Complicated RA4 Uconnect amp draw issue

[firefighter_2000]

So, I've been having a battery drain issue, that has ultimately ruined 2 sets of batteries. Finally, with the help of TimD, I was able to identify the radio circuit as the culprit. I have the 8.4 Uconnect (RA4) radio, with software version 18.13.17. The head was replaced just over a year & a half ago or so (supposedly the HVAC portion had gone bad, but that didn't solve the HVAC problem).
When watching the multimeter, with the fuse installed (the stand alone fuse, on the passenger side above the coolant tank) there is an approximate 80 miliamp draw every approximately every 3 minutes, that lasts for between 15 & 30 seconds.
Until I can figure out how to resolve this problem, I've added an on off switch to the fuse link, and turn it off when the truck is not being used.
Anyone have any ideas on how to go about solving this problem?
Thanks!
Craig

 

[JLandry]

An 80 milliamp current is truly minuscule and shouldn’t be the cause of ruining your batteries.

Assuming you have two standard size batteries, the intermittent 80 milliamp load you observed should take over 6 months to consume only half of your truck's battery capacity.

I'd look elsewhere for the cause.

John L.

 

[firefighter_2000]

An 80 milliamp current is truly minuscule and shouldn’t be the cause of ruining your batteries.

Assuming you have two standard size batteries, the intermittent 80 milliamp load you observed should take over 6 months to consume only half of your truck's battery capacity.

I'd look elsewhere for the cause.

John L.

I think I got my fractions/decimals wrong. It was drawing .8 A, which I guess is 800 mA. It dropped to .017 A when the fuse is pulled, or in between draws. A couple of times it got up to 1.4 A during a drawl. But most of the time it was 0.8 A draw.
Also, it took about nine months each time to kill the batteries.
Craig

 

[JLandry]

Okay, understood.

I don’t know if that's normal behavior and what to do about it, but are you not able to supply the a maintenance charge to the batteries (like a Battery Tender charger) when it won’t be operated for longer than a couple weeks? That’s what I do. With all the electronic wizardry, keyless entry and alarm system, I just assume the batteries are being discharged continuously.

John L.

 

[firefighter_2000]

Okay, understood.

I don’t know if that's normal behavior and what to do about it, but are you not able to supply the a maintenance charge to the batteries (like a Battery Tender charger) when it won’t be operated for longer than a couple weeks? That’s what I do. With all the electronic wizardry, keyless entry and alarm system, I just assume the batteries are being discharged continuously.

John L.

Its really weird. My truck gets driven literally every day. Half of the nights (when I am at home, and not at the fire station or ambulance) the truck is on a battery tender overnight. When I most recently replaced the batteries, only the drivers side battery was bad. The passenger side was still near full capacity.
Craig

 

[sag2]

Even if you have a one amp draw for 10 minutes per hour, the batteries should last a month or more without starting the truck.

 

[Ozymandias]

When I most recently replaced the batteries, only the drivers side battery was bad. The passenger side was still near full capacity.
Craig

This tells me that you had a bad battery to begin with, these two units work as one single big battery, both gets the charge equal and also the discharge.
There is no way that one battery can turn bad from the draw of a current while the other one stays healthy.

 

[firefighter_2000]

This tells me that you had a bad battery to begin with, these two units work as one single big battery, both gets the charge equal and also the discharge.
There is no way that one battery can turn bad from the draw of a current while the other one stays healthy.

This was the third set of Odysseys that went bad. I can’t imagine 2 sets then another single going bad.
Craig

 

[AH64ID]

Batteries really aren’t what they used to be, unfortunately.

What kind of tender are you using?

The truck have push button start?

 

[firefighter_2000]

Batteries really aren’t what they used to be, unfortunately.

What kind of tender are you using?

The truck have push button start?

