[V8] Battery draining - thanks!

[Buchholz, Steven]

... the one thing that I wanted to chime in on this one is that due to the fact that most circuits in the car are shut off when the key is removed, it makes sense to develop a plan of attack that takes this into account.  Look for the circuits that are always on and check the fuses there first.  If the culprit is not found that way, then verify that the switched circuits are functioning properly.  For example ... I think the circuitry for the seats is always powered on, so it makes sense to check this by removing any relevant fuses/circuit breakers.  The circuit for the headlights is switched by the ignition key ... if you suspect that this was the culprit the thing to do would be to verify that there was voltage on the circuit when the key was switched off.  (Those were just 2 examples of the two things to look for).  Also, keep in mind that one of the circuits you will be switching is for the radio ... and you will need to code to reactivate the radio if you pull the fuse for that circuit.  

I also wanted to add a note about how much current you might expect to see on the ammeter.  It has been a while, but I seem to recall seeing in the low hundred mA range ... ~150mA ... and there seemed to be some fluctuation to the current drawn to a lesser value.  If you note behavior like this I would not be alarmed.  One thing that you can do to give the best chances that you won't need to re-code the radio is to attach the meter in the ground circuit, with the probe attached to the battery lug and the other to a ground point on the chassis.  With this setup when you remove the ground cable the circuit will remain intact (as long as your probe doesn't slip off the battery terminal!)

If I have a chance I'll go through the wiring diagram to list the fuses that should be tested ... and see if perhaps the KB has been fixed to allow new info to be added ... 

Steve B
San José, CA (USA)
> 
> I haven't gotten the chance yet to go through the fuses and relays on V8 #1
> yet, but I need to say thanks to all the folks who posted and helped get me
> pointed in the right direction. I'm now quite positive I'll be able to sort it
> out and keep it running well.
> 
> I dunno how folks manage to own these cars and *not* be on the mailing list.
> 
> Thanks again for all those who wrote!