help electric question!!!

[ian and jean]

Hi my son wants me to ask on our surf, On ignition wire with the ignition off would there be any voltage showing on a multi meter, it would help to solve a problem with our poorly car at the moment!!!!thanks!!

[Andy7160h]

You will have power going into the ignition barrel and nothing coming out until the key is turned

[ian and jean]

we have a prob then, done tests battery keeps going flat, with ignition off we have 0.44 volts coming out of the ignition wire,at the stereo, when we shouldn't so im gonna have to follow the wire back to see y there is a voltage there.

[da SLUG man]

you have a constant supply for the radio memory, ECU and everything that works with ignition off.

[TonyN]

you have a constant supply for the radio memory, ECU and everything that works with ignition off.

Werd!

[Grimreeper]

Remember that at the sterio u will have a perm live and a switched live from the ign (on in the acc position)
Also do u have anything in the cig lighter socket as often they r fed from the same circuit.

[da SLUG man]

Werd!

to yo mama!

[paulh]

It is not unusual to have low voltages showing at various points on any vehicle, the voltage is not "coming out" its just there.
What you need to be measuring is current flowing from the battery when it shouldn,t be and that's done by disconnecting your battery and connecting your meter (set on amps) between the battery terminal and the connector that you have just removed.
If you have twin batteries remove the earth terminal from the second battery before testing.
It's rare to find that the problem is leakage, the problem usually turns out to be faults in battery/charging system.

[ian and jean]

It is not unusual to have low voltages showing at various points on any vehicle, the voltage is not "coming out" its just there.
What you need to be measuring is current flowing from the battery when it shouldn,t be and that's done by disconnecting your battery and connecting your meter (set on amps) between the battery terminal and the connector that you have just removed.
If you have twin batteries remove the earth terminal from the second battery before testing.
It's rare to find that the problem is leakage, the problem usually turns out to be faults in battery/charging system.

Already done a amp test there was 0.06 amps there and there should only be 0.03 amps there,so i started to take fuses out to find what circuit was drawing the amps and found it was the 'dome ' fuse which had the radio etc, on. so tested the wires going into the radio,with the ignition off, i had current being drawn from the igniton wire of the stereo ,when it should have no volts coming from that wire.!!

[paulh]

Where did you get your figure of .03 amps from?
That current is probably being drawn by things such as the radio memory and the ecu, another .03 amps is not going to discharge your battery not for a very long time anyway.
How long is the battery lasting before going flat?
Are the batteries original or have you changed them?
I expect they are something like 70 ah batteries which, if you have two will give you 140ah, theoretically that will give you a drain of 1amp for 140 hours yet you are only draining .06 amps.

[AuldNick]

I ate an elicritin once, you want to confuse fit a fuse. Bin all multitesters and get a bulb with wires on, that's how Bill Gates did it, nowt worse than a "spark" and a meter, it's doomed!

[Sancho]

I ate an elicritin once, you want to confuse fit a fuse. Bin all multitesters and get a bulb with wires on, that's how Bill Gates did it, nowt worse than a "spark" and a meter, it's doomed!

You ate an electrician once? Is that where the saying 'sh1tting lights' comes from?