such high humidity-
the cold & wind knock you over.
Put away the tools- go inside and hibernate like a bear-
get under blankets with your beautiful Wife-
and forget about this cruel world.
Please don't ever forget-
you are surrounded by many who love you, Ivan.
Good video
Nice to see a person who knows what he's doing.
Awesome deduction procedure Ivan!
I had a 70ma drain Honda Odyssey and it was coming from the radio because kit had been installed in back of radio.
After removing it it was down to 20-30ma.
I used the same process and free harbor freight tools multi-meter
Great video there.
0:26 I am situated one degree north of the equator all my life..
At minus 6 degree C , I am the one that gonna trip a lot of my body DTCs..
I dream of living in a climate like that! Born and raised in Massachusetts, USA. Today the high was 26°F. This morning it was 11°F. Will be single-digit temps all next week, along with some snow. Sun sets at 4:53PM, and rises at 7:08AM right now. Days have been getting longer for a month now, thankfully!
@@SmittySmithsonite
11 deg F! I would be a FROZEN monument..
@@idilmy - 😁Next week will be 0°F. 🥶
I am a Brasilian living in Cape Cod. Rode my scooter to work and it was 22F (-5C). You never get used to the cold, at least I don't.
@@LordOfSilense - Me neither ... and I was born and raised in MA, too!
My wife's one car has a seat control switch that sticks in the back position. The guy who worked on her car has long legs and had to adjust the seat all the way back, but would never remember that the switch stuck so when she picked up her car the battery was always dead. Our solution was to always put a note on the seat reminding him to move the control switch back to neutral after he adjusted the seat.
Great Isolation of the battery draw!...My G35 even when new, the draw was about 75ma...I would have to drive the car at least once a week to keep the battery charged.
75mA is excessive for sure.
New doesn't mean new.
thank you.....I've had withdrawal just waiting....
Coincidentally I had to perform a parasitic draw test today on the trusty Honda winter beater.
Due to the UK lock down it gets used once a week to the supermarket and back.
For the last couple of months it's been getting labored on the start culminating in a no crank this week.
Draw was only 20 mA and the alternators putting out over 14v, so had to order a new battery after all.
Thanks to your videos it's nice to be actually sure rather than just shooting the parts cannon.
Well, looks like I got burned by my old multi meter.
New battery is going flat despite the meter still indicating 20mA draw, so did the voltage test on the fuses and bingo, drivers window motor.
Time to order an new meter, any recommendations for the home gamer?
C'mon! Almost a 100K subs! Just a little bit more! congrats!
Oh dear, I'm missing the Russian no parts fix of the passenger seat switch! Going into withdrawl!
Not! 8-)). I am curious to see if the switch is indeed at fault and if a little glue would fix it.
I do also enjoy Russian Repairs but ,I feel time is money and the customer did not want spend any more money...It's a shame because it looks like a truck worth fixing right.
I think it's my favourite thing aftermarket garbage to make a mechanics life so easy to diagnose just remove the garbage install OEM parts and your sorted .
Love these videos 🎈 You almost have 100k subscribers!👍😀
Love these types of videos. Love your patience. Thanks 🙏
Great video as always, Ivan. Once, just once, I'd love to get a parasitic draw culprit that pointed to a single component right off the bat. But noooooo. It always seems to start with the largest amp fuse powering the greatest number of components, from the horn in the front to the license plate light in the back and everything in between, lol.
My FLIR often cuts the diag time down considerably and paid for itself within a few days.
Haha that is very accurate!
Using flir? Totally awesome 😎
To recap... he CAN find it w/ both hands in the dark? Dang, that's talent!
Hey Ivan: good catch on that passenger door switch. Good thing you caught it before it turned into a "smoker". BTW: I got some bad news last week when I tried to register my Launch Diagun IV on AutoAuth. I learned that it is not listed among the "authorized" scan tools. I suppose that wasn't all that surprising but, when I called the Launch USA telephone number that AutoAuth provides to ask if there were any plans to get the Launch DiaGun IV included among the authorized scan tools they told me, "The Launch DiaGun IV is NOT a Launch USA supported tool, nor is it covered by the Launch Warranty or update programs in the USA. Only Launch USA is partnered with AutoAuth, not Launch International". The nice lady at Launch USA made it "crystal clear" that the DiaGun IV is a grey-market import. They don't sell it, they don't support it, and they sure as heck won't fix it. Man... talk about a kick in the nuts! I had no trouble at all registering my Snap-On Verus Edge, Solus Ultra, or my AutoEnginuity. Oh... and they didn't like my old Autel DS708 either.
