Do I understand you correctly? Do you have 12.53 volts with the engine running. If so, do yourself a favor and shut it down and put the battery on a charger for a few hours. An alternator is not a battery charger and my guess is it will be hot enough to cook your dinner on in no time.
As for the other, if you follow exactly what I said and you get accurate readings on your current draw, I can tell you what to do next. When we figure this out we can look at your other problems but for now, lets get current draw solved. Stay on course. Pulling bulbs and other things are guesses. I do this for a living.

No Will, the 12.53 was taken at the battery itself. The engine was off and the positive was disconnected for reading voltage potential.

 

Call me Stupid, but can you expand on what you mean when you say the current must be time varying? You are correct in saying that it works on a Hall Effect principle but if there is any current flowing through that wire, the Hall element is subjected to that magnetic field and creates a small voltage, enough to be amplified and measured.
When I say this is the best method, I should say that for newbies, it is the best method. The OP is fairly new to all this but if he were proficient, I would suggest an ammeter with a shunt in it so as not to lose the current draw when it occurs. Any disconnecting of the cables could alleviate the draw if it were say, a sticky relay and you would therefore chase a ghost. Therefore, without disconnecting anything, the inductive clamp is best if you can find one that measures milliamps and is accurate. That depends on how much you spend on the meter.

 

Dear KISS, I have An AC Clamp Meter, you want try that one on her?
-And on the Chevy Dash Gauge 14 v is right in the center and the needle is leaning a smidg more than with the old alternator.
- And by what I've watched on you tube, it sounds like the dealership is the only right way the get the Digital LED Clock and radio reprogrammed. I'm certainly not going try cutting an IC chip out of my LED Clock/radio.
-And I don't have any check-engine lights showing but I'll go down right now and check with my Craftsman Scanner.
-And I Never replaced My BCM. I don't even know where it's located.
-And my interior cabin light does not work, Should I take the lense off and take the bulb out?
- And my van did not come with a light under the hood. I'm goin down with the scanner.

 

Call me Stupid, but can you expand on what you mean when you say the current must be time varying?

Sure thing: An AC only current clamp is a transformer. Transformers don't pass DC. Ac has a frequency, thus time varying. e.g. v(t) = A*sin(wt).

DC is for example V = 12 for t=0 to infinity.

Hall effect works on both AC and DC currents.

See below for more info.

http://www.fluke.com/fluke/caen/community/fluke-news-plus/articlecategories/clamps/ac-dc-clamp-meter

 

Dear KISS, I have An AC Clamp Meter, you want try that one on her?
-And on the Chevy Dash Gauge 14 v is right in the center and the needle is leaning a smidg more than with the old alternator.
- And by what I've watched on you tube, it sounds like the dealership is the only right way the get the Digital LED Clock and radio reprogrammed. I'm certainly not going try cutting an IC chip out of my LED Clock/radio.
-And I don't have any check-engine lights showing but I'll go down right now and check with my Craftsman Scanner.
-And I Never replaced My BCM. I don't even know where it's located.
-And my interior cabin light does not work, Should I take the lense off and take the bulb out?
- And my van did not come with a light under the hood. I'm goin down with the scanner.

I'll tell you RIGHT NOW. I look at all angles no matter how absurd. If you don;t like it, I'll leave the thread.

No, the fix was very simple, I just removed the battery and shorted the cables going to the car. That's it. I removed the batteries form the the other devices and and shorted the battery terminals, The devices came back to life. CMOS devices can trap charge, Shorting is a way for that charge to be dissipated.

i WORKED IN A SEMICONDUCTOR FABRICATION LAB, I set up and did hall effect measurements on semiconductors. The magnet was 9 to 39 Killo-Gaus

I'm not talking out my A**.

The BCM/interior lighting was idle chat or something that you should be aware of. Let's say, the radio might complain of a security error. I don't know. All I know is some items in the vehicle have to be installed by someone who has a TechII scanner (for older GM cards). They may have to posses a locksmithing license as well.

