Does the HK3 hardwire kit consume any power on its own?

[Velvetfoot]

It does have a tiny red led, and there's some transformation going on.
Just wondering.

 

[Nigel]

If the low voltage cutoff activates then no, it then measures zero power on any normal multimeter.

While it is on, there is the LED which uses an insignificant amount compared to the camera, and all voltage converters are less than 100% efficient, not sure how efficient the HK3 is but it will be around 90%, and no voltage converter will do much better.

If the camera is not using any power because it is turned off overnight due to being parked in the garage, then the loss due to efficiency of 10% of 0 is zero, so the only power consumption is the LED, and that is probably less than 0.01 watts (haven't measured it), insignificant compared to a typical car alarm system.

 

[SawMaster]

Any parasitic power draw will be so insignificant that it can be dismissed. You can probably lose as much by having a thin layer of grime on the battery across the terminals which most cars with the battery under-hood do have.

Phil

 

[Nigel]

...You can probably lose as much by having a thin layer of grime on the battery across the terminals which most cars with the battery under-hood do have.

Phil

That can get quite high if it is winter and it is a layer of damp salt off the road!
Always make sure the battery is clean and the terminals are covered in vaseline to save power.