Interesting. What is AutoAuth?
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics Since 2018 most FCA employ a Secure Gateway module. AutoAuth is a third-party clearing house who facilitates "authorized" scan tools access to vehicles employing secure gateway technology. Ostensibly, the reason for the secure gateway is to keep hackers out of the electronics of modern cars. You will find, as I did, that you can NOT clear codes, view live data PIDs, or do bi-directional controls on a Secure Gateway vehicle UNLESS you are using an "authorized", registered, current, and internet connected scan tool.
If you Google AutoAuth or Secure Gateway you'll get dozens of different explanations and descriptions from every perspective. My perspective... well, lets just say that it isn't surprising to see thousands of Google hits on how to bypass the secure gateway... if you don't mind wasting hours physically locating the gateway module and hundreds of dollars for the tools, in order to bypass it. It's certainly another hoop for independent shops to jump through. Seems that every morning we wake up to another ass-hole trying to mess with our livelihood. In this case, I must pay another $50 a year to some organization so they may condescend to "permit me" to use my scan tools so that I may make a living... while making it as difficult and expensive as they possibly can. Please note that even though my AutoEnginuity scan tool is blessed by AutoAuth, they have actually made it useless because I can't use the WiFi connection to the OBDII dongle because the scan tool "MUST" also be connected to the internet while you are accessing the vehicle (my old laptop can only connect to one thing at a time... so now I need a new $2,000 laptop).
Sorry for the rant... but the more I try to comply with (or circumnavigate) these new piles of crap, the more I find how much a relatively simple process has been made more complicated, more convoluted, and MUCH more expensive. Where the hell did our R2R rights go?
That was a good break down and satisfying find.
I have a very similar issue with my 2013 subaru outback passenger seat. That front/back switch sticks if you push it forward and if you forget to manually click it back to center position the motor will stay on draining the battery pretty quickly
Once again demonstrating the versatility of the Diagun. Another person also asks, would the thermal imaging camera have shown heat from the bad switch? Wiring diagrams r invaluable. Too bad BBB doesn’t seem to offer them any more. Someone mentioned many local library’s have links to All Data or Mitchell. Good reason to get a library card
LOL. Its cold, -6C.
When it gets to -25C up here you just warm up the truck a couple minutes longer.
Thanks for sharing.
I stopped doing this about 20 years ago. Customer shows up at 6 and wants his/her ride fixed. At 9 or 10 pm..i get done. Customer now says. O...i don't have that much on me..takes off and never seen again.
Nice find Ivan!
Every time I hear "very interesting" I think of Arte Johnson`s german soldier in Rowan and Martin`s Laugh in. lol Nice fix Ivan. Surprised it wasn`t the aftermarket junk remote start.
How do you bill that? You can't possibly bill hourly, but the hunting is part of the fun and sure the reward is solving the issue.
Interesting the one key FOB would be transmitting in the 433 MHZ range which is in the 70 cm ham band in the US. Doesn't seem legal to use without a ham license.
These parasitic draws always seem to pop up in winter months. My 2016 F150 is doing it. Leaving key inside ( NO PUSH BUTTON START OPTION) and or very low draw device plugged into cig. lighter 12v socket, can sometimes leave me with 11.8vdc by morning at battery terminals - recent new battery. I suspect one of the two above items does not allow vehicle screen (sync ) to fully shut down.
Nice. That was a pain without having a fuse for most of the accessories.
Good find! These can be real time consuming to isolate. Cheers!
Good work, man I like that diagun V..
Thanks for making this video I have an 05 Titan with this issues I will start working on soon. Question what kit is that you are using withe all the different wires and clamps and probes?
I worked on an Audi that had an odd problem like that once. Every time the wife drove the car the battery would be dead the next day so it would have to be jumped and the husband would drive the car for a few days to see if it would happen to him and it would be fine. They switch back and the next morning the battery would be dead again and she was getting blamed for leaving the headlights on or something. He brought the car and there was no issue that could be detected at that point and again the first time she drove the car the battery died, so she brought the car to be looked at and the problem was the position she put the seat at was shorting out the wiring and causing a massive draw. After rerouting the wires so they had more slack the problem was solved. No parts required.
