Battery Drain (Page 3/7) deloreanant FEB 28, 01:09 PM quote Originally posted by 85 SE VIN 9: I went to Walmart once for a battery. They insisted on testing both the battery and charging system. Even gave me a printout. BTW they said it wasn't the battery or alternator. That turned out to be correct. The only thing they ever have checked for me is the battery I'm returning. And they always make me wait about four hours as they charge it. If the dang thing could hold a charge do they really think I would be wasting my time exchanging it? deloreanant FEB 28, 01:11 PM quote Originally posted by Neils88: If you are reading 0 mA then you are definitely don't the test wrong. Normal draw with everything shut down should be about 15mA. That's kind of what I thought. But I can't imagine what I'm doing wrong. I'm able to get a voltage reading, why can't I get mA? Guess I'll try again today. seajai FEB 28, 05:45 PM quote Originally posted by deloreanant: That's kind of what I thought. But I can't imagine what I'm doing wrong. I'm able to get a voltage reading, why can't I get mA? Guess I'll try again today. Volts and amps aren't measured the same way. The meter leads are in series between the cable and battery. Check the internal fuse of your meter to make sure it's still good. deloreanant MAR 03, 04:37 PM quote Originally posted by seajai: Volts and amps aren't measured the same way. The meter leads are in series between the cable and battery. Check the internal fuse of your meter to make sure it's still good. Well the fuse is ceramic so I can't check it (at least I don't know how to). So I went ahead and ordered some new fuses. They will be here Monday 3/7. I will update sometime after that. Thanks for all the help. garage monster MAR 04, 12:48 AM Just in case others are assuming you know how to use the milliamp portion of your meter and you do not.... Disconnect the positive battery cable from the battery. Put your meter in the milliamp position. Put the positive lead from the meter onto the battery terminal. Touch the other meter lead to the now disconnected cable. Be sure when you do this nothing is turned on including dome lights from having the door open. With nothing going the reading should be near 15 milliamps. There is probably a clock in the radio. If you have an alarm system or remote door locks they will cause a higher reading. The control that raises and lower the headlights is a common cause of your issue. Phirewire MAR 04, 11:22 PM Did you use a meter to test your draw at all? I am still having a draw but mines alot smaller now, i've taken it from .15 amps to .05 amps. still enough to drain it over a day. Gall757 MAR 05, 09:13 AM quote Originally posted by Phirewire: Did you use a meter to test your draw at all? I am still having a draw but mines alot smaller now, i've taken it from .15 amps to .05 amps. still enough to drain it over a day. 50 miliamps should not drain your battery in one day. 85 SE VIN 9 MAR 05, 01:33 PM 5 amps would certainly drain it in a day. Are you sure which setting you have it on? I've had/am having this same issue. It has gotten better and worse, as measured with a multimeter. For instance it was steady at about 10 amps. I started taking apart the dash and removed the radio. No drain! I redid the radio harness, soldering and heat shrinking all the connections. Hooked it up - the needle pegged! Disconnected the harness, drain went back to 10 amps. I really don't see what the harness alone could be doing. I think the problem is somewhere in that area that gets disturbed when I work on it. My plan is to connect a buzzer I got from RadioShack the same way you're connecting the multimeter or a test light, only I should be able to hear the buzzer stop or at least change volume when I rustle the problem area. You're welcome to borrow/test my bright idea. RockinRoger MAR 07, 08:24 PM Just a silly thought...is the trunk light switch operating properly? If the light does not shut off when you close the trunk, that would cause quite a bit of drain. Just my 2 cents. Neils88 MAR 07, 10:56 PM My dad had a bad drain on his car last year. Since he lives across the country I had to help him diagnose it over the phone and through email. First thing I told him to do was to turn off his headlights. He said his headlights weren't on. I then proceeded to spend several hours back and forth through email trying to help him to diagnose the problem....but was unsuccessful in helping him track it down (no multimeter available). The next day he emailed me back...and admitted the headlights had been left on. Just a reminder to always check the silly stuff first. Common sources of drains are door/trunk switches, alternators, relays and oil pressure sensor. The best way to find problems is always with a multimeter used to check the current drain in series with one of the battery cables and then start by pulling fuses one at a time to see if the drain goes away. If it does, then you can focus on wires/components on that circuit. A wiring diagram is also a must have item (along with the multimeter).