Re: (Probably no) Problem with Lockzilla

["twinenginedmc12" <twinenginedmc12@xxxx>]

--- In dmcnews@xxxx, "Hank Eskin" <henry@xxxx> wrote:
> 
> With the prodding of Rick G, I've been able to locate the current 
drain in
> my car (Don't worry, I'm still going to install the battery 
isolator). It
> turns out to be Lockzilla pulling about 30Ma with the "remote" unit 
plugged
> in, and 20ma without. The total current draw from the battery when 
the car
> is off was 30Ma until I totally disconnected Lockzilla - then I get 
a zero
> Ma reading on my meter.
> 
> Apparently, this drains the battery down about one volt per week - 
enough to
> cause the auto-shut off to kick in, which was my original problem.
> 
> Has anyone else noticed a slight current drain with Lockzilla (with 
or
> without Remote), or could I have a defective unit?
> 
> -Hank Eskin #1619

Hi Hank, and All.

I've been taking a active behind the scene interest in Hank's project 
here. He's been wanting to design a battery backup for his car 
radio, which was losing presets due to a current drain. I've been 
helping him design the battery backup circuit, cause I can't help 
myself, all the while pestering him incessantly to find the leak 
instead, because that sort of thing makes me nervous. Now that he's 
found the leak, determined it's only 30 milliamperes, and more 
importantly determined that the leak is not the result of some fault 
in the wiring somewhere, the next step is clearer. I don't know 
whether the 30 milliampere drain from the Lockzilla module is from 
some kind of problem, because I don't have one, so you'll have to 
take someone elses word on that. It may be fine, or not. But 30 
milliamperes is a very small current, compared to the reserve 
capacity of a car battery. It should not drain the battery in a 
week, it should take several months. This immediately suggests a 
weak battery. I hopped on Sears website to find out the reserve 
capacity of the Security Diehard battery in your car. It wasn't 
there. I called our local Sears automotive and was told that this 
battery has been discontinued, because of problems (maybe this exact 
problem, he didn't say), and that you could take it back to the Sears 
you got it from for an exchange.

Hopefully replacing the battery will fix everything. Hank's car 
radio will keep its presets, he can sleep better knowing there's no 
mysterious failure in his car, and the doubt about Lockzilla can be 
removed by someone without a stake in it. (Unless I'm wrong, of 
course :-)

Rick Gendreau
11472