Hello, I really need help. Have a parasitic drain in 2 fuses. The alarm/horn/interior lights and the fuse for the radio. The radio just stopped coming on one day. I know that pulling the fuses fixes the drain but how do I permanently fix these issues? Can replacing the fuse work? Is it a problem with wiring that may be corroded? I am trying to prevent going to a shop to get this fixed and hoped I could work on it from home...Any and all help is appreciated

 

Use Search.

 

Welcome, Use Search.

 

Welcome, Use Search.

 

Yes I have already searched for an answer on here and just with Google. The only answer I am getting through these methods is a temporary or band-aid solution, which is to disconnect the fuses. Now that I have those fuses that I have found to be the problem already disconnected, I obviously cannot use the features that the fuses were controlling. So my question is again if the fuses are the problem is it just a matter of replacing the fuses or is it something else like wiring, corrosion or something else that someone on here has experienced or knows about. Thanks for the response there onehundred80 but to answer with Use Search means you have little experience to provide an answer which negates a forum experience. Any other possible solutions from someone with experience and perhaps, a Crossfire would be very much appreciated

 

OUCH.. 180 he don't have a missfire.. he just hit you on all 6 cylinders!

You need a kinder approach when responding.. Here's a sample..



see.. aesthetically pleasing and makes your point..

 

These cars all have a parasitic drain, the problem is how much do you have, you never told us and therefore we can offer no solution only guesses.

I and none of the other members on this forum do not have ESP as far as I know and thus have no idea of the extent of your problems.

 

My thoughts too.. but kept silent.. Been hammered enough here lately.. LOL.
Does raise the question though.. how do you determine "how much"? Brand new and checked battery dead in 2 days after being fully charged.. or 6 year old battery that starts the car when on the charger overnight and then dead by noon... Parasitic drain meter?

 

Ok yes..now we are getting somewhere. I fully admit to not having much knowledge of this topic. I suppose the Use Search result being submitted 3X's in a row just irritated me. So now that you have posed questions I can answer thank you thank you thank you. Really appreciated. So the battery is one year old. The car was fine in the fall and then was not driven this winter so when it was time to start it up the battery had died. Not unusual. Got a new battery charger and charged it up. Popped it back in and within 2 days it was dead. The reading on the digital meter testing the current flowing through the battery when car is off showed .68Amps. Removed the radio and it dropped to .23Amps and then removed the Alarm/horn/interior lights fuse and it dropped to .03
The radio was working in the fall but has not turned on or worked this spring since these problems started appearing. The Alarm system was going all funky in the fall before the winter. When the car was locked by the remote the alarm would start going off and lights would flash until you unlocked the vehicle. What is the cause generally of parasitic drain on batteries? Thanks for the posts it really is appreciated, except the search for yourself:O

 

Okay.. you have symptoms.. two ways we can do this.. I can search the forum or..... Look up the alarm problem.. I know the search can be frustrating because you pull up 20 or more threads.. look for the ones with the most responses, as they will be more informative and most likely to have a resolution .. unless they jumped off on a tangent about what color is the fastest..

 

I just spent an hour and half searching the forum. there are lots of causes of the problem that can be looked at but I have not yet found some one that says 'this is what fixed my problem'. I will keep hope alive that some one on here has had a fix for it. The battery has been load tested and is fine. If I tinker and find the problem I will post it to let others know as well.

 

I've found myself just looking through threads.. basically armed with some knowledge before a problem occurs hopefully. Seem to recall some ended up replacing the alarm module? And yeah.. I've read a lot of threads that just dead ended with no resolution... kinda frustrating when that happens. Guess some get the answers to the problems and never reply back on the forum.. fixed and gone type thing. If I get bored tomorrow I'll dig through a few post and see what I can turn.. but hopefully USPS will have me busy intalling my HID kit ..

 

The search result being posted three times was because the system froze on me when I submitted the post, it was so slow that I thought I could stop it and added the word 'welcome' to the post. There were problems logging on yesterday and maybe that was the time, I never looked to see what was posted just because getting on was so slow. Getting ratty with someone with your first posts will not encourage others to help you, it should be mentioned that you have searched. Otherwise it comes across as a demand for help. There are many who ask for help and then never reply back that they were helped or not and only show up when they need more help.

The car needs some draw on the battery to keep the system alive, disconnecting the battery will give you some idea of what is lost with no power, some information lost is probably evident to you when the battery is reconnected. The radio is probably shot with that drain. Look at the reserve capacity of the battery and figure out how many hours it will take to reduce the battery power to a level that will not turn the starter over.
The normal drain is mentioned in a post here somewhere, the figure is quite low.

 

The individual circuits with the drain can be determined by using the amp meter of a DVOM. Just remove the fuze (seems already done) and set the meter to its highest scale of the amp meter. Then plug/place the two leads directly into the position where the fuze came out. The circuit will have power and the amp meter will give you the reading of what is flowing through that one circuit. Try that, and we'll see what kind of power is flowing through that circuit. BTW, the radio circuit is powered "ON" so that you can listen to the radio even with the key off/out. All you have to do is push the power button. Of course the alarm circuit will be hot all the time for obvious reasons. Happy hunting!

 

Even if the battery was new last fall , A funny thing about battery is you can only let them go dead couple times before before they are shot all to hell, i know this because it happen to me , so i would say it shot all to hell, that been said you put the car up for the winter, i do same thing but you really need start it once or twice a week win put up, Ok i would say it as simple as you need a new battery and then Drive it !!!!!!!

 

Have you managed to see what it's pulling yet? Found this in another thread..

"Thanks for the responce. 33 ma with doors and decklid closed. Alarm not armed.'

"33 ma is all fine. "

And more..


I've checked the battery drain on my 04 Coupe which should be representative of what you should be getting. I do have an aftermarket head unit/ipod setup but that should have drain to the factory system.
The current drain is around 114mA with the car locked i.e. alarm armed. There are odd peaks to 156mA, presumable the ultrasonic scanning periodically. So assuming you have a fully charged stock battery which has a capacity of 74Ah and taking the worst case 156mA drain you should get:

74/0.156 = 474 hours or 474/24 = 19.75 days until the battery is flat.

If you take the 114nA figure you get around 27 days.

And 180 has confirmed himself.. :-)

By coincidence I have just checked the parasitic drain on my battery.
Unlocked it averaged 15 mA and locked it jumped back and forth between 15 mA and 20 mA. The 15 mA reading flickered between 13 and 16 mA. The 20 mA reading flickered between 21 and 19 mA.


If your exceeding these numbers, start pulling fuses to see what circut is pulling the amps and that will at least give you the culprit.

 

The drain has been located already to the fuses. It is raining today so just not working on it today and hopefully it will clear up tomorrow. I will for sure write back when I find the fix. That's how I roll....

 

Oh.. I thought you had pulled multiple fuses - which doesn't exactly isolate the component with excessive current usage.

 

I guess when she comes to a stop on her roll she'll post back?