Quick blurb: https://www.gme-infotech.com/info/tis.html

But yea, I've cut IC;s (processors) out of aftermarket radios as well and replaced them. I also have the highest number of positive ratings at ETO (another forum) right now and no negative ones. After flunking out of one college, I graduated with a 4.0 GPA at another.

If you want me to withdraw from this thread, I will.

 

No Codes Found. Malfunction Indicator Light Status: OFF

 

1.5 V bat. Are we after the parasitic draw or everything else going on? We can go on for another 50 threads if we are going to jump around. I don't work like that. Do we have a draw or not? If we do, let's get it solved.
KISS, I know how inductive clamps work, I just wasn't sure where you were going with it? I am in this industry and technicians don't worry about the electronics side, they just deal with the numbers on the meter. I am saying anything over 30mA is considered reason for concern. You can take that to the bank. How the clamp works or how the meter works is neither here nor there for the OP. He has a problem and as your name implies, Keep It Simple. Let's solve one thing at a time.

 

KISS, I know how inductive clamps work, I just wasn't sure where you were going with it?

If the OP went out and bought an inductive ammeter, that would be disastrous. Calling it an AC/DC clamp on ammeter would have sufficed. At least there is a hint of a special DC version. You used inductive ammeter and strictly speaking, that kind of ammeter would not work.

Back in the day, I bought something that cost over $5K USD for work. It went out on an under $50 Purchase order instead of bids, etc. All because I said the price was $5035 and not $5035.00

With respect to the OP/TS and you (BWilliams60); I tried to suggest potential ways of measuring current cheaply.

and "some likely places" that don't seem obvious

and where I might look first.

Agreed, it's not methodical. i.e. Give a kid a flow chart kind of methodical

It just prioritizes.

I gave the binary search method, because you may have to wait an hour for stuff to shut down.

30 mA is a good target.

My dead battery story is just plain stupid. I do a hygrometer test like in January and determine the battery is bad. I take it into the dealer in May, and ask them to check the battery, Nice printout later, the battery is fine. They don;t own a $5.00 battery electrolyte tester. I take a 50 mile trip. Get there. Car dies in parking lot. Starts up after an hour. Went to another location. Same weirdness in an hour. Called a tow truck. Belt broke. Battery tested fine again. 2 days later it was dead. The battery was bad and two shops missed it. Battery University website confirms the false security of electrical battery testing.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program...

 

KISS, Thank you for the correction. I am in this trade so we usually just refer to it as a DC inductive amp clamp and when we speak, we figure people know what we are talking about. On a forum such as this, I need to be more accurate with my terminology.
As for doing things cheaply, I am not a big believer in this method. There are correct ways to do things as I have outlined and nothing is skipped. I have followed similar posts where people with good intentions tell the OP to do this and do that and before long, there are 50 posts, a lot of time wasted and nothing corrected. Therefore, I cut to the chase, let's get an answer and get him fixed up. If he wants to chase ghosts, I bow out and then he/she are on their own.
Your dead battery story is one I have heard and seen many times. I attribute that to poorly trained technicians or improper equipment. It boils down to poor battery manufacturing and insufficient equipment/knowledge in testing. Many places are getting away from carbon pile load testing and going with EIS which I believe is a mistake. Putting an actual load on a battery is much more effective than measuring frequency in and out. The same results can be achieved with a battery charger and a voltmeter if you know what you are doing. Cheers

 

