Battery draw of four to six amps

Tiny
KRUSS33
  • MEMBER
  • 2010 CADILLAC SRX
  • 3.0L
  • V6
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 86,000 MILES
Our car has developed a battery draw of four to six amps. I have had the battery tested by O' Reilly Auto Parts and it tested as good. They also tested the starter which tested as good. I have disconnected the alternator wires and have started using ammeter to check each fuse. I finally found two fuses that dropped the amps down to zero. They are Rear Electrical Center one and two. Now I need to know where to look next. Thank You for your help.
Tuesday, August 16th, 2016 AT 2:03 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,758 POSTS
Are you checking this correctly? If you do not allow the timers to expire, you will see drains.

There is a procedure for finding a battery draw like that.

You will need a digital ammeter and a jumper wire with clips on the ends to do this.
First rig any door switches so you can have a door open without triggering the interior lights and unplug the hood light. Remove one battery cable and attach the meter in series between the battery cable and battery post. Take the jumper wire and also attach it the same way. Leave the jumper wire on for at least ten minutes to expire all the automatic timers. Now remove the jumper wire and read the meter. Anything over 50 ma is too much draw. The way you locate this is to start removing fuses one at a time until the meter drops to normal level. This will be the circuit with something staying on. Determine what components are part of that circuit and check them individually until the problem is isolated.
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Tuesday, August 16th, 2016 AT 2:34 PM
Tiny
KRUSS33
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Thank you so much. After checking the current draw according to your directions, it read 0.0 amps. Now I have to find out what is running down my battery. Any ideas, all help greatly appreciated.
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Tuesday, August 16th, 2016 AT 3:33 PM
Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,758 POSTS
I can tell you right now that you are not using a sensitive enough amp meter to measure this. It will never read absolute 0 so your gauge is incapable of reading what you need. You are reading numbers in miliamps.
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Tuesday, August 16th, 2016 AT 3:37 PM

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