Parasitic battery drain on my new BX2380

[tt2]

Hi Guys. I have a brand new from dealer BX2380. Got it early summer. I purchased it with Kubota work lights (not LED) that the dealer installed on the ROPS. The lights work, and only turn on when the tractor is running and the off/on switch is turned on. They do not turn on when the tractor is off.

If I leave the tractor sitting for more than a few days unattended, the battery is dead and I cannot start the tractor. Using a multimeter, I have been able to determine it is the work lights causing the issue. With the relay switch for the lights installed, the draw on the battery (tractor off and key removed) is about 144 milliamps. If I remove the relay switch and check the draw on the battery, the draw is (what I assume is normal) .3 milliamps.

The dealer gave me a new relay switch and I have installed it and I have the same issue. There is nothing else to change. What else could it be? Is it wired wrong? Anyone have any ideas? Appreciate your time.

 

[i7win7]

Your post sounds like you have electrical knowledge - can't be of much help except you need a wiring diagram for tractor. This type of current tester may be more convenient to use.

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144ma if going to work lights is not enough power to make them glow, most would assume they were off.

Have the BX2370 and can't think of anything that would be a power drain when off. Might try cleaning electrical ground connections - weird readings when power is back feeding thru alternate ground paths.

 

[ctfjr]

It kind of sounds to me like the relay is energized all the time. 144ma might be right for hold in current. Doesn't sound like its wired correctly.

I just finished wiring in work lights on my tractor. The relay coil is switched by the manual switch I installed and is fed from the original leads for the work lights (live only with the key on).
The lights are fed from the relay contacts (the common side of the contacts goes right to the battery, the switched contact feeds the light.

Upon further review. . . ^^^ this was the way I originally wired it.

Now the leads from the original work light are connected to the coil of the relay. It will pull in whenever the key is on. The common contact from the relay goes to the battery. The switched contact feeds a small fuse block. My switches come off separate fuse locations and feed whatever. The point is when the key is off nothing is energized.

 

[DeepWoods]

I am currently working on adding a LED lightbar on the front of my tractor. One of the things I noticed is the switch that will control the lightbar is lighted from behind. Could this be your problem? Is it possible that this little lamp in the switch has been wired to be on all the time? Just a thought.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I eliminate any potential parasitic drain on my starting batteries because the tractors sit for long periods in the winter by adding a battery terminal disconnect to the negative terminal. When I park them, I open the knife switch and the battery is disconnected from the electrical system entirely. When I start them I open the hood, close the knife switch and I'm good to go. Think it was about 10 bucks at Wallyworld.

 

[tt2]

Thanks for all your replies so far. There is no lighted switch. The circuit consists of the relay switch (electronic switch) and then the lights themselves which have manual on/off switches on them. I believe ctfjr is correct. The relay switch is always energized. This is the problem. But why is the question.

The work lights are kubota work lights. I believe the wiring is somehow done incorrectly. I was hoping that someone familiar with these lights would know what is incorrect. Thanks again.

 

[PaulL]

Does sound wrong in a sense - in that normally when the ignition is off all power is cut. But I guess the point in having a relay is that the ignition power isn't driving all the current draw of the work lights - therefore the power side of the relay has to be always energised if you're trying to avoid the ignition switch from taking that current.

Seems overly complex though. Surely the ignition switch, plus an inline switch for the lights themselves, is sufficient?

Is there a way you could have a relay that wasn't permanently energised? Does seem though that a relay shouldn't have parasitic load....cars have lots of relays in them that I assume are permanently wired to the battery and they don't go flat.

 

[NHSleddog]

Because it goes through a final switch, the relay could easily be wired wrong and still have the light work.

I bought a 10 pack of 20 amp relays on Amazon last year and the power/switched power were reverse labeled.

 

[bird dogger]

There should be no parasitic drain from the 12vdc auto relay if hooked up properly so that ONLY the relay's coil is energized when either the key or the light switch (depending on how you want to use it) is turned on. You could use the ignition key to energize the relay coil only, while the relay's contacts fed 12vdc to a fuse block. From said fuse block you could wire in your light switch to feed the added lights.

If you used your added light switch to energize the auto relay coil only, then anything fed off that relay's auxiliary contacts would operate with that light switch also.

It really depends on what you'd like to accomplish and of course the amperage draw of the switched load.

Here's a nice little site explaining a few ways to hook up those relays: Understanding Automotive Relays | Installing Engine Relay (enginebasics.com)

Is your added light switch a simple SPST (single pole/single throw) or is something different? Depending on the type of switch your using, how the added relay is energized, and which of its contacts you're using can make it simple or more complicated. But if you have a simple on/off switch (spst) used to simply energize the relays coil.......and then use the relay's normally open contacts (N.O.) to supply battery voltage to your lights you should have no problems. Make sure you fuse your wiring properly!!

the website mentioned has a nice diagram of the internals of those auto relays. You need to keep your wits about you so that you when wiring the relay's socket/base you're actually using the right contacts of the relay itself.

 

[xrocketengineer]

Dumb question: If it is installed by the dealer, is it under warranty?

