Customer is Tired of this PARASITIC DRAW!! (Toyota Avalon)

This 2002 Toyota Avalon keeps draining the battery if it sits for more than a few days.
Owner is ready to put a kill switch on the battery.
He wants the problem diagnosed, and if possible repaired if it doesn't break the bank.
Let's follow the logical approach and see what the culprit is.
ASTRO AI DVOM:
www.amazon.com/dp/B07FDBW1PT?...
ASTRO AI DC AMP CLAMP:
www.amazon.com/dp/B08MTCMWLB?...
Enjoy!
Ivan

[@charleshenshaw9099]

That's a outstanding solution to the problem without costing the client a lot of money.

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

Parasitic draws are always interesting (when not evolving to time consuming nightmares). That was the only reasonable solution, to avoid an expensive repair. Well done :-)

[@johnoates4692]

009⁹⁹990000000

[@garyalford9394]

Too bad 17 yrs is considered their life span! I still drive a 92 Tercel that works great! no frill's but VERY cheap to drive.

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

@@garyalford9394 Planed obsolescence. Everything must last less and less, for the profit of manufacturers. In the EU, annual inspections and increasingly stringent legislation, have the main purpose of making older cars too expensive to pass.

[@lustfulvengance]

Man Ivan I'll tell you what the first time I drove an Avalon of that vintage, I was at a loss for words! That is the smoothest quietest most refined vehicle I had ever driven! No American manufacturer had anything that could even come close to competing! Lexus was on a whole different level entirely!

[@vwwrenchie314]

I have a 92 Camry/Lexus in my "fleet"that is still solid after thirty years and over 375,000 miles."Grossly over - engineered" according to Edmund's

[@ronwest7930]

The Japanese vehicles about forty years ago caused American manufacturers to step up their game.

[@JPAutoService]

This car was made in Kentucky and is more of a domestic car than most big 3 equivalents. Avalons are great and most Toyotas are well made but I have to say that they can all be a major pain in the ass to work on. "The Toyota will fuck you" is a common phrase at my shop.

[@vwwrenchie314]

@@JPAutoService try a Honda..the worst

[@haroldwilkes6608]

They don't call them "baby Lexus" for nothing. Mine is a gem.

[@Nabeelco]

I love that you used voltage drop testing across the fuses. So many techs just start by pulling fuses like crazy, and of course, make their diagnosing much harder.

[@markanderson4794]

Had a brother who was a parasitic draw. Never stopped asking for money

[@SouthMainAuto]

Man, not even one squirt of WD40 :( Love the idea of checking it after accessory cycle and then after ignition cycle. 90% sure I would not have done that unless by accident. That made narrowing it down way easier. I would have been down the path of finding the three separate power feeds to each item then seeing which one was the consumer. Did you by chance discover the accessory trick by accident of was it part of your thought process once you see what was attached to the 30 amp fuse?

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Hey Eric! Thanks for the comment man! I figured if the radio turns on in ACC then if the draw came back it would be the radio... But only came back after an ON cycle so must be the fancy-pants multi display 😉

[@AZBEEMR]

Do you mean Brake Kleen? Oh, wait that’s SMA. My bad.

[@aidenyousef3880]

Sma, pine hollow, scanner danner, diagnose Dan and etcg are all the best KZbin has to offer.

[@bryanfischer2443]

@@Ismail-1983 south main auto repair

[@bryanfischer2443]

@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics Since that was an always hot power feed that kept the radio presets. I wonder if the emissions monitors also reset now since the fuse also feed part of the ecu?

[@papagator7007]

It's so cool to watch you track down these electrical problems and you are a great teacher, thank you Ivan.

[@richard1835]

Another great electrical diagnostic video by PHAD. Thank you

[@garylewis3641]

Great job, I never realized such a work around was possible. I really enjoy your videos!

[@dws2313]

First time to learn voltage drop testing on fuses. So simple, yet did not know. Thanks!

[@markmalikowski4971]

Excellent diagnosis again! Thanks again for another great video! I'm learning a lot about electrical and electronic problems, really appreciate all of your expertise.

[@tmet01]

Excellent video. I have a lot of respect for your troubleshooting skills as well as your ability to do workarounds.

[@craiggoodwin9704]

Ivan, it's nice to see you working on a really nice car. Love your logic working your way through the electrical system. Great solution. Thanks for Sharing!

