1.6 amp Electrical Leak

[BillyK]

just finally installed my battery monitor.. and its showing me that i have a 1.6 amp electrical leak on my 12 volt system.. Even with the battery switch turned to off, the leak persists.. so I'm guessing its coming from the system ground... anyone have any ideas or dealt with this before?

Thanks.

 

[rbmcintire]

Is the charger still on? Mine is still connected to my bank, even if the battery selector is in the off position.

 

[dtwofoot]

Isolating electrical leaks

If you have draw with the Battery switch off, It probably the bilge pump circiut. Simply Isolate it by taking its fuse out. They sit in water and tend to go bad often.

 

[flyboy1717]

Agree with the previous poster regarding the bilge pump float switch. I had to replace mine earlier in the season for this very reason. The switch would basically allow current through even if it were in the open (dry) position. It wasn't enough current to turn the pump over, but it was enough to drain the battery. You could check the switch by taking the leads and putting an ohm meter on it. In the closed (wet) position the resistance should be very close, if not 0 indicating a closed circuit. In the open (dry) position it should be very high indicating an open circuit.

 

[BillyK]

that's what i thought too.. so i disconnected the positive side from the battery bank for the bilge and there was no change.. both the switch and float are new this spring, but the wiring is original.

 

[BillyK]

Is the charger still on? Mine is still connected to my bank, even if the battery selector is in the off position.

the charger is on.. it floats the battery up and then cuts off and you see the leak. after awhile the charger pops back on and recovers the loss.. i've turned it off and disconnected it to remove the charger as a possible source for the leak while it was in standby.

 

[daybyday]

the charger is on.. it floats the battery up and then cuts off and you see the leak. after awhile the charger pops back on and recovers the loss.. i've turned it off and disconnected it to remove the charger as a possible source for the leak while it was in standby.

Take out the fuses from the charger or otherwise disconnect it. Get an ohmmeter and see what the resistance is from the disconnected positive terminal to ground. Somewhere there is a resistance (load) of about 7.5 to 8.75 ohms from hot to ground, this would drain your battery at a rate of 1.6 amperes (depending on voltage).

Successively disconnect circuits, wiggle wires etc and see when this short disappears. This could turn into a full short over time.

 

[BillyK]

Found it. It was phantom. The Shunt was miss-calibrated. there wasnt an actual leak, just the appearance of one due to the shunt being off kilter from the factory. Sorry about that guys.