Battery is drawing 1 AMP...
10-18-2005, 10:43 AM
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Battery is drawing 1 AMP...
I have an aftermarket amplifier that was professionally installed about a year ago in Jacksonville, FL. I now live in MD. I went to my car the other day and it was dead. The lights did not come on, the doors would not unlock with the keyfob, nothing. My battery was completely dead. I was pissed because this is the second time this has happened in the past couple of months. I replaced the old battery and got a new one. That is the battery that I have now.
I took it to the Honda dealer and they said that with the key out of the ignition, my battery was drawing about 1 AMP of power. They said it should only be drawing about 1-10 mA of power. I was going to unhook the amplifier and have them trouble-shoot, but at $110/hr, that could get out of hand quickly in cost. I unhooked the amplifier for now until I figure something out. I suspect it might be the remote power turn-on that is failing. I do not have an aftermarket alarm, just a DVD player for my navigation.
My question is: can I install a switch on the battery cable by the amp (which is underneath the seat)? Kind of like an on/off switch just on that cable alone? What kind of switch, what size, and where could I find something like this? I don't want to lose my sub and amp, and I don't want to take it to the dealer to have them troubleshoot it. Thanks for everyone's help.
I took it to the Honda dealer and they said that with the key out of the ignition, my battery was drawing about 1 AMP of power. They said it should only be drawing about 1-10 mA of power. I was going to unhook the amplifier and have them trouble-shoot, but at $110/hr, that could get out of hand quickly in cost. I unhooked the amplifier for now until I figure something out. I suspect it might be the remote power turn-on that is failing. I do not have an aftermarket alarm, just a DVD player for my navigation.
My question is: can I install a switch on the battery cable by the amp (which is underneath the seat)? Kind of like an on/off switch just on that cable alone? What kind of switch, what size, and where could I find something like this? I don't want to lose my sub and amp, and I don't want to take it to the dealer to have them troubleshoot it. Thanks for everyone's help.
10-18-2005, 11:16 AM
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To do what you are asking, you will probably need a relay.
The thing is, is your amplifier should not be drawing 1amp while the car is off at all. Something is not installed properly or is not working properly, and if you don't get it fixed, installing a relay could only be the recipe for a short-lived alternator. Fix the problem, and don't just create a system to bypass the problem - otherwise you could run into alot more problems later down the road.
1amp is alot of current. I am surprised your battery didn't die being left overnight.
The thing is, is your amplifier should not be drawing 1amp while the car is off at all. Something is not installed properly or is not working properly, and if you don't get it fixed, installing a relay could only be the recipe for a short-lived alternator. Fix the problem, and don't just create a system to bypass the problem - otherwise you could run into alot more problems later down the road.
1amp is alot of current. I am surprised your battery didn't die being left overnight.
10-18-2005, 11:24 AM
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Originally Posted by MaxOctane
1amp is alot of current. I am surprised your battery didn't die being left overnight.
10-18-2005, 11:30 AM
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Originally Posted by moda_way
Only thing I can think is that they put the remote on/off wire in a fused slot that they thought was only on with the ignition.
10-18-2005, 12:40 PM
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First off, do you have a warranty from the audio installers?
Go in and tell them that they you think you're remote wire is failing.
Make them fix it, not Acura. Acura will charge way too much.
There are some things you can do to test this though.
First try leaving the car off and putting voltemter to the remote wire on the amp. Is there any current there?
You can also check whether the remote wire is hooked up to the remote wire of the factory amp. This is how it should be hooked up if it was installed properly. To do this, turn the car on and radio off, then take a voltmeter and put it to the remote wire from the amp. Is there any current? If so the installer didn't hook the wire up to remote turn on wire from the factory amp/HU.
He might have tapped into the 12v power socket or someother source in the fuse box like ModaWay mentioned. If he tapped into the 12v power socket, then that is most likely you're problem. The 12v power socket does output very low current even when the car is off. I found this out when I was installed some switches. Most amps would ignore this current since it's so small, but maybe yours isn't.
Go in and tell them that they you think you're remote wire is failing.
Make them fix it, not Acura. Acura will charge way too much.
There are some things you can do to test this though.
First try leaving the car off and putting voltemter to the remote wire on the amp. Is there any current there?
You can also check whether the remote wire is hooked up to the remote wire of the factory amp. This is how it should be hooked up if it was installed properly. To do this, turn the car on and radio off, then take a voltmeter and put it to the remote wire from the amp. Is there any current? If so the installer didn't hook the wire up to remote turn on wire from the factory amp/HU.