[@davidclapham1066]

Great video. I'd heard of voltage drop testing but didn't know how it worked - now I do. Thanks Ivan 🙂

[@roxanneabbott8424]

So cool how you read these schematics so easily, great work!!

[@AP9311]

Did not see this in my notification feed!! Until now! Wow. Almost missed this. Well that was great work around fix, so glad costumer approved the repair! So simple to find the draw! I learned few things along the way!! Great job Ivan!

[@persimonsen8792]

I'm no mechanic (hvac guy), but i love see your videos. Great for learning.

[@elisacohenusa]

Loved your thorough analysis. Thanks.

[@daletustison8550]

This guy really is good. He explains what he is doing and lets you see it. Thanks for sharing. That is the only time the drain was explained (And) the solution clearly explained.

[@randy33111]

I’m happy that I can watch your Chanel and actually learn something. Thank you!

[@sheeshalready]

Thank you, Ivan! Many of us have older vehicles that are just not cost effective to spend hundreds to repair things like this "correctly". Nice solution that I will not soon forget 🙂

[@brettster3331]

Great video Ivan, you have the best diagnostic skills, I am so impressed with your solution to keep the customer happy without spending a fortune.

[@chadwickdavis1749]

Well done! Using logic to diagnose a strange power draw!

[@myz06rocks]

Definitely learned more about the process of thinking electrically. Thanks 🙏

[@kv2280]

Amazing parasitic draw video. I love the basic tip of not lifting the negative cable all the way up when hooking up the DVOM in series.

[@JimmyMakingitwork]

It's nice that Toyota labels their fuse boxes unlike some others. I have seen a few of these with a small draw from the radio. Nice work around as usual!

[@bjack8645]

Very nicely done! I learned some new tricks.

[@markwadkins7758]

Bussman I believe makes an add-a-circuit mini fuse adapter that I've used before for creating your fix.

[@colinsmith2526]

Such a great video. Maybe the one I been looking for. Thank you so much!

[@jorgefernandez-mv8hu]

That was a good solution to the customer's problem. Great car with silly extras causing problems. Nice Job Ivan.

[@gordon295]

Nice one !! Once again. Love your work !!

[@vancity2349]

Wow great video, detailed explanation and fix!

[@CXensation]

The art of practical solutions ...😊

[@deweycheatem1474]

I've done this conversion a few times, usually incorporating a relay to keep all the fuse and wiring loads as close to original as possible. Definitely a money saver compared to the alternatives and minor loss of some functions is tolerable mostly. I admit to being thrifty but my girlfriend says I'm cheap!

[@scientist100]

yes, unfortunately radios are supposed to have some sort of memory in order to keep settings saved. I had to do this on a 16 Chrysler 300 because the radio was consuming a lot of power. I tapped into the cigar wire to activate a relay on accessory but quickly learned that the radio would not recognize the car in accessory mode, only in the run "full power mode" and of course that loads all electrical so, that would be the only downfall when doing this type of modification. For newer cars, it is hard to find power on accessory modes as most modules are full power and ground and are on standby, what makes them up is com lines which sucks if you are trying to tap into an ignition wire, there is no such thing in these newer cars, not even at the push to start button, it is always constant power and ground, the com lines is what sends out the signals, it is crazy.

[@Dirt-Diggler]

I did the same on my 03 transit connect, i wired an ign live activated relay to the dash live, i lost trip and time memory on the dash but thankfully kept the radio presets 👍

[@garyalford9394]

@@scientist100 Yes I knew a older fellow who installed snow plows etc on trucks who quit doing it because he said the newer vehicle electronics have got to hard to deal with!

[@haroldwilkes6608]

Dear Abby might have a few words for your girlfriend...cheap is good.

[@mungox1]

@@haroldwilkes6608 frugal is good, cheap is not

[@desparky]

Great video and well explained. Measuring voltage drop across fuse blades without restarting the power down process is a quick and simple way to diagnose. I'm sure this guy will be aware of these things, but Auto Fuse Tap adaptors are great for stealing power from another fuse circuit and creating another separately fused feed. Ideal for this workaround.

[@erichkestler1934]

I learned a lot from this video. Thank you!

[@pluijm2]

Well done, nice analysis. Good solution.

[@baxrok2.]

Outstanding. Thanks Ivan!

