Battery & Multimeter Question

[Prop]

Hiya I have a parasitic Drain on the starter battery and have looked at youtube videos on how to find it.

They say disconnect the -ve terminal and put your multimeter in line across the -ve and then start pulling fuses.

Anyway when I do this I dont get any reading, when its set on dc amps or milliamps , I thought it was the meter knackered so bought a clamp meter and that shows the drain when I clamp it on the cable.

My mobile mechanic was doing a few jobs for me the other day and I asked him to check what I was doing he said I was doing at correctly and he had the same result using his meter.
He said that with the meter in line that we should be able to use the remote to open/lock doors but that would not work.

He was as baffled as me, any clues why this should be happeing?

 

[Richard n Ann]

You have to change the lead to the amperage socket on the multimeter

 

[Prop]

You have to change the lead to the amperage socket on the multimeter

Hiya Thanks for the reply, I have just checked and I had doe that, and my mechanic certainly had with his.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Hiya Thanks for the reply, I have just checked and I had doe that, and my mechanic certainly had with his.

Next to check then.. there's usually a 10 amp fuse inside the meter. Even if the meter is faulty or switched off you should get continuity through it on the amps socket.

 

[the1andonly]

An alternative to check for a parasitic Drain is to check for voltage drop across a fuse. On the 20V dc range check both terminals on the fuse. Again you tube is the key for a good explanation.

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[pappajohn]

The drain will be from the factory Alarm/immobiliser, radio memory and ECU.
All remain active with ign off.
An average of 2 or 3 weeks will all but flatten a modern vehicle battery

 

[autorouter]

Anyway when I do this I dont get any reading, when its set on dc amps or milliamps , I thought it was the meter knackered so bought a clamp meter and that shows the drain when I clamp it on the cable.

Did you take a clamp meter reading when the meter was in the circuit, or was it with the cable reverted to the original setup?