diff --git a/dependency/vault_pki.go b/dependency/vault_pki.go
index 66cb17ec9..15d58e641 100644
--- a/dependency/vault_pki.go
+++ b/dependency/vault_pki.go
@@ -118,26 +118,26 @@ func goodFor(cert *x509.Certificate) (time.Duration, bool) {
 	if cert == nil {
 		return 0, false
 	}
-	// These are all int64's with Seconds since the Epoch, handy for the math
-	start, end := cert.NotBefore.Unix(), cert.NotAfter.Unix()
-	now := time.Now().UTC().Unix()
-	if end <= now { // already expired
+	start, end := cert.NotBefore.UTC(), cert.NotAfter.UTC()
+	now := time.Now().UTC()
+	if end.Before(now) || end.Equal(now) { // already expired
 		return 0, false
 	}
-	lifespan := end - start        // full ttl of cert
-	duration := end - now          // duration remaining
-	gooddur := (duration * 9) / 10 // 90% of duration
-	mindur := (lifespan / 10)      // 10% of lifespan
-	if gooddur <= mindur {
-		return 0, false // almost expired, get a new one
-	}
-	if gooddur > 100 { // 100 seconds
-		// add jitter if big enough for it to matter
-		r := rand.New(rand.NewSource(time.Now().UnixNano()))
-		// between 87% and 93%
-		gooddur = gooddur + ((gooddur / 100) * int64(r.Intn(6)-3))
+
+	lifespanDur := end.Sub(start)
+	r := rand.New(rand.NewSource(time.Now().UnixNano()))
+	lifespanMilliseconds := lifespanDur.Milliseconds()
+	// calculate the 'time the certificate should be rotated' by figuring out
+	// 87-93% of the lifespan and adding it to the start
+	rotationTime := start.Add(time.Millisecond * time.Duration(((lifespanMilliseconds*9)/10)+(lifespanMilliseconds*int64(r.Intn(6)-3))/100))
+
+	// after we have the 'time the certificate should be rotated', figure out how
+	// far it is from now to sleep
+	sleepFor := time.Duration(rotationTime.Sub(now))
+	if sleepFor <= 0 {
+		return 0, false
 	}
-	sleepFor := time.Duration(gooddur * 1e9) // basically: gooddur*time.Second
+
 	return sleepFor, true
 }
 
diff --git a/dependency/vault_pki_test.go b/dependency/vault_pki_test.go
index ece8a7490..528d0960f 100644
--- a/dependency/vault_pki_test.go
+++ b/dependency/vault_pki_test.go
@@ -7,10 +7,14 @@ package dependency
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
+	"crypto/x509"
+	"crypto/x509/pkix"
 	"errors"
+	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/hashicorp/consul-template/renderer"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/vault/api"
@@ -53,6 +57,46 @@ func Test_VaultPKI_notGoodFor(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func Test_VaulkPKI_goodFor(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := map[string]struct {
+		CertificateTTL time.Duration
+	}{
+		"one minute": {CertificateTTL: time.Minute},
+		"one hour":   {CertificateTTL: time.Hour},
+		"one day":    {CertificateTTL: time.Hour * 24},
+		"one week":   {CertificateTTL: time.Hour * 24 * 7},
+	}
+	for name, tc := range tests {
+		NotBefore := time.Now()
+		NotAfter := time.Now().Add(tc.CertificateTTL)
+		certificate := x509.Certificate{
+			Subject: pkix.Name{
+				Organization: []string{"Acme Co"},
+			},
+			NotBefore: NotBefore,
+			NotAfter:  NotAfter,
+		}
+
+		dur, ok := goodFor(&certificate)
+		if ok == false {
+			t.Errorf("%v: should be true", name)
+		}
+
+		ratio := dur.Seconds() / (NotAfter.Sub(NotBefore).Seconds())
+		// allow for a .01 epsilon for floating point comparison to prevent flakey tests
+		if ratio < .86 || ratio > .94 {
+			fmt.Println(ratio)
+			t.Errorf(
+				"%v: should be between 87 and 93, but was %.2f. NotBefore: %s, NotAfter: %s",
+				name,
+				ratio,
+				NotBefore,
+				NotAfter,
+			)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func Test_VaultPKI_pemsCert(t *testing.T) {
 	// tests w/ valid pems, and having it hidden behind various things
 	want := strings.TrimRight(strings.TrimSpace(validCert), "\n")
@@ -136,10 +180,16 @@ func Test_VaultPKI_refetch(t *testing.T) {
 	defer os.Remove(f.Name())
 
 	clients := testClients
+	TTL := "2s"
+	ttlDuration, err := time.ParseDuration(TTL)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
 	/// above is prep work
 	data := map[string]interface{}{
 		"common_name": "foo.example.com",
-		"ttl":         "3s",
+		"ttl":         TTL,
 		"ip_sans":     "127.0.0.1,192.168.2.2",
 	}
 	d, err := NewVaultPKIQuery("pki/issue/example-dot-com", f.Name(), data)
@@ -189,7 +239,10 @@ func Test_VaultPKI_refetch(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("pemss don't match and should.")
 	}
 
-	// Don't pre-drain here as we want it to get a new pems
+	// forcefully wait the longest the certificate could be good force to ensure
+	// goodFor will always return needs renewal
+	<-d.sleepCh
+	time.Sleep(time.Millisecond * time.Duration(((ttlDuration.Milliseconds()*9)/10)+(ttlDuration.Milliseconds()*int64(3)/100)))
 	act3, rm, err := d.Fetch(clients, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)