[@fredf1794]

We just fixed my son's Avalon based on this video. Thanks! We did use an add-a-circuit fuse tap and a 5 position lever nut because all 3 circuits (dome, radio, ECCB) had high parasitic draw. Had to make sure to pick the correct connection point (top or bottom of the fuse connection) to connect to the source & loads. We used the accessory 1 fuse for the source. Also, we didn't have much luck with the "millivolts across the fuse" with our cheap harbor freight meter, but it seemed to work fine with regular ammeter readings on the 5A range. Thanks, again, I'll leave a tip as well :-) On a side note, oddly, we had previously also replaced the ignition switch (the actual electrical switch in the dash) because of another electrical draw, apparently a 'bridge' circuit in the switch itself.

[@craighearn747]

Really clearly presented and thank you.

[@mikechiodetti4482]

I've done that with 2 way radio systems that have intermittent on times and won't shut down. Radio shop said no problem and it was once I put the battery wire and the ign wire to the ign circuit. Like your vehicle, the memory required an input to function and being an easy input the supervisor opted for that. No more dead battery. Life is good again! Good fix Ivan!

[@dennisprow7576]

I have both solenoids coming by mail. I'm stoked because I found a 2000 avalon for 500 bucks. Did the alternator and will be doing the solenoids. Such an easy fix!

[@waleyefish9026]

I had this problem in a 16 year old honda. The battery kill switch is not a good idea if your vehicle is subject to Smog tests, it resets the main computer each time you use it. Your bypass solution will work. Great Job Ivan!!👍👍👍👍

[@justsumguy2u]

I love solutions like this, they're creative and they make sense....especially financially

[@fredf1794]

Thanks, this was very helpful

[@rplayer9969]

I wish you would be a teacher like ScannerDanner and film the instruction like he does. You would be perfect for the job. I'm 71 and would attend both classes but different nights. LOL

[@akhtarkh]

ScannerDanner gives 5 mins of worthy information in 45 mins, wastes too much time.

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

@@akhtarkh the opposite is Keith DeFazio... Gives 45 minutes of information in 5 minutes 👌🤣

[@akhtarkh]

@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics now I can't argue with Ivan. I concur.

[@tctwg1]

2:30 I never thought of that 🤯. That will help on newer Fords that turn on the lights when you install the ground cable. Thanks for the tip Ivan 👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@juancarloscrane8089]

Practical in these situations work a round good job Ivan

[@billyfox384]

Man what a great idea.. I have a Dodge Caliber thats been drivng me crazy with intermit draw issues. The cluster fuse is the issue, long story short, used cluster same issue, and dealing with a lack of funds with my customer. Fuse is hot all the time, gonna steal your idea and make it only hot key on. Should work perfect. We almost put a toggle switch in it, of course the 1st time they forget to turn switch off -- dead battery -- sooo this is a much better fix. Thanks for the idea. Great video. Oh by the way tried a new TIPM as well, same issue.

[@DuoDogs]

I used to work on military aircraft back in the 70s, no computer assistance but lots of paper wiring diagrams. Frankly the cars of today look way more complicated than the planes of yesterday. But, having said that my money was on you finding the power wire for the Avalon's CD changer and just cutting it which could have left everything else running without the vampire draw. By the way some older Toyotas have little map lights in the rearview mirror housing, the cheap switches go bad after a few years keeping the bulbs on 24/7, which you can only see at night. EZ NPR fix.. take out the tiny bulbs.

[@tomblobasjamesc.mccollum1740]

My 2003 Avalon's multi display ranges from 2002-2021. Currently I have it set for the year 2006 so the day/date and day of the week correctly match up in sync with today's actual date and current weekday. This was a helpful video, thanks. I will be running a similar test on mine (currently has a high current draw drain) as soon as I'm free.

[@alex1949]

So timely! Just yesterday, I was chasing a 175mA parasitic draw on a 2000 Ranger. Narrowed it down to the GEM. Doing this in the driveway when thunderstorms rolled in, so went no further. The truck was needed ASAP, so a kill switch was installed as a temp solution. My first guess is the fault is in the cluster because the oil pressure gauge needle goes all the way backwards where it hits the stop. But could be wrong. Your fix is not just food for thought, but a full 5 course meal!!!

[@StarsAutoSport]

Amazing work!

[@sneaks01]

Great job as always!

[@JohnDiMartino]

As always great diagnostics and repair. At first I was thinking it may have a similar solder bleed issue like the GM 2003-2007 trucks had,but if it did you could not get it to go away by pulling the fuse and reinstalling it. I would have fixed it the same way.Those old Avalon’s are tanks they’ll run forever with basic maintenance.

