Unusual battery draining.

Hi everyone,

I have had a recurrent problem with my 2015 bike, regarding the current that is actually drawn whilst the bike is sat in my garage. Bought the bike and had a DataTool tracker fitted when I bought the bike. Then 6 months later my bike was stolen and recovered half hour later by the police, so the tracker was actually worth it .
However, I had a few things damaged and the bike was sent for repair. Since coming back from the garage, it went through 2 new batteries, the last one being depleted in just 6 days, after returning from a business trip. The one previous held a on for a bit more because I would run the bike everyday for 15 minutes and after 4 months when I had to go on a business trip, got depleted in a week as well.

I have been several times to 2 BMW dealers and they guarantee that the only possible cause is the tracker since it's the only 3rd party accessory the bike has, they say that nothing else is drawing unexpected amounts of current from the battery. I went to the tracker fitter and he told me the tracker was not the problem, he checked. The only thing I know is that the tracker was fitted in July 2015 and until the bike attempted stealing (January 16), I would leave the bike for weeks without touching it and there was never a problem with the battery. Only after going for repair the first time after the attempted theft, the problems started.

I have had the tracker removed for 3 days now and have been measuring the current drawing everyday, using the method of using a multimeter (bought a cheap one from Amazon) connected in series: removed the negative lead, connected the positive from the multimeter to the lead and the ground to the negative. I now have a fairly constant 0.18mA reading, is that normal?

Also, I found it that when I have the steering lock on, the multimeter gives me 0.18mA immediately. When I don't put the steering lock on, it looks like the CANBus goes crazy giving random measurements and then stabilises at 0.18mA, after 30 seconds.

I am really sorry for the long post but I am really desperate, I have already spent £200 in new batteries and both BMW dealers insist it's the tracker and they have not been helpful at all. Just want someone here to confirm whether 0.18mA is fine or do I still have a problem.

I have added the picture below, when the steering lock is on and also added this video link: https://youtu.be/pXgNXsoUck8 for when the steering lock if off, as you can see takes a little while to stabilise.

Many thanks,
jazzB

If I am reading it correctly and you have a discharge of 0.18 amp then that is to high.I don't get involved in bike electrics but I am an auto electrician and we see a lot of cars for battery drain faults anything above 0.02 amp on a car and there is an issue. To give you an idea of 0.18 relates to a 5 watt side light bulb would have a draw of 2.4 amps.

On cars when we check them you need to hook the meter up and leave it for a good 30 mins or so to allow the system to fully shut down and go to "sleep" also don't have the key anywhere nearby as on cars this can prevent it fully shutting down.

Hi, unfamiliar with multimeter shown but normally you connect the amps function with the 2 labelled 'unfused' display & meter setting appears to be showing 'Ohm' resistance.
If you turn on ignition & headlamp on (not just led light) you should see amps increase significantly, (important, don't attempt to start or you'll damage meter)
Try test& get back to me/us

My immediate thoughts, with parasitic drain, are the alarm system & the SatNav cradle (if fitted)

The former may not be dropping into a low drain/sleep mode correctly. The latter; well it could be the cradle itself has sustained physical/water damage or it could be that the canbus isn't shutting down the Nav power supply.

Your dealer should be able to troubleshoot both these problems - maybe consider a specialist/auto electrician if not.

snaponphil said:

Hi, unfamiliar with multimeter shown but normally you connect the amps function with the 2 labelled 'unfused' display & meter setting appears to be showing 'Ohm' resistance.
If you turn on ignition & headlamp on (not just led light) you should see amps increase significantly, (important, don't attempt to start or you'll damage meter)
Try test& get back to me/us

Click to expand...

I can see the picture now as I'm looking on a bigger screen and I'd say you are correct. I'd have red lead in the 10a socket,black left where it is and meter dial moved to 10A position then recheck the reading?

0.18mA? That's 0.00018 of an Amp. That will drain a 12 AH battery in 66666 hours.

That's a very long time.

Check the range setting on your meter.
0.18 mA is negligible - probably what's powering the clock.
0.18 Amps is waaay too much.

Looking at the picture, I think its reading 0.18mA - so not an issue.
If your meter is like mine then the right hand socket is Volts, Ohms and mA....so you're fine.

Norfolk Tiger said:

I can see the picture now as I'm looking on a bigger screen and I'd say you are correct. I'd have red lead in the 10a socket,black left where it is and meter dial moved to 10A position then recheck the reading?

Click to expand...

Yep. Agreed.
5 watt side lamp is approx .42 of an amp tho..

