Battery keeps going dead

[Outdoorsman]

Ok, so I got a new Duralast battery from AutoZone this afternoon, and here is some data taken with my Fluke multimeter:

12.74v - Reading taken on the battery brand new before installing it
12.714v - Reading taken after connecting the terminals inside the car
14.290v - Reading taken while the car is running, so the alternator seems to be working
12.84v - Reading taken after driving around town doing some errands
12.846v - Final reading taken tonight before going to bed

Additionally, I tested Amp readings between the negative terminal on the battery and the negative cable to see if I had any kind of vampire load eating my battery. Here is what I found from my initial tests:

.220A - When the leads from the multimeter are first connected
.186A - About two seconds later
.113A - About five seconds later
.0073A - After right at 60 seconds, this was the reading I got and where it stayed for any subsequent readings up to 10 minutes later

I noticed that after I reached a resting reading of .0073A, that ever other second when the little red light at the front left of the dash would light up, that the multimeter would jump up to around roughly .0102 when lit, then return to the normal reading of .0073 approximately. There is +/- .0005 adjustment in the readings but the normal values are the ones I posted.

So based on what I'm seeing, does it seem I have a parasitic/vampire circuit someplace, or do these numbers seem normal? I am going to take voltage readings twice a day for the next couple weeks to see if I can get a profile of the battery and find it being drawn down or not. Also, as a point of reference, I bought the car on 8/13 used from a Toyota dealership, and then the battery first went dead 13 days later on the 26th, and then eight days later on 9/2 it died again, so I think if it is going to kill my battery it should happen within 14 days or so, so I am going to keep a very close eye on it to see what happens day by day. Also, for a control source, I'm going to also profile my truck battery at the same times to see what kind of variance I'm getting to help me establish a "normal" baseline"! LOL

Just wanted to provide lots of numbers for those reading in case someone else out there is having or has the same issue, and will have reference values to compare with, so that if I can resolve my problem, maybe it will be of help to someone else on the forum. Thanks for your response and help CTScott! :)

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Outdoorsman

Ok, so I got a new Duralast battery from AutoZone this afternoon, and here is some data taken with my Fluke multimeter:

12.74v - Reading taken on the battery brand new before installing it
12.714v - Reading taken after connecting the terminals inside the car
14.290v - Reading taken while the car is running, so the alternator seems to be working
12.84v - Reading taken after driving around town doing some errands
12.846v - Final reading taken tonight before going to bed

Additionally, I tested Amp readings between the negative terminal on the battery and the negative cable to see if I had any kind of vampire load eating my battery. Here is what I found from my initial tests:

.220A - When the leads from the multimeter are first connected
.186A - About two seconds later
.113A - About five seconds later
.0073A - After right at 60 seconds, this was the reading I got and where it stayed for any subsequent readings up to 10 minutes later

I noticed that after I reached a resting reading of .0073A, that ever other second when the little red light at the front left of the dash would light up, that the multimeter would jump up to around roughly .0102 when lit, then return to the normal reading of .0073 approximately. There is +/- .0005 adjustment in the readings but the normal values are the ones I posted.

So based on what I'm seeing, does it seem I have a parasitic/vampire circuit someplace, or do these numbers seem normal? I am going to take voltage readings twice a day for the next couple weeks to see if I can get a profile of the battery and find it being drawn down or not. Also, as a point of reference, I bought the car on 8/13 used from a Toyota dealership, and then the battery first went dead 13 days later on the 26th, and then eight days later on 9/2 it died again, so I think if it is going to kill my battery it should happen within 14 days or so, so I am going to keep a very close eye on it to see what happens day by day. Also, for a control source, I'm going to also profile my truck battery at the same times to see what kind of variance I'm getting to help me establish a "normal" baseline"! LOL

Just wanted to provide lots of numbers for those reading in case someone else out there is having or has the same issue, and will have reference values to compare with, so that if I can resolve my problem, maybe it will be of help to someone else on the forum. Thanks for your response and help CTScott! :)

Those numbers look good for the static draw. With proper care, your new battery should last 4+ years.