[@arnaldofettuccine5227]

Well done! Saved the customer plenty I'm sure, that is if you can even find a new part without the same issue. 💰

[@dosiodosev740]

Creative solution, thank you

[@snubbelbuff1471]

Fluid changes and parasitic draw tests - my favorite!

[@TRu44-560]

I jaut bought my car in med September of this year and I have the exact same problem in my 2000 avalon xls w/86k odo. The only exception is that the radio doesn't turn on ( it has come on before, but it's very very rare), so I've replace the battery recently that has a date stamp of Aug/23, with a new battery thinking a bad battery!!! It's my daily driver and when I didn't use it for a whole day or two my battery went completely dead, I mean, no dome lights when you open the door dead. Thanks, man. I've got yourself a new sub😃

[@f-puppet4059]

Ivan, you are so awesome.

[@cdjames4246]

Excellent video

[@Cablexman2k]

I appreciate this video very much. I have an 01 Avalon with the same issue, but it was drawing 1A. With your help I just went to the radio fuse and pulled it. Should be able to get through the winter now and a lot cheaper than buying an alternator and battery, hoping it would fix it. (I had that conversation with my wife regarding buying parts and hoping they will fix the issue vs finding out what is actually wrong.)

[@Tom-pc7lb]

Radio just spewing out garbage anyway. 😂

[@tomtx1]

You’re a genius! Thanks for your time and brain power!

[@dougkelley1266]

Nicely done

[@phillipdewitt4454]

Valuable information.👍

[@Tom-pc7lb]

Killed it. Great job.

[@scottw1287]

I’m surprised you didn’t blow the fuse in the meter when you opened the door and turned the ignition on with the meter still hooked up that way. I really enjoy your videos and bought the meter and the amp clamp off your Amazon acct. Thanks for the info and deals on diag equipment

[@SamHelsby]

Awesome video! I rarely work on cars any older than 2012, the current draw with ignition on is higher on newer cars that have more modules and sensors. I found this out when a friend of mine in work was using my brand new multimeter and cycled the ignition with my meter connect in series to the battery negative cable and post. He blew the 10amp fuse and I hadn't even had chance to use it yet 😂 Just a warning to anybody out there who works on newer vehicles. Nice touch using the auxiliary power 👌

[@ScottDLR]

For the unavailable year issue, set the year for 2005. It has the same calendar as 2022.

[@Dansk55]

Interesting

[@martyhowley]

Neat!

[@rplayer9969]

Thank you for that info. My 2001 avalon has the correct date as long as i dont forget what year it is. HaHa. Thanks again.

[@glasshalffull8625]

Great tip!

[@fluffyblue4006]

This vintage Toyota deserves a better fix. Usually, the ACC feed gets cut during cranking and comes back when back in ON. Proper fix is to buy or DIY a delayed-off relay of a couple of minutes. Relay input can come from several sources: dome lamp door switch, ACC and IGN/ON, using diodes. The cluster electronics will start initializing when user opens a door, so it will be ready for action as user powers up and cranks the vehicle. And the draw will be cut after a couple of minutes after power-down. And of course, the circuit needs to be split in two, so the radio can have a hot at all times feed again for the station preset memory.

[@rossmcvicar6422]

I have a CM 70 just like yours. Its a very old unit but I still use it.

[@stigonutube]

Great work around solution and save a lot of money, only thing i would add if i was doing as a diy is maybe get the radio memory wire reroute to power as with aftermarket radios have that wire too to pos batt+.

[@mike-cl1mm]

Great idea , love it

[@gueyg3764]

Great troubleshooting

[@georgebell3964]

Ivan, you’re the best

[@garypeterson9083]

Nice fix for what the customer will allow. I do wonder if the additional amps on that circuit will blow the lighter fuse or overheat the wiring or connectors. Another way to approach this is to remove the radio fuse and put in a loop circuit with a fuseholder and switch inline. Then you would just manually turn on the switch. Downside is you could forget to turn it off. Maybe an illuminated switch is best. Good job thinking your way thru this puzzle. I'm retired now but those were the kind of problems I loved to jump into.

[@vwwrenchie314]

the DC CUT fuse is also referred to as DCC fuse. This is a fuse that shuts down power to the entire car. It is used when transporting the vehicle to keep the battery from discharging.

[@atuhumuzakenneth8129]

Short pin

[@Walczyk]

That's nice design

[@blueribb99]

We had the same problem with a 2006 XLE V6 Camry. If we let the car sit for more than a week, it needed to be jumped. We replaced the battery 3X and still had the issue. We ended up giving the car to a family member that uses the car every day, so it doesn't require a jump. I wonder if it had the exact same issue.