I red your threads just now, just so you know I'm paying attention, First thing I did this morning before trying to start the van, was isolate the battery out of the circuit and measured 12.29 volts.
Last night's isolated voltage measurement was 12.53 volts. Looks like It looses almost a half a volt per evening.
My Batter is a NAPA Power 6575 side terminal-670 cold cranking amps at 32 degrees F and 540 cold cranking amps at zero degrees Fahrenheit.
I made a Mistake when I Announced the Current Draw yesterday. The DMM was set on the 2 milliamp selection and the LED read: 1. milliamp draw and It still reads 1. milliamp draw with the new alternator.
So I know that is acceptable. It turns out I don't have a problem and that SAE designs them this way. We have a Cadillac that is worse. You can literally the resistance spark jump across when your connecting the battery terminal on the Cadillac. Some good things have happened along the way, I changed out a frozen serpentine belt tensioner and checked my belt for dry rot. I discovered a Dome Light Over-ride button that I never realized was there under the headlight switch and dash lights dimmer adjuster. The button was in the "out" position. which means "off". I started looking in the door jambs for dome actuating switches. I don't know where they're hiding those now a days. I can't remember if the dome light s ever worked. The cabin dome light is missing the lens, the bulb is in tact and that filament looks good. The bulb does look blackened though.
So right now I have the side terminal battery terminals linked together to see if my LED Clock Radio might come on. I do not have a GM Tech II programmer. I already knew about shorting the terminal together without any source power applied. The Automotive professor at my old college told me about that back in 2013. I did not take automotive, I took electrical construction and maintenance. He also printed out GM's key-Relearn procedure for me. That was 2013. I was out of there in 2010 officially, -that's the year I graduated. Yeah in 2013 I had bought a computer from a junkyard and had NAPA flash it. But then I tainted that one when I disconnected the Crank sensor lead. So I had luck with my original PCM after I cleaned it up a sealed it back together again. I also drew a schematic diagram of it while I had it apart on the dining table. That was when I was trying to find out why I could not hear the fuel pump cycle when the key was turned on.
-Just a little History about the work I've done on the 2000 Express 2500, 5.7L Automatic

 

bwilliams60 : Tell us how to check the battery with the Battery Charger and Volt meter so that we KNOW what we are doing. I'm listening, but it doesn't mean I'm gonna" let the smoke out". - Knowledge.

 

The problem with a lot of aftermarket batteries purchased in parts outlets is that they sit on shelves for a long time before they are sold. Often times they go out over the counter undercharged and are stuffed into vehicles. People who are not educated on charging/starting/battery systems will start up the vehicle and allow the alternator to charge the battery. this is not a good practice as it makes the alternator do all the work and sometimes that can end in overheating and premature failure. Off track.
So while these batteries are on the shelf, they are losing charge and starting to sulphate which becomes a source of internal resistance of an ionic nature. In order to test the battery for sulfation, we use what is called a 3-minute charge test. This test should be conducted with the battery disconnected from the vehicle.
To perform the test, you must place the battery under a fast charge (steady 40 amps) for a period of three minutes while monitoring the voltage. If at any point during the test, the voltage climbs above 15.5 VDC, then the battery is deemed to be sulphated. How fast it gets there will help you determine how badly it is sulphated. The reasoning behind it is that it takes more pressure to sustain a 40A current flow through the battery than it would for a battery that is in good condition and not sulfated.
In today's high tech world, we now use Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) testers which use a frequency passed through the plates to determine the amount of sulfation and hence, the condition of the battery. The problem with these testers is that they often provide false readings and pass poor batteries and fail good ones. There is a lot of literature on this subject and the pundits will tell you that this is the only way to go. Being in the trade and having tested literally thousands of batteries, I can tell you that our old school methods are much more reliable. Load test and 3-minute charge test will tell you all you need to know about your battery health.

 

We all have battery problems. My issues seem to fall into a few categories:

1) Poor quality service - got a car painted and they didn't tighten the battery cables. Killed regulator inside alternator. Spot-welded regulator connections.
2) Age - Just normal replacement
3) Age - Forgetting to keep the battery charged. e.g. Not starting if for a long time (6 weeks).
4) Age - bearings, insulation, rotor wire break etc. (15-20 year)
5) Poor design - corroded bulkhead connector.

About 90% of the time, the battery electrolyte tester works as a good test.

Voltage testing
You have the open circuit voltage of the battery. It really doesn't tell you much.

Across battery at a slightly higher RPM. 13.8 V used to be the right number. You don't want to see 18 V.

Load testing:
Method 1: Take a reading across the (battery to alternator cable) with all of the big accessories on. Heater Fan, AC, High beams.
Record it when the alternator is good. This is an ersatz ammeter.

Method 2: A clamp ammeter that works on DC. I have one now, I used to be able to borrow a $400 clamp from work,

Method 3: I have a Marquette charger with a charge/load tester built in.

