Car is an '89 325is.
Been dealing with a bad parasitic draw for years and because I don't daily the car, I've basically put up with it. About a year ago, I attempted to fix the issue and my troubleshooting led me to the SI batteries. Replaced them and the issue improved. Initially I thought I had solved it completely but eventually realized the problem still existed to a lesser extent.
Tonight I dug into it again and found an 80 mA draw placing the meter in series with the negative battery cable. Pulling fuses led me to fuse 28 which dropped the current to 38mA. My understanding is that 30 to 40mA is the correct range for these cars.
Bentley says fuse 28 is for the lighter and power antenna. Years back I swapped out the original dead power antenna for a lightweight, simple Z3 amplified unit. The Z3 unit only has one terminal I believe, whereas the factory E30 harness has two wires, red and white, leading to the power antenna. I've had just one of those wires (don't remember which sitting here on the couch) hooked up to the Z3 unit.
Regardless, as soon as I unplugged the antenna, the draw dropped to 38mA so I pinpointed the issue as the antenna.
This surprises me. Is this a known issue? Do I have it hooked up incorrectly? What could have failed in the antenna to cause this draw?
Thanks.
Been dealing with a bad parasitic draw for years and because I don't daily the car, I've basically put up with it. About a year ago, I attempted to fix the issue and my troubleshooting led me to the SI batteries. Replaced them and the issue improved. Initially I thought I had solved it completely but eventually realized the problem still existed to a lesser extent.
Tonight I dug into it again and found an 80 mA draw placing the meter in series with the negative battery cable. Pulling fuses led me to fuse 28 which dropped the current to 38mA. My understanding is that 30 to 40mA is the correct range for these cars.
Bentley says fuse 28 is for the lighter and power antenna. Years back I swapped out the original dead power antenna for a lightweight, simple Z3 amplified unit. The Z3 unit only has one terminal I believe, whereas the factory E30 harness has two wires, red and white, leading to the power antenna. I've had just one of those wires (don't remember which sitting here on the couch) hooked up to the Z3 unit.
Regardless, as soon as I unplugged the antenna, the draw dropped to 38mA so I pinpointed the issue as the antenna.
This surprises me. Is this a known issue? Do I have it hooked up incorrectly? What could have failed in the antenna to cause this draw?
Thanks.
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