Amazing!
Awesome Job Brosuff Thanks for sharing 🍻😎🤙
I'm having a similar issue, except my '04 is running .76 amp. I tried to isolate the draw and thought I had it figured out. I had no idea that this block was stock. I disconnected the forward plug and dropped my draw by half. I thought I'd try starting the truck and my dash looked like a Christmas tree. Had to reconnect that. I'll have to go to the fuses next. I thought it might be the radio. It doesn't have sound. It's obviously picking up a signal. I scanned for Country stations and it found one. Anyhow, I have had radios pull batteries down before.
Things plugged into cigarette lighter! Had a triple with switch! Switch shorted out causing draw! So unplug folks if your not driving it every day
You and Eric O are amazing.
As always Ivan nicely done.......
There we go with these aftermarket applications. Just keep it stock and you will live happily ever after.
Hello Ivan,
Brilliant diagnosis.
I often wonder, is it possible to find a parasitic drain using only a test light?
Great educational video.
Thanks for sharing
Irishman Shamrock Not accurately.
@@jumpinjojo Thanks Joseph.
You definitely need an in-series ammeter.
@@irishmanshamrock8563 I helped my friend last week with a .65amp draw on a 1998 Nissan Skyline imported from Japan. We tracked it down the the engine control module. It was a pain in the ass, since we didn’t have any electrical schematics.
Nice job finding that
My husbands 2018 Titan has a drain it’s driving us nuts. I have appointment with Nissan the 8th hopefully they will be as through as u are.. it’s frustrating getting into your vehicle an not start an nothing look like it’s on. 2 days an it won’t stay charged
-6degrees is like summer to us in Canada 🇨🇦
lol ..... Here in the UK we'd think the ice age was starting at minus 6
Someone else here from Canada 🇨🇦. Ivan does his best work in the Dark 😝
Hey Ivan -- nice work as usual. A puzzle about using FLIR in this manner. I've seen, more than once, people assuming or suggesting that this FLIR method works best if the ambient temperature is cold (ie: cold weather -- in winter, leave the vehicle outside the shop, rather than letting it acclimate to a comfy shop temperature). This makes no sense to me. Sure, the vehicle as a whole has to cool down uniformly to ambient temperature in order for the FLIR camera to pick out a small local difference somewhere. But surely, for a particular parasitic current, the fuse in the culprit circuit (or the culprit component itself) will rise in temperature above ambient by the same amount regardless of what that the ambient temperature is. On that basis, it should be equally identifiable on FLIR regardless of ambient temperature. What do you think? How does this pan out in practice?
Best part was the, you know what the problem is? Right there!!!!
Awesome! Thanks Ivan!! You actually look cold LOL 😉
my frontier had an airbag module wire that got pinched on the seat back, it wore thru and shorted to the seat frame.
Great work Ivan 💪🏼
The best diagnostician on TH-cam
SMA IS PRETTY GOOD.
@@robinrousseau1087 Yes, he's probably the best overall mechanic on youtube. But this guy is the best diagnostic technician. I think even better than Scanner Danner at this point.
Great Video as usual ! I was hoping you would take it out for a drive. ( You know, possible driveability issue after problem switch disconnected, Lol )
Actually I just wanted to hear your take on the 5.6. It is a Beast ! 305 HP . Yesssir.
Oh yeah it's BALLSY and thirsty lol
I remember the day when 250MA on a carb car was normal. lol. I just did a 13 Rogue with a 185MA draw, that would kill the battery in 2 days. The smart PW switch was the problem. After that, it had a draw of 12 MA after 20 mins of sleep time.
Nice! Power windows?
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics Yes, the smart power window switch was the problem on that Rogue. Sometimes it would try to turn on by itself after the window was physically already in the full up position. Just a quick blip and shut off, about every 10-12 mins. It would do it so quickly that my Fluke 88 set up inline would only register 185mA, then back down to about 86mA. My scope was down, so it might've been more, I dunno. Didn't matter, the Fluke was good enough to catch it. I tried the re-learn procedure twice on the stock switch but it would do the same thing. New switch, re-learn and all is well. The dealer said it needed a new BCM....
@Ivan, Just a few questions: (1.)What about, instead of using that thermal imaging device, use an inexpensive point and measure thermometer? (2.)Would a 'no parts needed fix' include removing the switch, cleaning, the contacts, jumping the foward/reverse seat motors? (3.)And lastly, taping into a 'key or engine on' power supply (obviously after u've fixed the switch and eliminated/fixed the motors)?
