Tracing Out A Battery Drain Or Current Draw - Power Probe ECT3000 User Manual

Tracing out Battery Drains or Current Draw
When you have a battery or current draw that is drawing enough
current to drain the battery over night or a couple of days, you have
a condition that the ECT3000 can assist you in. In cases like this you
can inject a signal into the main positive battery cable after removing
it from the positive battery post. Now you can follow the signal along
its path and look for the possible cause of the battery drain.
Tracing battery drains are a little different than tracing a short or open
circuit. When you are tracing battery drains you are not looking for a
loss of signal, you are simply following the circuit path and unplug-
ging wires and components along the way to give you clues to the
problem.
To trace battery drains and get nearer to the location of the current
draw:
1. Disconnect the positive terminal from the vehicle's battery. (You
will need to consult your vehicle's owner manual for proper battery
disconnecting instruction. Some vehicles require that voltage poten-
tial be maintained at all times on certain components for instance,
radios, onboard computers, memory, CPUs, etc.)
2. Connect the transmitter's 20ft power lead to the positive and nega-
tive post of the battery.
3. Connect the signal lead to the disconnected positive terminal.
Trace the circuit that is transmitting the strong signal with the receiv-
er. (The directional indicators only show you the direction to ground.
It will not stop at the fault.)
4. Disconnect the wire and components along the circuit path to
narrow down the cause of the current draw.
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