I do have the push button start. Key is kept in the house away from the truck. I use the battery minder agm.
https://www.batteryminders.com/2012agm-12v-charger-maintainer-sealed-agm-lead-acid-batteries

 

[Topzide]

@firefighter_2000, I've not read anything good about the Odysseys lately. They are no where near where they were when they first came onto the market! I think in the long run, get an AGM from a source that has a good replacement warranty. I was surprised to see the Walmart Maxx H7 Platinum had a 4 year replacement and were $180 ea. That seems to me to be worthwhile as there seems to be a Walmart close by in most locals for warranty if needed. All batteries are not like they used to be. Also, Thank You for doing the job you do! Helping others in they're time of need!

 

[AH64ID]

@firefighter_2000, I've not read anything good about the Odysseys lately. They are no where near where they were when they first came onto the market! I think in the long run, get an AGM from a source that has a good replacement warranty. I was surprised to see the Walmart Maxx H7 Platinum had a 4 year replacement and were $180 ea. That seems to me to be worthwhile as there seems to be a Walmart close by in most locals for warranty if needed. All batteries are not like they used to be. Also, Thank You for doing the job you do! Helping others in they're time of need!

I didn't even get 3 years out of the rebranded Odyssey Sears Platinum P2's in my 05. I had better luck with the much cheaper Costco Interstate options.

 

[sag2]

Costco Interstate AGM batteries here. Wal-Mart would have been my second choice.

 

[Rob S]

Last month I put in 2 of these Super Start Platinum AGM Battery Group Size 94R H7 from Oreilly's. not sure who Oreilly gets them from. They were about $207each. my stock batts were load testing on the low end of good and I dont like taking chances on batteries.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Anything by East Penn are good US Made quality. Sold under many names.

 

[Timd32]

Here is the back up to this issue that I found.

These can be rabbit holes, and maybe it is just another set of bad batteries, but 6 bad cells, at somepoint I think going a tad further is warranted in this case, but from what the complaint was it did appear to be something truck related that was draining down the battery. This truck does not sit from the sounds of it.

It really looks like there are 2 procedures listed, one related to the RA1 and RA2 basic radio, and then the RA3 and RA4 radio.

Here is the one in question.

Unfortunately what I can't figure out or see a list of is all the radio updates, the trail stops kinda cold on that, I think someone who can decode the VIN and look at the versions.

For example TSB NUMBER: 08-049-13 REV. C is a valid TSB for this rig and addresses Battery Drain due to radio not turning off.

So what is spec for what is "OFF", we all know these trucks click and clack for some time when you shut them down, it's a sequence of events from stuff being in preset conditions or purge valves and who really knows what all the noises are, but OFF is something that takes a while. At least 30min per the procedures.

And I will say @firefighter_2000 really did a good job tracking down this odd feature of this exact RA4 running this specific firmware, that would be great to see if anyone has any idea how to verify it's behaving correctly.

Maybe some research on that driveuconnect site is needed, I just noticed that.

Back to the paperwork......

I mentioned 2 procedures and I feel they are tied to the technology package of the rig.

One list 35mA (.035A), the second one lists 50mA (.050A), we choose the larger of the 2 since it lists things like Amps and the sort that this rig has the list of things matches the rig.

After 30 min or even 60 min according to the paperwork 1400mA (1.400A) to 800mA (.800A) should not be observed in a pulsing manner. From what I recall it's pulsing all the time.

Depending on the meter and refresh rate of the screen it could be higher then this 800mA and it just picks it up as that.

Pulling the radio fuse the truck falls right in line with the IOD test, I think it's like 17mA (.017A) after 30 to 60 minutes and never wakes back up.

11. Observe the multimeter reading. The low-amperage IOD should not exceed 50 milliamperes (0.050 ampere). If the current draw exceeds 50 milliamperes, isolate each circuit using the fuse and circuit breaker remove-andreplace process. The multimeter reading will drop to within the acceptable limit when the source of the excessive current draw is disconnected. Repair this circuit as required; whether a wiring short, incorrect switch adjustment, or an inoperative component is the cause.