Parasitic draw test with Fluke 87V. What am I doing wrong?

[HomeTheaterMan]

I'm trying to do a parasitic draw test and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not expert with this meter, but I've never had any problem doing it with the Snap On meter I previously used. I feel like I'm doing everything correctly. I disconnected the negative battery cable. Then I connected one lead to the negative battery cable, and one to the negative post on the battery. On the meter side, I hooked the negative (black) lead to the "COM" Port and tried the positive (red) lead connected to both the "MauA" port the second from the left and the "A" port on the left. Then I set the dial to the mA setting, then also tried the uA to make sure I wasn't on the wrong setting. They were both initially on AC power, so I used the yellow button to manually change them back to DC power. Neither setting seemed to produce any sort of reading, nor was the ground to the battery connected. Nothing in the vehicle was getting power. At this point, I figured the fuses in the meter must be blown. However, I took the meter apart and pulled the fuses out. When I did a continuity reading, I was getting a reading indicating they weren't bad. This leads me to believe I probably shouldn't spend the $40+ they cost.

At this point I'm at a loss as to why I'm not able to test for a parasitic draw though. I'm thinking I must have something hooked up wrong or something set wrong on the meter. Any idea where I've gone wrong?

 

[Dagny]

Probably have more current than those ports are for use the one way to the left but many meters limit that to 10 amps.

 

[MWitte]

One lead has to be in the black common port. The other lead goes in the A port (10 amps if I recall correctly) or the Ma/Ua port if you want milliamps or microamps. That's what the lines below the ports on the front panel indicate.

 

[cycle61]

See the wave above the mA test setting? That means it’s AC only.

 

[richfinn]

Check your amp jacks for continuity first (fuse test/integrity check) if this is OK perform the test as follows

Use the red lead in the 10A jack and the black lead in COM, set meter to DC Amps.

Connect meter in series between battery negative post and the unhooked negative terminal and take measurements after car is fully asleep (I like to roll the bonnet latch and lock the car and wait 30mins)

Always start with the highest available current the meter is capable of measuring before you switch to mA (in your case you will have plenty of resolution on the basic 10A setting)

Your looking for 0.050A and below (50mA) as a reasonable acceptable drain.

 

[RTM]

nor was the ground to the battery connected.

what does this mean? You said the black lead was there?

 

[richfinn]

See the wave above the mA test setting? That means it’s AC only.

See the Yellow lines to the right of the A/mA setting?

Those indicate that if you push the yellow function button it will toggle to A/mA in DC

 

[joecon]

To start put a jumper between the battery negative post and the cable, then wait till the car goes to sleep, then with the meter hooked up disconnect the jumper. The car will draw more current when it first is turned off, then less once the modules go to sleep.

 

[richfinn]

To start put a jumper between the battery negative post and the cable, then wait till the car goes to sleep, then with the meter hooked up disconnect the jumper. The car will draw more current when it first is turned off, then less once the modules go to sleep.

I have a special tool that does exactly this (also fused to protect your meter) I do a lot of parasitic drains and Fluke Fuses get expensive and tedious to swap out.

Vehicle Current Parasitic Drain Tester WCDT | Warwick Test Supplies

Parasitic Current Drain Tester for vehicle diagnostics and testing. A durable test accessory featuring an inbuilt 'meter saver' fuse and switchable 15A fuse

warwickts.com

 

[N8sToolz]

I've done it with internal ports before, but prefer using current clamp. Some are sensitive enough for parasitic draw, can wake up and shut down the vehicle to solve intermittent draws. A shunt resistor is also a really good way to get a reading without getting you meter involved in the circuit.

 

[ronkz650]

The Fluke fuses blow pretty often even if you are measuring a 100ma draw. I gave up and simply solder pigtails to a glass gma or gmc fuse, and solder the fuse into the clips. Probably a hack, but I have had it with the dumb fuses blowing.

 

[cycle61]

See the Yellow lines to the right of the A/mA setting?

Those indicate that if you push the yellow function button it will toggle to A/mA in DC

I missed those. They’re blurry on the provided picture. Some fluke models are DC compatible, some are not.

 

[richfinn]

I missed those. They’re blurry on the provided picture. Some fluke models are DC compatible, some are not.

Yep, I'm used to Flukes after 30 years of owning them, I love the Pictograms on the dial, once you have got used to them you can jump to any model and instantly understand every function intuitively.

Very clever but simple design feature

 

[cycle61]

I have six or eight different Flukes of various vintages, but only one with me at the moment since I’m more computer nerd than technician on this trip. Wouldn’t buy anything else except for very specific applications.

 

[Steve_P]

Lisle sells an inexpensive parasitic draw adapter, with fuses, to use with a meter; it's not a rocket science design, but for the $, it's definitely worth having. As said, the 87V is a top-end meter and is DC compatible on amps / mA.

https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-64970-Parasitic-Drain-Tester/dp/B00RGN5UAY/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Maxident]

Hey I found this forum after searching for the same answer as OP. After I didn’t see a reply to the original post with the correct answer I started hitting buttons on my fluke87 and I figured it out.

You were almost to it with your settings all that was missing was after hitting the yellow button to get from AC to DC on the meter, I hit the min/max button, then the one directly under it I’d call the BEEP button.

I’m not sure what I’d call the second button other than the BEEP button because that’s how I turn on the meter to alert when I have continuity. It resembles a speaker symbol.


I hope whoever needs this information in the future is able to benefit from this reply. I’m sure there’s plenty of other people out there that have been left scratching their heads with this one in the past.
Till next time,
-MaXidently AmaXing

 

[MacMcMacmac]

I find it a lot easier to use the mV setting and do a voltage drop test across each fuse.