[@htownblue11]

Great explanation and make shift repair based on customer need. About as close to a NPR repair as you can get….

[@mondotv4216]

Very thorough and logical exercise in fault finding. I think a better solution would have been to isolate the power line to the multi display and take that back to the cigarette lighter fuse. Yes it might have been a bit of mucking around under the dash but at least the customer would still have his radio presets. Of course more labour = more cost so I’m guessing that was the customer’s choice.

[@Garth2011]

I have this exact problem on a 2001 Lincoln LS V8 Sport with 77,000 miles. Intermittent draw that drains the battery in about 2 to 3 weeks. Next time you are in the Los Angeles area Ivan, you can help me with a diagnosis. Drives me crazy. It also has an ABS module that you can fix...likely a solder job as the light is on the dash all the time.

[@VigilanceTech]

If you ever get up to the Bay Area I could fix it for you.

[@aleempore3759]

next time? he's never been to Los Angeles

[@carmo9693]

Nice fix, I approve as usual.

[@annierenard5954]

good video, thank you

[@jamfixer7033]

Just replicated it I SEE Thank you I learned something today

[@madcowusa4277]

1982 Chevy truck with parasitic draw - I think it's the analog clock with a ticking second hand. Solved the problem with a $15 Harbor Freight solar panel suctioned to the dash and plugged into the cigarette lighter. Trucks sits unused for months and fires right up.

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Nice!

[@maku8313]

Nice work!👍🇫🇮

[@carlm2590]

Really good, man 👍

[@bystander_1969]

Thank you so much for great video and the info you are my life saver my 07 highlander got Fixed 😊 . watchin you from Iraq ❤

[@skillz1855]

I love this techs work

[@lvsqcsl]

IVAN! YOU BOOED TOYOTA! Scotty Kilmer isn't going to like that! (Yeah, he calls them out as well from time to time, lol.) I would be willing to bet someone from the local Toyota dealership will see this and cancel your account. I'll bet you won't be able to go to sleep at night until your head hits the pillow. I feel I have no choice but to continue watching your channel. As far as that comment about Fords taking a long time to go to sleep, my car is almost 30 years old and the air suspension compressor will run for up to 59 minutes after the ignition key is cycled. I bought that car almost new and had owned it for years before I realized that was going on. Great video!

[@MalcDavison]

Yeahhh .....Cheers Ivan, that was one I could follow and understand lol .....I watch all your vids mate, but you always lose me, this one I understood.....Either I'm learning or your getting more basic work....lol Thanks, I always enjoy 'em. best regards form Spain.

[@johnsawatzky9380]

I seem to have a parasitic draw on my car, but everytime I hook up an inline amp meter I end up disconnecting the battery. When everything is asleep it drops down to 0.01 amps. I gotta try the ignition cycle now to see if I can catch it that way. Never occurred to me that the battery disconnect could be putting everything to sleep properly.

[@cleronclarke5202]

Damn, outstanding instruction# teacher/instructor .💗💯🤔

[@marynunn1708]

Great work isolating the culprit. Rather than jumping it to the cigarette lighter power fuse (which might seriously throw off future troubleshooting, could an alternative solution have been for the owner to just cycle the key to ACC position before leaving the car? LOVE your videos!

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Nope constant power needs to be cut 👍

[@twistedwrench490]

Hey Ivan what’s with this cold in our area? It’s awfully late in the year for this crap!!!!even for us here in State college 🥶. Another great video bro very informative

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

I escaped down South today lol

[@pantherplatform]

I had to hot wire the 4wd on a 2002 Tahoe while I waited for a new transfer case shift module which I fried before finding the missing ground, replacing it and repairing the burned out MOSFET in the module and it worked great all by itself after that.

[@ecaparts]

Simple enough to be classified under ‘no parts required’. Nothing wrong with that fix at all!! Of course we all have different opinions… seeing how the I/M actually works without the power feed. I would have personally just disconnected the constant power feed wire to the I/M and left the fuses alone. The only bonus would be the radio presets would stay. However it may have taken a little more time finding that feed wire on the connector. Regardless, anything is better than replacing the entire cluster! 👍 Great job, Ivan!

[@williamhanna5224]

Excellent !

[@Rob-vl9ux]

nice solution

[@billziegmond4943]

Nice fix my friend.