How to find a parasitic battery drain?

2007 HONDA RIDGELINE
178,000 MILES • 3.0L • 4 CYL • TURBO • 4WD • AUTOMATIC
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KEITH BATCHELOR
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There is a electrical short draining the battery is there a test to locating it?
This vehicle has been in the shop several times and after a few days the battery is dead; the only solution has been to disconnect the ground cable on the battery. Is there a diagnostics machine to locate the problem?
Sep 14, 2021 at 11:45 AM
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SQM
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Hello,

In order to find the excessive parasitic draw you will have to use a multimeter and go thru the fuse panel and disconnect each fuse and check the draw at the battery. This way you can isolate each circuit to find where the draw maybe coming from.

As you know every circuit with a battery will have a parasitic draw. The ideal draw with the key of should be around 25 milliamp.

Here is a video of how to find the parasitic draw:

https://youtu.be/z5F7WpgjaRs

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-battery-dead-overnight

Please let me know of any questions.
Thank you.
Sep 14, 2021 at 12:15 PM