s52 e30 m3 - Continuous Battery Drain - fuse 23 + 24 when car is off

[r4esh]

Hey all, just sorting out stuff on my s52 swapped e30 m3. I have an annoying battery drain when the car is off on fuse 23 & 24. Its not a lot, but it will drain dead after 24 hours. I'm not sure how to hunt this down. Any ideas?

There is no radio hooked up. And I checked the infamous "trunk" cables to see if maybe they were crimped / split. Which there was a broken wire. I soldered it back but I still have my drain and I don't think that wire was related.

[e30rapidic]

my glove box light was staying on and causing my battery to drain. It had come loose in the housing! Took me a while to track that one down!

[328ijunkie]

Fuse 21 is:
Chime modlule, Cluster, Radio, Trunk Light, Check control Unit and interior lights. Get a multimeter and unplug 1 by 1 and see if the drain disappears

[r4esh]

EDIT: So I went back and checked right now and I'm getting power on fuses 23 and 24 when the car is off and NOT fuse 21 like I thought.

[328ijunkie]

just cause youre getting power to fuses doesnt mean their draining anything. you need to do a amp drain test. You know how?

[drez14]

try this:

http://youtu.be/zdIKNnwEjIs

[r4esh]

try this:

http://youtu.be/zdIKNnwEjIs

Great video! I was in the dark until I watched this. I will report back. I know that there are some fuses that ARE supposed to be "Always on", but I've tested 2 working batteries now and they both died within 24 hours so I'll follow that process and narrow it down.

[matthugie]

This is a glorious thread for me right now. I've had a draw for so long, but didn't really know how to find it. I've just been unhooking my battery if I park the car for more than a few days.

[reelizmpro]

Is your trunk light turning off? meaning...is your trunk misadjusted? Make sure the latch is tight so that when you close the trunk it's not so loose that the switch isn't making full contact and leaving the light on in the trunk. This one is often looked over so I thought I'd mention it right off the bat.

[r4esh]

So "drez14"s video link was great. I haven't gotten that far... but I have noticed something... Non of my interior lights NOR my trunk light will turn on.... what gives?! No blown fuses! Everything worked before the swap and I can't imagine my swap wiring had anything to do with it...

[drez14]

Yah. I thought that video was a gem that I had to share. I thought my trunk or glovebox light was staying on. Simple test. Put my iPhone on record, threw it in the box, recorded the light turn off.

Are all your connections at the distribution box correct?

[328ijunkie]

Do you have power for the lights anywhere

[Lof8]

subscribed to watch the video later.

[r4esh]

So my battery drain is gone. Interior lights are working. I found a broken wire that runs up the trunk hinge and i believe runs to the sensor to signal the trunk light on / off. Repaired the wire and my drain is gone for anyone who reads this / is tracing down their own battery drain.