Sometimes the car battery runs out not because you left the headlights or radio on all night, but for some unknown reason. Most likely, this is a leak in the electrical circuit of your car. Checking for a leak is not that difficult: you only need one device called an ammeter.
Instructions
Step 1
Turn on the ammeter and then connect the vehicle ground through it. How to do it? Remove the wire from the "-" terminal of the battery and connect one of the ammeter contacts to it. We connect the second contact to the removed wire. The device will show how many amperes of current are transmitted by the battery to the car wiring. The normal reading is about 0.05 amps. If the current is greater, then there is a leak. To troubleshoot the problem, find the consumer in the car to which the current flows.
Step 2
Prepare the machine for circuit testing. Turn off the ignition, close the car doors, and open the windows, turn off the radio. Switch on the ammeter again, and then take out the individual fuses in turn. As a result, different circuits in the wiring are disconnected in turn. And it's easy to find out the circuit that consumes all the current: if the ammeter readings fell when the next circuit was disconnected, then it is to blame for the leak. Look for the malfunction in it.
Step 3
What if all circuits have been checked and no leak is found? There are three parts in the car that are not protected by a fuse. These are the generator, ignition system and starter. These three circuits need to be checked. This can be done by disconnecting the wires from them. However, before you climb into the very heart of the car, check the more likely option - test the radio and the signaling. It is these two nodes that most often cause leakage, consuming current even when they are off. Please note that it is quite difficult to check the alarm device yourself, so you will most likely need to see a specialist.
Step 4
After you find the cause of the leak, put all the battery wires back in place, disconnect the tester. Recharge the battery. If the reason is in devices such as a radio tape recorder, a TV, then most likely you just connected it incorrectly - try to figure it out yourself using the instructions for the device. If you don't figure it out or the reason is in another node, then go to the car service. Only masters can correctly and accurately eliminate the problem.
