tracking down battery drain

[bad_religion_au]

ok got a new battery in one (of two that are buggered) of the cars, tested current between -ve terminal on the battery, and the negative wire going to the battery, started pulling fuses to find the drain on the battery

there is a 0.1 milliamp drain in the taillight circuit

the hard wire circuit that keeps the cd player memory and clock etc draws over 200 milliamps, but that fluctuates down to 4-5 milliamps at times.

i don't know what current draw is alright for automotive sources, is 200 milliamps too high?

is the .1 milliamp draw a huge problem (i.e. could it be causing the battery drain in less than a day?)

 

[Pin_Head]

Repost.

No. Again.

 

[Desertdave]

I'm no expert, but 200 milli amps does seem high to me. It also doesn't seem like enough to kill a battery in a day. I had a problem in a pickup truck where a 240 milliamp load killed a battery in a week, but it was fine for a couple days, at least.

 

[bad_religion_au]

well in this truck (i got 2 with electrical gremlins so repost that ) the battery dies once unexpectedly, gets fully charged, then runs fine for about a month, then loses charge suddenly again. (recharging via alternator, then charge tested with volt meter)

 

[73lndcrsr]

Don't forget to pull the alternator lead. My MG had this issue and the alternator was killing my battery. Could be a bad diode pack or windings?