He might have tapped into the 12v power socket or someother source in the fuse box like ModaWay mentioned. If he tapped into the 12v power socket, then that is most likely you're problem. The 12v power socket does output very low current even when the car is off. I found this out when I was installed some switches. Most amps would ignore this current since it's so small, but maybe yours isn't.
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10-18-2005, 05:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Tsx536
First off, do you have a warranty from the audio installers?
Go in and tell them that they you think you're remote wire is failing.
Make them fix it, not Acura. Acura will charge way too much.
There are some things you can do to test this though.
First try leaving the car off and putting voltemter to the remote wire on the amp. Is there any current there?
You can also check whether the remote wire is hooked up to the remote wire of the factory amp. This is how it should be hooked up if it was installed properly. To do this, turn the car on and radio off, then take a voltmeter and put it to the remote wire from the amp. Is there any current? If so the installer didn't hook the wire up to remote turn on wire from the factory amp/HU.
He might have tapped into the 12v power socket or someother source in the fuse box like ModaWay mentioned. If he tapped into the 12v power socket, then that is most likely you're problem. The 12v power socket does output very low current even when the car is off. I found this out when I was installed some switches. Most amps would ignore this current since it's so small, but maybe yours isn't.
Go in and tell them that they you think you're remote wire is failing.
Make them fix it, not Acura. Acura will charge way too much.
There are some things you can do to test this though.
First try leaving the car off and putting voltemter to the remote wire on the amp. Is there any current there?
You can also check whether the remote wire is hooked up to the remote wire of the factory amp. This is how it should be hooked up if it was installed properly. To do this, turn the car on and radio off, then take a voltmeter and put it to the remote wire from the amp. Is there any current? If so the installer didn't hook the wire up to remote turn on wire from the factory amp/HU.
He might have tapped into the 12v power socket or someother source in the fuse box like ModaWay mentioned. If he tapped into the 12v power socket, then that is most likely you're problem. The 12v power socket does output very low current even when the car is off. I found this out when I was installed some switches. Most amps would ignore this current since it's so small, but maybe yours isn't.
10-18-2005, 05:35 PM
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Originally Posted by humperdood
Well, I found where the remote turn-on lead was going to. It was going to the interior fuse box to the fuse labeled, "ACC" for accessories. That fuse was a 7.5 AMP fuse. I switched the wire to the radio fuse, and then the amplifier did not work! Why is that? The radio is a 10 AMP fuse. I only want the amplifier on when the radio is on, so why didn't the amplifier work when the remote turn-on lead was connected to the radio fuse?
You want to supply power going to the remote turn on wire based on whether the radio is on. So you want to tap into the remote output of the radio, you don't want to tap into the power in the fuse box. You can tap into the remote turn on wire that runs from the OEM HU to the factory amp. If you remove the storage bin, you'll be able to find it. I forget what color wire it is, but visit the FAQ in the the A/v section and check.
Putting it on the ACC output of the fuse box should have worked actually. It usually isn't preferred because the amp will stay on even when you're not using the radio, but many shops take a shortcut and do it that way. If I were you, I would verify that it's the amp causing all of your problems. Put the connection back the way it was and check to see if the amp stays on even when the ignition is off.
10-18-2005, 07:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Tsx536
It doesn't work like that. The fuse is providing power going into the radio. Everything in the fuse box is either constant aka always hot, or it only receives power based on ignition position.
You want to supply power going to the remote turn on wire based on whether the radio is on. So you want to tap into the remote output of the radio, you don't want to tap into the power in the fuse box. You can tap into the remote turn on wire that runs from the OEM HU to the factory amp. If you remove the storage bin, you'll be able to find it. I forget what color wire it is, but visit the FAQ in the the A/v section and check.
Putting it on the ACC output of the fuse box should have worked actually. It usually isn't preferred because the amp will stay on even when you're not using the radio, but many shops take a shortcut and do it that way. If I were you, I would verify that it's the amp causing all of your problems. Put the connection back the way it was and check to see if the amp stays on even when the ignition is off.
You want to supply power going to the remote turn on wire based on whether the radio is on. So you want to tap into the remote output of the radio, you don't want to tap into the power in the fuse box. You can tap into the remote turn on wire that runs from the OEM HU to the factory amp. If you remove the storage bin, you'll be able to find it. I forget what color wire it is, but visit the FAQ in the the A/v section and check.
Putting it on the ACC output of the fuse box should have worked actually. It usually isn't preferred because the amp will stay on even when you're not using the radio, but many shops take a shortcut and do it that way. If I were you, I would verify that it's the amp causing all of your problems. Put the connection back the way it was and check to see if the amp stays on even when the ignition is off.
