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Parasitic drain on battery .13 volts in 24 hrs

Discussion in '1st Gen Tundras (2000-2006)' started by rhino89117, Jan 11, 2020.

  1. Jan 11, 2020 at 10:52 AM
    #1
    rhino89117

    rhino89117 [OP] New Member

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    I have a 1st gen v8 in my 2004 Sequioa it appears I am losing .13 volts every 24 hrs. Battery sitting at 12.40 volts after 3 days. Is this normal?
     
  2. Jan 11, 2020 at 10:58 AM
    #2
    GiantsFanDan

    GiantsFanDan New Member

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  3. Jan 11, 2020 at 11:06 AM
    #3
    JohnLakeman

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  4. Jan 11, 2020 at 11:18 AM
    #4
    Johnsonman

    Johnsonman New Member

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  5. Jan 11, 2020 at 1:47 PM
    #5
    RitcheyRch

    RitcheyRch New Member

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    My old 2002 Tundra had a huge parasitic drain and the battery would go dead after 2 days if not driven or left on a trickle charger. I took it to an auto stereo shop for them to test for the drain. They determined the compustart alarm/remote start was the issue. Paid to have it removed and never had an issue after that.
     
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  6. Jan 11, 2020 at 1:57 PM
    #6
    BubbaW

    BubbaW Been Real

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    For that to mean anything to me and not assume wrongly, I have to ask if the veh sat idle during those 3 days. Also, are you saying it was approx. 12.8 volts and decreased to 12.40 in 3 days ? Normally charged battery would be approx. 12.5 first thing in morning and have slight drain due to a number of items using battery power while sitting idle. After market car alarms like Viper and Python alarms will also drain a battery if you have one.
     

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    Last edited: Jan 11, 2020
  7. Jan 12, 2020 at 5:44 AM
    #7
    zombie

    zombie Master at Something

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    With the Negative battery cable disconnected, put a 12v. test light in line. It will glow faintly if you have a small drain. Open the door and watch it get brighter. Now pull that fuse for interior lights so it goes back to dim. Now start pulling fuses until it goes out. The fuse you pull that makes it go out will be the circuit you need to focus on. If it does not go out with all fuses pulled, Disconnect Alternator. If it goes out, you have a bad diode in the Alternator. Sometimes it could be simple as a DIRTY BATTERY. Put a volt meter on the positive of a battery and now touch the negative to the dirty case of a battery and look at how much voltage you can have going through dirt. What's in dirt? Iron.
     
  8. Jan 12, 2020 at 7:07 AM
    #8
    bigblue14

    bigblue14 New Member

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    How old is the battery? How cold is it where you are?
     
  9. Jan 12, 2020 at 8:04 AM
    #9
    rhino89117

    rhino89117 [OP] New Member

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    Battery is 60 days old temps get to 40,s at night 55 day temps...
     
  10. Jan 12, 2020 at 9:23 AM
    #10
    JohnLakeman

    JohnLakeman Burning Internet Daylight

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    Ohhhhhhhhh...Were you seeing this "parasitic draw" on the old battery? What brand is this new battery?
     
  11. Jan 12, 2020 at 11:04 AM
    #11
    rhino89117

    rhino89117 [OP] New Member

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    Hi John it’s Tom again I had the jumped timing belt you gave me advice on. The battery is a brand new battery (60 days old) This was put in by the previous owner so I don’t know if it is the correct battery or not. What I did notice however that the battery is smaller than the housing that the battery sits in. I checked the battery voltage again this morning and I am losing exactly .13 volts in 24 hrs.
     
  12. Jan 12, 2020 at 6:05 PM
    #12
    Vizsla

    Vizsla ☠️☠️☠️

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    If the OP has a parasitic draw, why put a charger on it instead of fixing?:notsure:
     
  13. Jan 12, 2020 at 8:12 PM
    #13
    JohnLakeman

    JohnLakeman Burning Internet Daylight

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    I said a "legitimate" constant power drain, as in power being used by an alarm system or an added accessory the OP may want to keep. He first has to determine the source, and then if it's normal, bad installation, short, whatever. If the drain can't be corrected or reduced, it's a pretty big risk to leave it idle very long without a charger. That may have been what killed the old battery in the first place.
     
  14. Jan 12, 2020 at 8:13 PM
    #14
    KarmaKannon

    KarmaKannon Master of None

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    Because it's a quick fix until he figures it out. Some people change their own flats and for some people they need AAA. Different skill levels require different "fixes".
     
