Battery Drain - 30mA then 500mA?

[nobuds]

Hello- 2003 LC w 112K miles. Have been having parasitic battery drain for the past few weeks. Went from 13V battery to 11.9V in 4-5 days. I hooked up my multi-meter to battery (pulled negative terminal and put probes between terminal post and terminal in DC Amps) and watched readings. It would cycle between ~500mA for 15-20 seconds and then drop to 30mA for 15-20 seconds.


Any suggestions on what could be causing this?

 

[kruisinkid]

if you have the dvd system, a lot of people seem to find that it is killing their battery this late in its life. perhaps also a cd changer. try pulling those fuses.

what aftermarket electrical items do you have if any?

 

[nobuds]

Thanks Kruisin. No aftermarket items. Stock vehicle. Which fuse(s) would I pull? Or disconnect the CD changer in the center console by removing center console and pulling the connector with about 8+ wires running to it?

 

[kruisinkid]

so you dont have the DVD entertainment system for the rear seats either?

i dont/never had either but the 04 EWD shows the ACC and RADIO fuses that most likely power your cd changer.
if you have the dvd system, i think there is a separate fuse in the passenger footwell. but again, this is all recollection from other parasitic draw posts. someone with those systems should confirm.

 

[abuck99]

When you take readings for amp draw, keep in mind that while disconnecting neg lead then probing between neg lead and body ground or neg post will "wake" system up so you have to let it sit w/probes connected for a little bit to let energy dissipate, which is maybe why you see the amp draw diminish from 500mA to 30mA after a short time . Btw 30mA ~ 50mA drain is normal.

If you have the rear DVD player with drop down screen it stays energized all the time and does draw some mA. The fuse to kill it is just under the glove box (easier to get to if you remove it).

 

[nobuds]

OK - problem solved! Kruisin and Abuck, as you suggested, noticed DVD Rear Entertainment player (sorry- didn't realize this wasn't "factory"- port or dealer installed) was cycling on and off in hatch. Pulled the 7.5A fuse from under glove box and POOF- no more drain- down to the usual steady 27mA. THANK YOU! What a relief to not have a dead battery every week.