1. Home
  2. General Toyota Forum
  3. What is the normal battery current leakage when a car is off?

What is the normal battery current leakage when a car is off?

Hi all,

I am measuring 20 mA in my Camry'89, 12 mA through the main fuse and 8 mA through the alternator's one. In this model there is a small fuse box with 3 fuses attached directly to the positive clamp on the battery...

There is no alarm in this car, the only thing that might be drawing some current would be radio in the standby mode, which I probably should try disconnecting completely... That would explain 12 mA...

The reason I am asking is because the car did not start after sitting not used for 3 weeks. I calculated that in 3 weeks it should have lost about 10 Ah at 20 mA drain. I then recharged the battery with a charger, but since then it doesn't seem to keep the charge anymore... I am going to replace the battery anyways, but would like to know if I have a leakage problem as well...

Thanks, /Mikhail

Reply to
MM
Loading thread data ...

We experienced similar Interstate battery weakness after garaging our '95 Camry for six weeks. The Toyota service manager said it's "normal" and advised battery disconnection next time. The '00 Camry original battery seemed ok.

-Gordon

Reply to
Gordon Slishman

Hi, I have a 1995 CAMRY had it from new.

Its only about 6 months ago I changed the original battery. Over 9 years in use was unbelievable.

Mine would still turn the car over after 5 weeks in garage while I was away on holidays and that was with the alarm armed. Yet it died overnight and would not turn car over. One cell SG was virtually uncharged when I checked it out. It never recovered even with long external charging.

Just my 2 cents.

Johnny UK.

Reply to
JM

20 ma is normal. Anything over 60ma should be investigated. The main current consumer when the car is off is the clock which today usually lives in the radio.

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

Here's the answer to a question nobody asked, but I've been quite pleased with this stuff in two vehicles:

formatting link
6One is a 1977 Toyota pick up truck that gets driven only rarely - sothat would be the worst possible use for a battery - crank, and crankto bring fuel up to the carburetor, then relatively short trips, thensitting again a long time.The other vehicle is a 1994 Camry driven daily, with headlights on,generally short trips, hard to keep a full charge, but now always spinsover with gusto. The fluid doesn't require very much to utilize, so I think I've got enough left over for several more batteries.

Reply to
Daniel

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.