Ripple testing::
A scope works best. Sometimes you can see gross ripple problems with a bar graph meter on AC. The scope works best, I don;t have a portable scope that works yet. I could borrow one from work. It will basically tell you if a diode is blown.

My car electrical/battery testing has been all hobby with either my cars or parent's cars since I was 12 years old.

Getting older and priorities have changed, but I still do the easy stuff. I also have to check other's work. On a recent Sears shop visit to replace a valve cover gasket (Like $500), they left off a vacuum hose and didn't replace the "pretty cover" properly and broke the dip stick. The latter I found about 1-2 months later when I went to check the oil. $500 is a lot considering on one vehicle, I had to take the cover off every year to adjust the valves. The $500 one is up against the firewall.

 

Thank you very much Mr. Williams. I just might have the resources to perform that 3 minute, 40amp test while watching it for the spike. I Appreciate your experience and wisdom.
I was able to dig out a lot of old analog test equipment last night. And I'm still struggling to read the analog scales. And these analog meter scales are not all exactly the same between meters. The one standard is that they do all have Decibels on the bottom. Why did we ever have to measure Decibels?
Anyways, k ohms are at the top; 2 k, 1 k, 500, 200, 100, 50, 30, 20, 10, 5, 0. < -- (a scale printed in red ink)
Then : DC /AC: The Three black scales:
0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60. < - - micro-amp/volt scale ?

0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30. < - - milli- amp/volt scale ?

0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12. < - - regular-amp/volt scale ?

- I set the dial high to as to be safe about pinning the needle to hard. (300mA) was the highest option.
- And the needle went 2 notches just shy of going all the way to the right.
- Which scale are we looking at? (I did not zero the ohm meter cause I'm not taking ohm readings)

 

Can you post a picture of your meter? I might be a little rusty but lucky for you I was brought up on an analog meter as my brother was an electrician and electronics fanatic back in the day, so it will take a few seconds to register, but I can help you out. Also, which test are you using it for? I am hoping parasitic draw because it will not be large enough for doing the 3-minute charge test.

Load testing:
Method 1: Take a reading across the (battery to alternator cable) with all of the big accessories on. Heater Fan, AC, High beams.
Record it when the alternator is good. This is an ersatz ammeter.

This method is no longer acceptable as it does not put a full load on the alternator. True test is with a carbon pile but that is for a later discussion. Still trying to help OP with parasitic draw.

Voltage testing
You have the open circuit voltage of the battery. It really doesn't tell you much.

Open circuit voltage testing is replacing specific gravity and refractometer testing now as a means of qualifying a battery for a load test. A battery must be over 12.4 VDC to perform a load test as this indicates 75% charge or SG of 1.225. Lower than that and the SG is too low to perform a load test.

Ripple testing::
A scope works best. Sometimes you can see gross ripple problems with a bar graph meter on AC. The scope works best, I don;t have a portable scope that works yet. I could borrow one from work. It will basically tell you if a diode is blown

Very true but you can use an AC voltmeter. Maximum AC voltage allowed is 0.3 volts

 

The model number of the meter would be sufficient.

 

The one standard is that they do all have Decibels on the bottom. Why did we ever have to measure Decibels?

You will notice that the dB scale is typically rated at 600 ohm impedance ... 0 dB = 1 mW @ 600 ohms = 0.775 V.

I used it all the time in broadcasting when I was in high school working at a radio station (early 1970s)

 

Would your meter resemble this?
http://www.simpson260.com/260/simpson_260-afp-1.htm

I actually still have one of these. It was the original one that I learned on and my father left behind for me. Good old meter in it's day!

 

With the "red" numbers on the ohm scale, I thought it was a triplett 630

 

The AC scale is usually different. You can pick the DC scale depending on range.

These meters used a 1.5 V battery for the ohms function. You shorted the leads and used the "ohm-adj" to make the meter read zero.

These analog meters were rated in "ohms/volt". So a 50K ohms/volt meter would present a 100K load on the circuit when measuring 2V. Digital meterst ypically have a constant load of 10 meg ohms independent of the voltage read.

The db discussion doesn't belong here.

Ammeters have a "voltage burden"

bwilliams:
Points noted.

EDIT: Typo on my part. 2V