Ive a feeling that's reading 0.18 Amps its hard to understand the way its labelled regarding calibration. Anyhow that besides,do you have anything installed such as 12volt to 5 volt USB sockets or GPS supports that are direct to the battery or on board alarm. If so disconnect all and see if the battery keeps its charge over the next few days?
Id suggest as you seem to be getting a surge when moving the handlebars that you have a cable with worn insulation around the headstock which is causing a parasitic draw low enough that it doesn't trip but high enough that the Canbus is continuing to feed the current.

snaponphil said:

Yep. Agreed.
5 watt side lamp is approx .42 of an amp tho..

Click to expand...

Indeed it is

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, I will perform some of the tests later.

Regarding the reading, I am not a pro, just bought this multimeter because sadly 2 dealers would not help me :-(, and then went onto the internet and researched how to measure a current draw. I suppose I jacked in the red lead correctly but now I am unsure, given some of your more expert comments. Here is a close-up of what reads down there, it's not only Ohm, it's also 200mA MAX, apparently I read that we should start with 10A first on the left (for the red lead) and then move to a lower amp measurement.

I am really disappointed in those 2 dealers, they dismissed me concerns several times, though I told them that it was unlikely the tracker was the culprit because for 6 months I had no problems whatsoever and the tracker technician confirmed it to me. Honestly, I don't feel like buying a BMW ever again (and this is my third one), until the BMW dealer network service quality improves here in the U.K.

Lastly, can you guys advise of some really good honest garage that could look into it? They've been just having fun with me...not happy!

Close-up of the meter...

What reading do you get if you set the meter to 10A and move the red lead in to the 10ADC socket?

Norfolk Tiger said:

What reading do you get if you set the meter to 10A and move the red lead in to the 10ADC socket?

Click to expand...

I think I did that as well and I got 0.000 but I will redo it again.

https://youtu.be/wURbuqQiXRM?t=134



Manual http://usefulldata.com/manual-guide-multimeter-xl830l-with-pdf-instructions/

AberdeenAngus said:

Check the range setting on your meter.
0.18 mA is negligible - probably what's powering the clock.
0.18 Amps is waaay too much.

Looking at the picture, I think its reading 0.18mA - so not an issue.
If your meter is like mine then the right hand socket is Volts, Ohms and mA....so you're fine.

Click to expand...

Yes, that's it, Ohms and mA, posted a picture as well. I'm not an expert you know, so really have no idea. I believe it is 0.18 mA, just don't know whether it's too much...some say it isn't, some say it's too much :-(

jazzbeemer said:

Yes, that's it, Ohms and mA, posted a picture as well. I'm not an expert you know, so really have no idea. I believe it is 0.18 mA, just don't know whether it's too much...some say it isn't, some say it's too much :-(

Click to expand...

0.18mA is not too much, that level of current drain would take 7.6 years to drain the battery - the problem must be elsewhere.

Your meter is set to the 20mA range so assuming you have connected the meter correctly and it's not faulty then 0.18mA is the correct reading. This level of current on the 10A range will not even register, so expect a reading of 0.

Yes looks like 0.18mA which is [Amps x Volts] 0.018 x 12v = 0.216 watts a very trivial amount which may just be a small led somewhere on the bike.

Engineer said:

0.18mA is not too much, that level of current drain would take 7.6 years to drain the battery - the problem must be elsewhere.

Your meter is set to the 20mA range so assuming you have connected the meter correctly and it's not faulty then 0.18mA is the correct reading. This level of current on the 10A range will not even register, so expect a reading of 0.

Click to expand...

Thanks, then if 0.18 mA is not a problem, I'll wait for a few days then and see if the battery is depleted, there is no other way, otherwise if I go to the dealer again, they will say the same as you, that .18 mA is negligible. I hope that is the case and honestly, I now really hope the problem was with the tracker. And if it was, I will action its guarantee.
I will also reread with 10A, check again if it's 0.

From what I have read here (and thank you all very much, honestly, this forum is really great, you guys are stars), I probably needn't worry and possibly the tracker was the problem. I will wait out a few days more without turning the bike on and see what happens. Meanwhile I will send the reading to another dealer, where I bought the bike and ask them what they think of it.

I will certainly post an update when the issue is resolved, if any! Watch this space.

jazzbeemer said:

Yes, that's it, Ohms and mA, posted a picture as well. I'm not an expert you know, so really have no idea. I believe it is 0.18 mA, just don't know whether it's too much...some say it isn't, some say it's too much :-(

Click to expand...

I reckon its 0.18 mA which is perfectly acceptable and about right for the tiny current needed to keep your clock right.