Problem may to be solved. As soon as I connected the positive, and completed the circuit on the negative side (by putting my meter inline) I noticed the dome light come on in the car. I did expect this (and am still confused by it) because whether on or off I would expect the resistance across the light to be high (not the 2.5 ohms I was seeing). Regardless there is no question this was the main draw that resulted in the battery being discharged.
However, one part of the story that I did not tell before is that the battery was only about 2 month's old when it went dead. And the battery it replaced only lasted about 9 months. All of this lead to me thinking that there was a short somewhere, and my poking around with my meter seemed to confirm this. So after I discovered the dome light was on I still decided to see if there was a still a draw. After turning the dome light off (and confirming there were no doors open, etc), I still see about a 20 mA draw from the battery. Does this sound like a problem to you (i.E. That there is a parasitic draw from somewhere)?
Over the course of several days, this does not seem to have had a great effect (as the battery voltage is still above 12.5V). I am thinking that if there is still a draw, it may be so small that it is not an issue as long as I don't let the car sit (i.E. That we drive it at least every couple of days. Or at least charge the battery). Let me know your thoughts. Thanks.
Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 AT 6:40 PM