F121S car battery drain

[glock17]

Since the weather has been colder (teens) I've had 3 cars not wanting to start in the morning after leaving the radios on all night. I have them directly wired to the battery but I am thinking I may need to add a relay and have them turn on with the key.
Has anyone else had problems with radios draining their batteries?
The radios are not scanning and there is no radio activity during the night.
Grant

 

[vinzep491]

Why wouldnt you have just turned off the radios when you are not in the car at night...

Seems like a stupid reason to drain a battery....

Kind of common sense to turn those bad boys off at night..

 

[davidgcet]

it is not uncommon for this to happen during cold weather. the radios should be drawing less than 1/4A in standby, but combined with the car computer and other things draw you can get up to about 3/4A easily. if you have a semi weak battery, it will die overnight. you can add in teh relay if you like, just make sure it is rated for the draw of the radios. if they draw between 6A and 10A when keyed i would use a 20A relay to keep from burning the contacts.

 

[glock17]

I'm of the opinion you shouldn't have to touch the radio, it should just work.
I leave my Yaesu FT2800m radio on for days at a time an my car still starts.

 

[vinzep491]

I'm of the opinion you shouldn't have to touch the radio, it should just work.
.

Than why didnt you install the relay from the get-go?

 

[glock17]

Than why didnt you install the relay from the get-go?

I incorrectly assumed the Icom radios would not need them; my Yaesu doesn't.

 

[vinzep491]

Gotcha. Personally, I wouldnt chance it, but I understand why you would assume it would be alright.

 

[BigLebowski]

Gotcha. Personally, I wouldnt chance it, but I understand why you would assume it would be alright.

I don't. That just defies logic.. if you are out of the car all night and not listening, then WHY would you leave the radio on?

Are we too lazy to push the power button or what?

 

[vinzep491]

I don't. That just defies logic.. if you are out of the car all night and not listening, then WHY would you leave the radio on?

Are we too lazy to push the power button or what?

I was thinking the same thing, just trying to be nice....

lol

 

[grumps96]

I don't think It's a case of being too lazy to turn the radio off, as much as it is a case of remembering to turn it off. The relay is the best way to go. but a new battery might be in order, There might also be an issue with the charging circuit

 

[vinzep491]

Yes grumps, It's definitly a case of forgetting in my case if I ever leave something on!

It isnt a matter of being lazy.. after all, how hard is it to turn the knob to "off"... =]

 

[davidgcet]

i know a lot of folks who don't WANT their employees to turn off the radios, as it never fails that they forget to turn them back on. many older radios had an option to disable the physical on/off switch so that they could not be turned off. most newer radios have an ignition sense option to turn them off, but there is still a minute amount of current drain even in the off position.

i personally have my radios setup to cut off with the key, except for my travel chager for my MTX/HT1250 radios. it is no fun being at a tower site in the middle of nowhere and having a dead battery, been there and done that.

 

[vinzep491]

i know a lot of folks who don't WANT their employees to turn off the radios, as it never fails that they forget to turn them back on. many older radios had an option to disable the physical on/off switch so that they could not be turned off. most newer radios have an ignition sense option to turn them off, but there is still a minute amount of current drain even in the off position.

i personally have my radios setup to cut off with the key, except for my travel chager for my MTX/HT1250 radios. it is no fun being at a tower site in the middle of nowhere and having a dead battery, been there and done that.

Yes, but if you disable the on/off switch, you bet your a$$ they had it wired to the ignition with automatic shutoff.

 

[WayneH]

but a new battery might be in order, There might also be an issue with the charging circuit

This. When I've had a problem with parasitic devices it was because the battery needed replacement. Cold weather just makes things worse overall.

Some nice friendly posts in this thread. Thanks guys. :roll:

 

[davidgcet]

surprisingly not most of them, but then again the ones that had the switch disabled also ran those vehicles 24/7. a few would put those automatic disconnects on that would kill power if the battery dropped to 10.5-11 volts, but most did not care. then again, my experience with these was usually government agencies so they never could be accused of havign common sense!

 

[glock17]

brand new battery in the Lexus, it must just be too cold here for the parasitic drain. We only have problems when it's real,real cold out.

I actually believe the Escalade has a problem with the alternator charging the battery very well so I don't blame the radio for that one.

When someone buys a luxury car the do it partly of the automation, they want the car to take care of itself. You turn the key on and drive it, it has to start every time.

I can see how that conversation would go.

"Here is your new Lexus, by the way, every night turn the radio off with this little button and then every morning be sure to turn it back on.

That's just poor customer service to not take care of a customer 100%
We should try and make it as easy for the customer as possible. Relays will be going in from now on.

 

[texasemt13]

"Here is your new Lexus, by the way, every night turn the radio off with this little button and then every morning be sure to turn it back on.

That's just poor customer service to not take care of a customer 100%
We should try and make it as easy for the customer as possible. Relays will be going in from now on.

So the salesman is supposed to know you are going to add an extra 0.5A to the draw current at night times, when you install non-factory components, and warn you to turn them off at night? I'd hate to be your car salesman, scratch that, for a new Lexus and Escalade, I'd love to be your car salesman. You might be the only person buying these vehicles who installs radios in them.

As others said, either install the relay in the first place, and forget about it, or understand the fact behind batteries that says, more amperage drawn without being recharged means shorter life. Also understand that batteries are using a chemical reaction involving sulfuric acid, 34% in water at that, which, when converted, becomes mostly water, hence the cold, causing them to not want to provide the surge amperage required to turn your engine over.

 

[grumps96]

Battery care

I have not mentioned this before, because I assumed everyone knows how to maintain their car battery connections. Twice a year, I remove the clamps from the battery, and clean the post and the inside of the
clamp, (I have a tool for this, but you can use emery cloth in a pinch.) and reconnecting the clamps. Doing this helps to insure a proper charge gets to the Battery, and insures that as much cranking power as the Battery has, gets to the starter.

 

[mjthomas59]

Since I dont know your actual use for these radios I would be hard-pressed to suggest just 1 option. Being in the public-safety arena, I want my radio to be usable whether the ignition is on or not. I also have a pet-peeve about the radio cycling on-off when I start my car.

The solution we came up with was to install a timer-controlled relay. With computers, radios, light boxes, etc etc always being left-on, the relay was set to 2 hours. After that it killed the power to keep from draining the battery. The relays are actually adjustable so you could tailor the time to your preference, I believe they are setable from about 15 minutes to 6 hours.

The other option would be installing a voltage regulator which would turn off the radio once the battery voltage reached just above 12 volts. Then you would still likely have enough juice to start your car. Then on the warm days the radios might stay on all night, during the extreme cold they might not. Either way your car will start.

Just some options. Good luck