Also, why didn't the amp work when I had the remote turn-on wire connected to the radio fuse in the interior fuse box?
Can I add a switch to the remote turn on wire close to the fuse box? This way, I can flip the switch to the amplifier when I leave the car and flip it back on when I enter the car.
I don't want to take it to the dealer to have them try and "figure out" what's going on for $110/hr. And all the aftermarket things that I have (DVD player in the cubbyhole, Avelectronic A/V unit, amplifier, and blue interior neon lights) all go out when I take the key out of the ignition. What the heck is going on that is drawing power even though everything shuts off?
10-18-2005, 07:57 PM
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I didn't realize that you had other stuff too. Are you 100% sure it's the amp that is drawing the power? What kind of amp is it? I would recommend disconnecting the amp and seeing if your draining power problem goes away.
If it doesn't go away, try reconnecting the amp and disconnecting one of the other aftermarket parts.
You also might want to get an Optima yellow deep cycle battery. I'm not sure if it would be able to handle the continous power you are drawing, but it would be better than the OEM battery.
Yes you can put a switch on the relay wire, just go to Autozone and buy from the regular black rocker switches. I'm not sure if it will help though. If you can visually see that the amp is turning off, then it probably isn't the remote wire making the amp draw power. It would be better to put the switch on the 12v input of the amp.
If it doesn't go away, try reconnecting the amp and disconnecting one of the other aftermarket parts.
You also might want to get an Optima yellow deep cycle battery. I'm not sure if it would be able to handle the continous power you are drawing, but it would be better than the OEM battery.
Yes you can put a switch on the relay wire, just go to Autozone and buy from the regular black rocker switches. I'm not sure if it will help though. If you can visually see that the amp is turning off, then it probably isn't the remote wire making the amp draw power. It would be better to put the switch on the 12v input of the amp.
10-19-2005, 05:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Tsx536
I didn't realize that you had other stuff too. Are you 100% sure it's the amp that is drawing the power? What kind of amp is it? I would recommend disconnecting the amp and seeing if your draining power problem goes away.
If it doesn't go away, try reconnecting the amp and disconnecting one of the other aftermarket parts.
You also might want to get an Optima yellow deep cycle battery. I'm not sure if it would be able to handle the continous power you are drawing, but it would be better than the OEM battery.
Yes you can put a switch on the relay wire, just go to Autozone and buy from the regular black rocker switches. I'm not sure if it will help though. If you can visually see that the amp is turning off, then it probably isn't the remote wire making the amp draw power. It would be better to put the switch on the 12v input of the amp.
If it doesn't go away, try reconnecting the amp and disconnecting one of the other aftermarket parts.
You also might want to get an Optima yellow deep cycle battery. I'm not sure if it would be able to handle the continous power you are drawing, but it would be better than the OEM battery.
Yes you can put a switch on the relay wire, just go to Autozone and buy from the regular black rocker switches. I'm not sure if it will help though. If you can visually see that the amp is turning off, then it probably isn't the remote wire making the amp draw power. It would be better to put the switch on the 12v input of the amp.
On another note, it seems that my car is OK if I start it up every day. The only times my battery has died is when I leave it standing for about 2 days.
If I buy a multimeter from Radioshack, what and how should I check to see if the amplifier is really drawing that much power when the key is out of the ignition?
10-19-2005, 06:41 AM
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Originally Posted by humperdood
What wire is the 12V input to the amplifier? Is that the wire coming directly from the battery?
On another note, it seems that my car is OK if I start it up every day. The only times my battery has died is when I leave it standing for about 2 days.
If I buy a multimeter from Radioshack, what and how should I check to see if the amplifier is really drawing that much power when the key is out of the ignition?
On another note, it seems that my car is OK if I start it up every day. The only times my battery has died is when I leave it standing for about 2 days.
If I buy a multimeter from Radioshack, what and how should I check to see if the amplifier is really drawing that much power when the key is out of the ignition?
10-19-2005, 12:02 PM
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Originally Posted by moda_way
Simple, set the multimeter to Direct Current, and put the red probe on the plug at the amp for the remote on and then the black on a piece of metal. If there is current there, it will show it. Then do the same to check for amperage. This will tell you if it is pulling or not.
I'm still wandering if you're amp is drawing current even if the remote turn on lead is not on though. That's why I suggested disconnecting it for a few days. It's either that or one of your other electrical accessories. If it ends up being the amp drawing the power, another solution is to get a capacitor and put it on the 12v input between the battery and the amp. What kind of amp is it?
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