Parasitic Battery Drain Normal?

[mschlott]

Sorry if this is the wrong area, but there is no forum for electrical.  I'm helping my Daughter with her 2103 Ford Edge.   She is a college student, so she leaves her car parked for extended periods.  Recently she left it for over 2 months and it would not start.   The battery is less than 2 years old.   I charged it fully and monitored it for a few days and found that the voltage dropped from 12.8V to 12.6V.   I completely disconnected the battery and it did not drain while disconnected.   If I connect the battery it will drain about .05V each day.   Is this normal?

 

I have connected an ammeter in line and I can see that it draws about 250mA when first connected but drops off to as low as 5mA.   I think it may be going back up when I am not watching it.

 

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Edited June 7, 2020 by mschlott

[Gadgetjq]

Some drain is normal.  Your daughter's Edge probably has an anti-theft system that's always powered up.  The vehicle is also searching for a signal from her key/fob so doors will unlock on command etc.  If possible she should connect a Battery Tender or other maintainer to her battery so it'll be fully charged when she does want to drive.   Another alternative is to purchase an emergency start battery that can be connected to get the vehicle started but that's kind of a last resort as fully discharging a standard lead/acid battery is a sure early death for them.  Here's a link to the one I own, it's served me well to get other stranded motorists on their way: https://amzn.to/2UdRMHB

[Xtra]

I agree with Gadgetjq  Battery Tender is the way to go when not driving the car on a regular bases . Here is a link for more info.