 

[Fordtech86]

Little confusing read. Did you replace the switch for the lights or the relay? Do you know where the relay is (assuming its added on somewhere on the tractor).

Agree with a wiring concern, thinking the load side is switched with power for load being on a circuit thats ignition switch fed.

Quick check I can think of if you know where the relay for lights are, with tractor off, pull relay, then barely install back in socket (if it has one) or pull a control side wire and just touch the relay contact and see if you hear the relay click. Pics off added relay/wiring may help.

 

[atitus]

Yes, the coil of relay draws power, in the range you are observing. You need a switch (aka the ignition for example) so the relay is disconnected. If you want to be able to turn the lights on without the ignition on, you can do this but same rule applies. Wire the switch to turn on the relay which in turn will load the lamps. You may (or may not) want switches for the lamps themselves if you want to control them independently

 

[tt2]

Little confusing read. Did you replace the switch for the lights or the relay? Do you know where the relay is (assuming its added on somewhere on the tractor).

Agree with a wiring concern, thinking the load side is switched with power for load being on a circuit thats ignition switch fed.

Quick check I can think of if you know where the relay for lights are, with tractor off, pull relay, then barely install back in socket (if it has one) or pull a control side wire and just touch the relay contact and see if you hear the relay click. Pics off added relay/wiring may help.

 

[tt2]

Sorry for the confusion. There is no switch before the relay (on the battery side). Power from the battery goes to the relay switch then to the lights. The lights have a switch on the back of them to turn on off. The dealer installed all of this. It is kubota product. I am talking to the dealer to resolve this but no luck so far. It is a 3 hour drive from where the tractor is to the dealer so this is not that big of a problem to go through that.

I simply remove the relay plug to prevent my battery from draining when not in use. If I need the lights I put back the relay switch and turn on the lights.

I was hoping someone may have the same setup as me and have some electrical knowledge of what could be wired wrong. As I said these are kubota work lights. The wiring and lights come from kubota.

I appreciate all of the responses so far.

 

[i7win7]

Maybe this helps - only reason switch needs a ground is for lighted switch

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[bird dogger]

tt2, how accessible is the wiring and the components for your "work light" circuitry? It's sure sounding like the dealer/installer has the relay coil energized full time when it shouldn't be. A three hour drive is a long way to solve what should be a simple wiring change. If the parts and wiring are accessible, can you make a simple schematic drawing of your work light wiring? Use the diagram/schematic below as an example. Including pictures would be a big help too. It's sounding like just moving the wire that energizes that relay's coil to a new spot will solve your problems. (you can even draw the circuitry on a piece of paper, take a pic of it, and post the pics.)

 

[Fordtech86]

Sorry for the confusion. There is no switch before the relay (on the battery side). Power from the battery goes to the relay switch then to the lights. The lights have a switch on the back of them to turn on off. The dealer installed all of this. It is kubota product. I am talking to the dealer to resolve this but no luck so far. It is a 3 hour drive from where the tractor is to the dealer so this is not that big of a problem to go through that.

I simply remove the relay plug to prevent my battery from draining when not in use. If I need the lights I put back the relay switch and turn on the lights.

I was hoping someone may have the same setup as me and have some electrical knowledge of what could be wired wrong. As I said these are kubota work lights. The wiring and lights come from kubota.

I appreciate all of the responses so far.

Terminology difference may be whats confusing me, because now Im even more confused . Any pics? Specifically relay and wire connections. I don’t know about the Kubota work lights, but just from reading here I was under the impression that they had a connector under one of the fenders and light just plugged in, ignition switched power from fuse box?

 

[Fordtech86]

Thinking along with bird dogger. If its a standard relay like he posted Im thinking they got they 86 and 30 terminals switched around. Would give you your symptoms as the relay coil would always be energized but light would only work with key on because switched power would be present.

 

[bird dogger]

Thinking along with bird dogger. If its a standard relay like he posted Im thinking they got they 86 and 30 terminals switched around. Would give you your symptoms as the relay coil would always be energized but light would only work with key on because switched power would be present.

I agree with the terminology differences and who knows.....it may be a non standard relay as well. a simple one line drawing and pics should have the problem corrected before a three hour trip one way with the tractor is needed. Although, if the dealer installed it, they could send out a more qualified tech to make the easy trouble shoot and changes necessary. It was probably installed by a very new tech and not fully checked out other than the light went on and off with the switch.

 

[Fordtech86]

I agree with the terminology differences and who knows.....it may be a non standard relay as well. a simple one line drawing and pics should have the problem corrected before a three hour trip one way with the tractor is needed. Although, if the dealer installed it, they could send out a more qualified tech to make the easy trouble shoot and changes necessary. It was probably installed by a very new tech and not fully checked out other than the light went on and off with the switch.

I agree... I was recommending pics since his first post. Being in the auto business there isn’t anything considered a standard relay or fuse these days Pics of the set up will likely get it resolved
But regardless of that the only thing that makes sense with his description is the constant power for load side (30 in the diagram) and the switched power from control side (86) are swapped. Even if its a different kind of relay thats really the only thing that could be wrong and it still works.