Major Electrical Problem, PLEASE HELP

[Sagaris]

I just ditched my wifes Toyota Rav4 due to the electrical system consuming itself. It had 17 amps of current draw with everything off and unplugged. It was throwing random CEL's that had no basis. New alternator, battery, and cleaned ground wires didnt change a thing. I know that it would have been way too $$$$ to resolve. I know the ECU was cooked and who knows what other electronics were on the way out. The system had been overcharging for a few months and we didnt know it.
Sucky deal. Luckily an e30 is simple enough and spare parts are cheap and available to fix it.

[Dhohn]

Trust me it doesnt make sense to me either. I never figured the car would run properly if the dme had this kind of an issue.

[StereoInstaller1]

How the fuck is a DME gonna dissipate 13A of current?

Does the DME have some random heatsinks glued on?

[Jean]

So the power wire showing the 13 amp draw is now resolved. I traced it back to the ecu. So i will have to track down a good ecu, but thats atleast one down.

I pulled the 4 relays I could find under the dash. the 2 for the hvac and then two under the driver side dash located next to the firewall. Also the wire that is carrying the draw to the distribution block in the engine bay and then back to the battery traces to the fuse box. It is located on the underside of the fuse box and leads out and as best I can tell goes through the firewall.

I want to see the dme, 13 amps of draw and yet the car worked? Wow!

It's an iX thing

[StereoInstaller1]

No, it is gonna show a draw through the field wire.

If it gets hot when it should not be, like on charge or something, its bad.

Ford owners know this too.

[StereoInstaller1]

No, through the field wire.

Simple check: if it is warm to the touch WHEN IT SHOULD NOT BE, it is bad.

All Ford owners know this.

[Dhohn]

the alternator is still a possibility. I realized while trying to go through and make a list of everything I had checked that I had only removed the positive cable from the alternator. I am thinking that it may be possible to have the draw still come through the negative cable ?????

maybe im just frustrated and anxious lol

[george graves]

I am gonna take a guess: bad alternator

well, now that everything else is eliminated - where ya been Luke!

[Kershaw]

alternator draws power when the car is turned off if its bad?

[StereoInstaller1]

I am gonna take a guess: bad alternator

[george graves]

So when you unplug the ECU does the draw go away?

[Dhohn]

So the power wire showing the 13 amp draw is now resolved. I traced it back to the ecu. So i will have to track down a good ecu, but thats atleast one down.

I pulled the 4 relays I could find under the dash. the 2 for the hvac and then two under the driver side dash located next to the firewall. Also the wire that is carrying the draw to the distribution block in the engine bay and then back to the battery traces to the fuse box. It is located on the underside of the fuse box and leads out and as best I can tell goes through the firewall.

[george graves]

ABS solenoids? They might be hefty little guys that could draw that much - I've never worked with one.

It will be interesting to find out the culprit.

[Jean]

pull the defroster switch or fuse, and maybe blower motor fuse and aux fan fuse/relay?

I can't think of anything else that can draw that much current. rear defroster is possible as it won't make any noise.... starter solenoid not likely if the car starts etc normally ...but the aux fan resistor a "maybe"..... iono

this is a good one!

[Dhohn]

Everything works. I do have a check engine light and haven't gotten my code reader back from my buddy yet. He is supposed to drop it off tomorrow, so hopefully that will add more insight into the issues.

The car runs and drives fine, but you have to disconnect the battery every time the car is shut off so that it doesn't drain the battery dead. It will drain the battery to where the car wont start after approximately 4 to 6 hours.