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    Drain on battery... car dead

    So i've been having some issue with my car battery dying as of late.

    *note* The Car has a command start/alarm on it. I'm not sure how much of a draw on the battery a Command start should normally use? Anyone know? i dont use the alarm part, only command start.

    So. First off i had my Service indicator lights staying on after the car was off, i'm pretty sure that was causing about 110mA drain. I had tested my mA drain while the car was off. So i replaced the 2 AA batteries, and retested my battery drain. IT went from about 180mA while the car was off, to now about 66mA. SO i was under the impression that was the problem.

    I thought that would be low enough not to cause any more problems. I've been driving the car every day for about a week with no issues, used the command start in the mornings, fired right up. Then last night i went to a friends place, and the turned the car off. I went to leave about 3 hours later and the car was dead. Nothing was left on. everything was exactly the same as the night b4, which the car had started in the morning with no problems, it didnt even sound close to being dead. But now dead enough that it cant turn over. I tested the Drain at that point, and still read only 66mA ... Is that too high?

    A couple things i noticed.. If i open the door while the car is off, i notice that the drain on the battery shoots up to over 200mA. is that normal? The only other wierd thing is i noticed if the Fog light switch is left on, it also draws on the battery of about 90 mA while the car is off (even though the fog lights don't alluminate)(i didnt have the button depressed when i left the car for 3 hours though)

    Anyone have any ideas?

    #2
    66mA sounds a bit high but could be within the genre of normal.

    Opening the doors turns on the interior illumination so this would definitely cause more current draw. I suggest you close the doors and test each fuse one by until you see a significant drop in current. Pull a fuse, one at a time. Once you see a big drop, focus on that circuit. Disconnect each component, one at a time until you narrow down exactly what is causing the current drain.

    However, all this testing would be a waste of time unless you know 100% that your battery is not defective and your alternator is putting out normal charge.
    Owner - Bavarian Restoration
    BMW and European Electronics Repair and Restoration
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      #3
      Battery is a month old, and when i test voltage @ idle, it's about 13.5vs so i'm thinking its within spec.

      for it to die in 3 hours, it would have to be like a 2 or 3 Amp draw... so it must be something shorting out periodically right?

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