Parasitic Draw Spec Plz

[Charles325i]

I was wondering if anyone knows the spec for a parasitic drain on e30's. I searched alittle but didnt find much, I currently have .08Amps. i know the general spec for most cars is .05Amps, but my battery dies every other couple of days.

[AndrewBird]

80mA is practically nothing. For an example as a comparison, a 3 watt light bulb (like what is in the gauge cluster) running at 12 volts is drawing 250mA. I would say your alternator is bad and that is why your battery is draining. Measure the voltage at the battery with the car running. Should be around 14V. If it's any lower, the alternator is bad.

I'd also just check your battery terminals. They could be corroded causing the battery to not charge. Sometime it's the simple things that cause all the problems.

[noke325]

I'll be honest with you. If I have a car in the shop with 80mA draw, I am going to look for something. I like to see less than 30mA before I feel like they're ok. Ideally less than 20mA. If you battery doesn't have a cell going out, or something, you should be able to let your car sit for over a month before the battery dies.

Do you know how to pin point where your draw is coming from?

[AndrewBird]

Here's the thing though. An 80mA draw isn't going to drain his battery in a few days. Something else is wrong.

[Charles325i]

ya i was thinkin 80mA wasnt too much either, the terminals are clean, and the alternator works, the car will still die with a full battery charge and never being turned on for a couple days.

Im gonna start pullin fuses to see what drops the most, but i need my roommate here since the battery is in the back and fuse box up front.

[AndrewBird]

80mA WILL NOT drain the battery after a few days. It would take weeks or months to drain.

How do you know the alternator is good? The battery could be bad as well.

[Charles325i]

If I drive the car every other day there is no problem, so i assume that the alternator works, Just sittin for about 3-5 days it is usually dead

[vtman05]

hit up http://www.wedophones.com/BMWManualsLead.htm and pick out your ride.

It has all the equipment powered through each fuse.

[brian90]

Charles325i what kind of wheels do you have on your car. I love them.

[funcrew]

I was wondering if anyone knows the spec for a parasitic drain on e30's. I searched alittle but didnt find much, I currently have .08Amps. i know the general spec for most cars is .05Amps, but my battery dies every other couple of days.

My S52 cabrio that I got already swapped from the PO used to puke the battery within 2 days. When I had TNG Automotive in La Cracenta, CA sort out a bunch of stuff, they re-wired everything, and now it can sit for weeks with hardly any draw-down on the battery.