Battery drain on F150. Serial #1B944986

[CatFan]

Clamp-ons are problematic. Work well with A/C (none on a boat). Work fairly well with pulsing D/C (as in the trolling motor). They depend on the expanding/contracting magnetic field to make the measurement. With a pure D/C device connected, there is no pulsing within the power circuit, and the clamp-on won't sense anything and be misleading. Much better to measure with an in-line, which most clamp-ons will do if you have the correct probes. If you blew the 2a fuse, you already have a clue that the drain is too high as that should NOT happen with everything turned off and the ammeter inline. Mine has a 2a setting and a separate jack for 10a testing. If you blow the 10a fuse, that would really be an issue. :)

AC clamp-on meters rely on changing field as they use a transformer to determine the current. DC clamp-on meters use a Hall Effect sensor which outputs a voltage proportional to the strength of the magnetic field so they work fine for DC measurements.

[shuddyssoup]

Okay, having the wrong meter in this case wound up being irrelevant. I unhooked the alternator last night and when I got up this morning the battery was still at 13.06 volts. The same as last night. I disconnected everything and hooked the alternator back up and within about 10 minutes it started the drain. CatFan, you are right about the arc but in this case it was a good arc and when I hooked the battery back to the motor after I reconnected the alternator, the arc was significant. We have a local shop that specializes in alternator repair ... Perhaps they can repair this one. Guys, this bad boy was on the way to the dealer and you've helped me more than you could know. Either way, this one repaired or a new one and I'll be back on the water soon. I'm wondering if the alternator was affected by the Stealth One charger ... any thoughts on that ?

[lpugh]

Okay, having the wrong meter in this case wound up being irrelevant. I unhooked the alternator last night and when I got up this morning the battery was still at 13.06 volts. The same as last night. I disconnected everything and hooked the alternator back up and within about 10 minutes it started the drain. CatFan, you are right about the arc but in this case it was a good arc and when I hooked the battery back to the motor after I reconnected the alternator, the arc was significant. We have a local shop that specializes in alternator repair ... Perhaps they can repair this one. Guys, this bad boy was on the way to the dealer and you've helped me more than you could know. Either way, this one repaired or a new one and I'll be back on the water soon. I'm wondering if the alternator was affected by the Stealth One charger ... any thoughts on that ?

Very much a possibility, Alternator is designed to maintain one battery of the recommended type and capacity, not recharge depleted batteries or additional batteries
Alternators will run extremely hot when asked to do more than they are designed to do, This is why you will never see these devices on my rigs, absolutely not needed anyway with a properly setup system

[shuddyssoup]

Leon, I fish brackish areas and rivers that have a lot of current. I've always loved my stealth one because it gave me the confidence that I'd never run out of juice. I swapped a Minn Kota 460PC out for the piece of mind. I may just put it back in. As much as I hate to admit it ...