LR2 electric repair help
Recovery Vehicle
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 847
Likes: 226
Just to clarify, I have a 2008 LR2 and the car was slow to turnover and start. Also, the battery was getting discharged for no apparent reason. I thought it was parasite power draw from my GPS so I unplugged it at night, but found the voltage was still going down over time with no explanation. Eventually the engine simply would not turn over and I had to call AAA for a tow. After doing the research, I realized the starter was bad...
TReK
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 2,152
Likes: 631
From: Massachusetts
Recovery Vehicle
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 847
Likes: 226
I never considered that the starter could be a source of Parasitic Drain (PD) until I read your post.
I check my PD using an inexpensive UNI-T UT210E clamp multimeter. At its low range setting of 2A for current, it measures down to 1mA with accuracy of (+/- 2% + 8). It's not an ultra precise lab quality meter, but good enough to check PD on your vehicle.
There are two red cables connected to the positive terminal of the battery. The thicker one goes to the starter and the smaller one goes to everything else. After the car is turned off and finishes its shutdown process (several minutes), I measure 33mA on the smaller cable of my 08 LR2. The typical rule of thumb for all vehicles is that it should be lower than 60mA. My actual PD is probably higher than what I measured because I had the hood open and the alarm turned off. But it looks OK.
I also measured the PD on the thicker cable and it shows 2mA. This is essentially a logical zero and may be EM interference or a tiny PD from the starter.
So the lesson here is that if you want to check if your starter is draining your battery, check the PD on the thicker cable. If it measures any milliamps above single digits, it's probably the culprit.
I check my PD using an inexpensive UNI-T UT210E clamp multimeter. At its low range setting of 2A for current, it measures down to 1mA with accuracy of (+/- 2% + 8). It's not an ultra precise lab quality meter, but good enough to check PD on your vehicle.
There are two red cables connected to the positive terminal of the battery. The thicker one goes to the starter and the smaller one goes to everything else. After the car is turned off and finishes its shutdown process (several minutes), I measure 33mA on the smaller cable of my 08 LR2. The typical rule of thumb for all vehicles is that it should be lower than 60mA. My actual PD is probably higher than what I measured because I had the hood open and the alarm turned off. But it looks OK.
I also measured the PD on the thicker cable and it shows 2mA. This is essentially a logical zero and may be EM interference or a tiny PD from the starter.
So the lesson here is that if you want to check if your starter is draining your battery, check the PD on the thicker cable. If it measures any milliamps above single digits, it's probably the culprit.
TReK
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 2,152
Likes: 631
From: Massachusetts
I never considered that the starter could be a source of Parasitic Drain (PD) until I read your post.
I check my PD using an inexpensive UNI-T UT210E clamp multimeter. At its low range setting of 2A for current, it measures down to 1mA with accuracy of (+/- 2% + 8). It's not an ultra precise lab quality meter, but good enough to check PD on your vehicle.
There are two red cables connected to the positive terminal of the battery. The thicker one goes to the starter and the smaller one goes to everything else. After the car is turned off and finishes its shutdown process (several minutes), I measure 33mA on the smaller cable of my 08 LR2. The typical rule of thumb for all vehicles is that it should be lower than 60mA. My actual PD is probably higher than what I measured because I had the hood open and the alarm turned off. But it looks OK.
I also measured the PD on the thicker cable and it shows 2mA. This is essentially a logical zero and may be EM interference or a tiny PD from the starter.
So the lesson here is that if you want to check if your starter is draining your battery, check the PD on the thicker cable. If it measures any milliamps above single digits, it's probably the culprit.
I check my PD using an inexpensive UNI-T UT210E clamp multimeter. At its low range setting of 2A for current, it measures down to 1mA with accuracy of (+/- 2% + 8). It's not an ultra precise lab quality meter, but good enough to check PD on your vehicle.
There are two red cables connected to the positive terminal of the battery. The thicker one goes to the starter and the smaller one goes to everything else. After the car is turned off and finishes its shutdown process (several minutes), I measure 33mA on the smaller cable of my 08 LR2. The typical rule of thumb for all vehicles is that it should be lower than 60mA. My actual PD is probably higher than what I measured because I had the hood open and the alarm turned off. But it looks OK.
I also measured the PD on the thicker cable and it shows 2mA. This is essentially a logical zero and may be EM interference or a tiny PD from the starter.
So the lesson here is that if you want to check if your starter is draining your battery, check the PD on the thicker cable. If it measures any milliamps above single digits, it's probably the culprit.
For some reason, though, this reminds me of a little ditty from one of Cheech and Chong's LP's... "Tired of the steady drip, drip, dip of gonorrhea?" Calling Sister Mary Elephant! 
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post