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  15. Jan 12, 2020 at 8:16 PM
    #15
    JohnLakeman

    JohnLakeman Burning Internet Daylight

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    Oh yeah, didn't recognize your handle.

    How long have you had this vehicle again? Did you receive the vehicle with the dead battery and make the replacement?
     
  16. Jan 12, 2020 at 10:44 PM
    #16
    Twinky

    Twinky Keep the shinny side up!

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    Next time you come home, and about 20 minutes after you have turned the vehicle off, take a voltage reading. Make a note of it and then disconnect the battery.

    A few hours later, or the next morning , check the voltage again before reconnecting.

    Compare and you'll know its the battery if the voltage dropped. If there's no voltage loss then do the parasitic test next time you have some time.

    Just a suggestion.
     
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  17. Jan 13, 2020 at 3:15 AM
    #17
    zombie

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    First just make sure everything electronically is working, I'm talking every single light bulb, everything. If you have a bulb out replace it, just make sure all is working. Make sure ALL connections on battery are clean. Now if still persist, unplug the plug on the back of the alternator, then see what happens. If you dont try this and just keep charging.........I'm done here. :deadhorse:
     
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  18. Jan 13, 2020 at 3:47 PM
    #18
    rhino89117

    rhino89117 [OP] New Member

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    Battery was new when I bought vehicle in September. The battery is a cheap battery however and the platform the battery sits on is about 3 to 4 “ bigger than the battery. Last night the weather was warmer and had a .07 voltage drop instead of .13 drop that I normally have.
     
  19. Jan 14, 2020 at 3:09 AM
    #19
    Festerw

    Festerw New Member

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    There should be a group size on the battery. It should be a 24 or 27F. If the battery is indeed too small you may see a higher drain even with a normal draw.
     
  20. Jan 16, 2020 at 3:28 PM
    #20
    Professional Hand Model

    Professional Hand Model A.K.A ‘Golden Hands’

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    The battery in our Tundras just fits the size of the tray. Your description of 3-4” discrepancy is not sounding like the properly sized battery.
     
  21. Jan 19, 2020 at 4:36 PM
    #21
    rhino89117

    rhino89117 [OP] New Member

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    I believe I have solved the parasitic battery draw in my Generation 1 Sequoia the same fix would work for a Tundra as well.
    It appears my factory alarm system had been activating through out evening but I was not aware of its activation due to where it was parked and not being able to hear the horn or see the lights flashing. I discovered there is a micro switch mounted to the front hood latch that senses when the hood has been opened. I removed the three bolts that fastens the latch to the front end assembly. There are three additional bolts that allows the disassembly of the latch itself and gives you access to the micro switch and the wire pig-tail that plugs into the wiring. You must get about the smallest phillips screw driver you have in order to remove the two screws that mount the switch to the latch assembly. I tested the switch while it was still soldered to the wire pig-tail with my multi meter and got erratic readings. So I unsoldered the switch from the pig-tail and tested it separately and found that my switch was good. So I stripped the wires back and re-soldered the pig-tail to the micro-switch and found that that did the trick. I got the feeling there has been thousands of dollars wasted on this simple fix. I am still taking await and see approach to see if there is any other problems that are draining my battery but I know for sure the alarm quit going off erratically. Also You can save yourself between seventy five and a hundred and fifty dollars for a new latch plus installation.
     
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  22. Jan 27, 2020 at 9:43 PM
    #22
    sjamins1986

    sjamins1986 New Member

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    I had a similar problem on mine. Turns out the harness for my trailer brake had some corrosion which led to a short.
     
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  23. Jan 27, 2020 at 10:42 PM
    #23
    CPdaddy

    CPdaddy Why am I so tired

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    Does it have blue tooth? My wife’s old car was draining the battery when it was parked for weeks. Replaced batteries and the alternator before I figured out it was the Bluetooth receiver.
     
  24. Jan 29, 2020 at 1:36 PM
    #24
    rhino89117

    rhino89117 [OP] New Member

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    It is the original radio cassette player CD player no blue tooth. I pulled the fuse as a test. It works fine now.
     
  25. Jan 29, 2020 at 4:05 PM
    #25
    CPdaddy

    CPdaddy Why am I so tired

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    That’s sucks. Glad you found the issue.
     

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