what
@Loz said . . .
have a look over here on how to do it:
Any recommendations for clamp meters? They have been mentioned in a few threads but I can’t find suggested products. Suitable for small mA measurements with dc in the van and elsewhere and also if possible up to mains ac. I’m not sure how much I need to spend for a tolerably decent one with the...
www.t6forum.com
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To use it . . .
zero the tool with the Z clear button.
clamp around the main battery NEG cable,
take a reading. (DC Amps scale)
lock the van and keep an eye on the reading.
the modules will go to sleep after around 10-20mins.
after the modules are asleep the VW spec is a draw of below 50mA. (0.05A)
keep taking periodic measurements and write them down. (say every 1min)
if the tool goes to sleep and switches off, just remove/Zero/Replace and continue.
remember to flick the bonnet catch so the van sees the bonnet closed. (so th van sees it closed and will then fully shut down the modules)
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Edit: . . . . .
What do the numbers mean? :
well if you have greater than 50mA when at rest/sleeping then you are draining the battery with something other than just the Vans OEM electrics, causing the battery to drop faster than expected. ( reading after the 10-20min sleep/shut down)
Prime candidates are:
DashCams, (30mA-1A)
GPS devices (30mA-1A)
Speed Trap detectrors (30mA-1A)
OBDII plugs (like Carista etc) (30mA-1A)
USB chargers (30mA-3A)
LED lights (30mA-3A)
DC-DC charger (0mA-xxA)
MPPT solar (0mA-xxA)
anything else connected to the starter battery
what do i do now? :
start looking over the van to find NON-OEM kit and start unplugging it or removing fuses to locate the power draw.
when you unplug it you will see the DC Amps (mA) start dropping.
you then need to decide whether to relocate the power source to the leisure battery, or other.
The same applies for the Leisure battery and locating power drains . . . for example a dash cam can run a leisure battery flat after a few days !!
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