I have a short, very slow battery drain. Quick question...

[artisticent]

I have a test light to see what in the fuse panel has power even with the key removed. Seems like an aweful lot of fuses, relays etc have power with key off. Anyone have the schematic or diagram of what exactly in there should have power with key off?
I have only done a test light exam for now, and not the volt meter.

Thanks
Nathan

[skill]

I have a test light to see what in the fuse panel has power even with the key removed. Seems like an aweful lot of fuses, relays etc have power with key off. Anyone have the schematic or diagram of what exactly in there should have power with key off?
I have only done a test light exam for now, and not the volt meter.

Thanks
Nathan

How old is your battery? Check the battery light bulb in your instrument cluster... is that lightbulb out (blown out)?See this thread; http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?10402-Battery-Charging-Issues/page2&highlight=battery+light+bulb

[artisticent]

New battery and the cluster is removed. There are no bulbs in the car and powered on

[skill]

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=31875&stc=1
New battery and the cluster is removed. There are no bulbs in the car and powered on that may be your issue... maybe someone can correct me here. Currently, I'm putting in a new dash and have one of these things in place to avoid a drain of my die hard battery; http://www.amazon.com/HELLA-002843011-Series-Rating-Battery/dp/B0000AYAFE/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1417066018&sr=8-7&keywords=battery+cut+off+switch

[Silverbullet]

Ok,

I am not sure what you know about the electrical system... But because some fuses are powered means nothing... What you need to do to find a drain, is to remove a battery cable from the battery and insert a amp meter. the key is to look at the amp draw... and you can pull fuses until it drops... Remember to pull the wires to the door switches first, to shut off the interior and door lights... If your glove box latch does not work, the glove box light will drain the battery.... It is easy to find where the drain is once you figure out what is on the fuse that the drain is on... You will have a small drain on the radio, that is normal. if you have like a 1/2 amp draw, it is a light bulb.

Craig

[David T]

Ok,

I am not sure what you know about the electrical system... But because some fuses are powered means nothing... What you need to do to find a drain, is to remove a battery cable from the battery and insert a amp meter. the key is to look at the amp draw... and you can pull fuses until it drops... Remember to pull the wires to the door switches first, to shut off the interior and door lights... If your glove box latch does not work, the glove box light will drain the battery.... It is easy to find where the drain is once you figure out what is on the fuse that the drain is on... You will have a small drain on the radio, that is normal. if you have like a 1/2 amp draw, it is a light bulb.

Craig

If you have an original, unmodified door lock module, it can drain the battery over a long time. Do you have an alarm installed? They also have some standby current that can drain the battery. Make sure when the doors are closed all of the lights go off. If the rubber tips are missing on the door plungers your lights could be staying on. Finally get a battery master switch and shut it off when the car is not being used. The clock also uses a small amount of electric. If the car is not used for more than a month the battery can go dead from all of these loads. Maybe a battery tender?

[Rich]

...Anyone have the schematic or diagram of what exactly in there should have power with key off?
I have only done a test light exam for now, and not the volt meter.

+1 on David T's notes.

Start with the door lock module, the largest standby loss when everything's normal.

And feel free to consult the wiring diagram. The fuse block is located in sector E6-E7, right in the middle: http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?17-DMC-12-color-wiring-diagram

Main power feed hub is the bunch of brown wires clustered in sector C6, upstream of ign. switch. Most, but not all, of those brown main feeds head to the fuse block.

Door lock module is unfused, protected by a circuit breaker, so probing the fuse block will not show you that drain.

Unplug the door lock module and see if that helps. It's behind and left of the fuse block as you look rearward at the electrics compartment. If you are already running a digital door lock module then it's not causing your problem.

[artisticent]

Great info guys thank you all so much. Because I'm right in the process of starting to get the interior re done I don't have any bulbs connected but I'll check the doors today. And pick up an amp meter. It does take about a month to drain if I don't start it and leave it connected.

[SS Spoiler]

Every car should have a battery cutoff switch.....

[rdarlington]

Every car should have a battery cutoff switch.....

And a jewelers screw driver, paperclip, or some other similarly shaped object to set the clock.

-Bob

[skill]

Every car should have a battery cutoff switch..... +1

[Silverbullet]

Well..... If it takes a month to drain the battery enough that it won't start, I would say your only problem is... You don't drive the car enough...:tongue:

If you are going to park it for a month, either a shut off switch or a GOOD Float battery tender would solve your problem...

Craig

[Bitsyncmaster]

The stock door lock controller draws about 12 ma. all the time. The console clock about 5 ma. If you have a radio with a clock, another 5 ma.

That 17 ma of draw would take a fully charged battery to not start after 2 or 3 months. But if your battery is not fully charged (a long drive before you shut off) the no start time is a lot shorter.