Great suggestions! Point and measure thermometer would not work...need an image with good resolution, not just one data point.
Awesome video! Thanks!
I went out and bought the Astro 132, a bit slow, but for $20 a great deal :)
Darn, not quick enough to be first. Said it was posted 16 mins. ago. I predict aftermarket remote start is the problem. Well I was half right. Interesting find on power seat switch being ever so slightly engaged.
Hope you had your thermal undies on for this one! #chillinwithivan😎
Damn! I have an 07 Titan with the exact same problem and the truck is in the shop right now. If they cant figure it out, I'm trying this.
Good luck!
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics Thanks!
At about 7:10 in, I thought maybe I missed watching a solar eclipse on the Internet.
Amazing. Yet so fascinating 🤯🧠.
Might have already been mentioned but I noticed that you erased all of the key fobs but only programmed the new one's in and left out the key fob on the keychain
Aftermarket fob was for the remote start system, which the customer requested to have removed :)
Ah, all too common. When I hear parasitic draw and confirm it does, first thing I do is check for a remote start or a gps (the Honda dealership use to do that to high risk buyers.) 9/10 it would have a shorted remote start. 1/10 it would be a weird anomaly, left over audio splice ins, failing modules (Honda HFL are notorious and the D pillar ground in the vans) or a battery kissing death and causing modules to go into limbo.
Glad it wasn't a Toyota. I get tired of the "Scotty" remarks!
'Cause TOYOTA don't have power drains... LOL
Scott Kilmer is a fucking spaz
Doesn't happen on a Toyota because seats are manual adjust. Toyota finally offers a power driver seat in 20 Tacoma and Tundra. My new Tundra has the power seat BUT here is a great example of why simple is infallible.
@@mikefoehr235 I don't know about that. My dad's 64 falcon was simple, yet, I wouldn't call it "infallible."
@@mariosaccoccio1688 I have never....never had a problem with a manual adjust seat on ANY Toyota yet....come to think about it I have rarely had ANY problems at all on anything with a Toyota. The worst for problems was the 04 Corolla...fuel pump and main computer....the newer ones were literally problem free.
Good Diagnosis Process Ivan,
maan that snow looks nice, im sweating my behind off in Australia, grass is greener on other side scenario lol?
Where do I get clamps like that for a multimeter? Seems unbelievably hard to find these anymore.
I have a question how much did you charged the costumer for this repair?
Thank you for the video
good video, thanks for sharing.
Customer....o...i forgot to tell you. That switch stopped work and was stuck. 😁😬
Ivan where do you get free wiring diagram since bbb industry don’t have them anymore?
I would think something was spilled into the switch or they left window open and rain entered. assuming they have wife/kids on that side, those are the usual "spill" culprits lmao :)
I know for VW Jetta, Passat normal parasitic drain should be about 4-6mA, which is the circuit that keeps the factory alarm running. This can be a nightmare. You also have to remember with most newer cars that use CAN bus, if you disconnect one module, the other module could be trying to communicate with the disconnected one and never go into the sleep mode.
Exactly. Every time something is disconnected and reconnected, I usually cycle the power and wait for everything to go back to sleep :)
NICE WORK
Hi PHAD. I have a 2007 RAV4 V6 with 410,000 miles. I have changed the 5 TPMS sensors with ones from Rockauto. Toyota says something wong! The light blinks and goes on and sometimes goes off. Toyota won't fix as its aftermarket. Would you want a shot? I am in Maryland near Columbia.
Sure thing, should be an easy programming procedure. Drive up to State College sometime, it's a beautiful drive through Southern PA!
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics thanks, I'll make an appointment first.
i thought before you measured across all the fuses to see which fuse was drawing and never pulled wires on and off.
Can't do that on the larger Fusible links...
Can I ask where you got those meter connections? They clamp onto the negative post and terminal a lot easier then normal meter but you don’t have to hold them. I think they are called the meter probes.
They are Snap-On meter leads. Very convenient!
@Thomas Sheridan SNAP-ON!
Dude you have no idea you are freaking awesome freaking awesome I'm a widow I try to save money and diagnose I shouldn't let your awesome you found my problem oh my goodness you're freaking awesome dude
Did you find a parasitic draw Cathleen?