What is this electrical gizmo

[regis101]

I'm chasing down the infamous hard start thing. No big. Another story. As per the Bentley I start to check for battery voltage and shorts thinking that there may be some preventing enuff voltage to ECU to fire off the coil. Longshot , yes, but nonetheless. At the battery I have 12.2 v. Low. I change the six year old battery left from the PO and I'm back up to normal. With the car running at 1500r's I'm at 13.6. All seems well. I then check for shorts. Again as per the Bentley. Hook up the test light between the neg post and the neg cable. Light is on. Pull fuses one at a time untill the light goes off. #28, radio, cigar lighter...Aftermarket hack job radio. No big there. Leave that fuse out for awhile untill I can check the wiring. So.. all this brings me up to putting the neg cable back onto the neg post thus ending the task at hand for the day. Now, upon hooking back up, I hear a clicking sound from the left rear ( drivers side )wheelwell area. I pulled back the upholstery thinking that it was the electric antenna. Disconnected it but still had clicking. So then I see some sort of electrical gizmo at the top of the wheelwell arch. But I can't make out what components or how many are there. The real point is that it creates a draw on the battery. Dunno if this is normal and it has a time delay that shuts of the draw automatically or..or.. or what. I'd like to think that when the key is off, there is no power draw on the battery. So what is that thang. Thanks, Regis 89 325is

[James Crivellone]

Sounds like the Central check relays to determine if the lights are working or not...

[regis101]

That's good to know. Still doesn't seem like it should be drawing current when the car (key) is off. Perhaps someone will do their annual battery post cleaning ritual this weekend and see if theirs does the same? Thanks, Regis 89 325is

[regis101]

I found in the Bentley that it is the Rear lights check relay. It was back in the electricalsection under the fuse and relay pages. I do know that I have a reverse lamp out. I'll have to dig into it a bit further to maybe locate other shorts or burned lamps. Just not sure why I have draw from the battery when the key is off. I may have more hidden gremilns.

[regis101]

Prolly the last post for this thread, at least from me. Picked up a new battery from my mechanic. Quizzed him about the draw on the battery when the key is off. He stated that when the battery cables are first landed, that voltage is sent out to various components and then they go into sleep mode. This makes sense because when I check with a continuity checker, I'll get a ring, and then it goes away. Hope this helps others. As of now, I will always check for shorts as per the bentley before the final hook-up of the battery cables. Thanks, Regis 89 325is