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Normal current draw when car is off?

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Old Feb 26, 2004
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Normal current draw when car is off?

Alright, I was heading out last night to run some errands, when low and behold my car won't start. The lights are really dim, so the battery isn't dead yet, but close. Anyhow, I go back inside and grab my ammeter and hook it up inline (in series) with the positive terminal of the battery and the power wires coming off of the terminal. It was drawing about 110-80mA with the car off, doors closed, and only the hood open.

Now I know things like the radio, ECU, etc all need to have a slight drain to keep their "memory" alive, but doesn't 100mA seem excessive?

I was thinking around 20mA would be normal... is this right?

I guess I'll start pulling fuses today and try to isolate the problem.
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Old Feb 26, 2004
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I came back out this afternoon and hooked the ammeter up to it again. Turns out my electrical system is fine. I guess when you unhook the battery, and hook it back up again the car has to draw about 100-50mA for about 5 seconds to recharge all of the "memory," etc.

Went to Honda, battery had a dead cell, got a new one under warranty.
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