Battery Drain from Radio?

[Malibu369258]

So my battery drains really bad when the car sits for at least two days (so much that I can't even start the car)...wanted to know how much the key-off current drain should be for our cars???

I did a battery drain test with the multimeter, and it seemed that when I removed the fuse labeled Radio Batt, the drain was a lot less (0.6 amps), but with the fuse, I saw a drain of 1.78 amps... I thought the fault was the newer stock radio I replaced a few months ago, but the old stock radio has the same draw.

This is too much isn't it?

[cherrington17]

i'd say so. when the car is off... there should be NO drain on the battery..

[Ryan from Ohio]

Sounds to me like you have a bad battery.

And how did you do a battery drain test exactly?

Unhook what and hook to where how?

Just curious to see if you did this right or wrong

[Malibu369258]

I thought I had a bad battery too, so Interstate replaced it no charge, since the previous one was only three months old... the one I have currently is only a two weeks old. And yes the alternator is fine!

I tested the drain by disconnecting the negative and then the positive... then I reconnected the negative. I used the multimeter probes to carry the current of the positive, thus the readings I came up with...

A newer car, especially ones with a PCM/ECM will always have a current draw in order to keep the memory settings... Correct??? Just I don't see it being this high.

I pulled other fuses before I came across the one labeled Radio Batt. The readings stayed the same, and I only noticed a dramatic drop when I removed the mentioned Radio fuse...

[guiguilandry]

normally the drain should be 50mA.... so 0,050amp not really much more...

[Redog]

Sounds like a bad conncetion on the radio somewhere. Maybe a small arc too.

Check your connections

[AleroB888]

Originally Posted by Malibu369258

I thought I had a bad battery too, so Interstate replaced it no charge, since the previous one was only three months old... the one I have currently is only a two weeks old. And yes the alternator is fine!

I tested the drain by disconnecting the negative and then the positive... then I reconnected the negative. I used the multimeter probes to carry the current of the positive, thus the readings I came up with...

A newer car, especially ones with a PCM/ECM will always have a current draw in order to keep the memory settings... Correct??? Just I don't see it being this high.

I pulled other fuses before I came across the one labeled Radio Batt. The readings stayed the same, and I only noticed a dramatic drop when I removed the mentioned Radio fuse...

Ha, mine is doing the same thing, I was hoping it was going to be the battery.

Keep at it

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted by Malibu369258

but with the fuse, I saw a drain of 1.78 amps... I thought the fault was the newer stock radio I replaced a few months ago, but the old stock radio has the same draw.

This is too much isn't it?

That's way too much! Also, sometimes my Alero sits for months without being driven and the battery is just fine when I start it. The 50mA someone else posted about is probably in the ballpark.

I'm guessing that some moron before you modded the car somehow and now you need to find what that idiot did and undo it.

[zzyzzx]

This is the thread I was looking for earlier:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...ht=fire&page=2

Well, i have figured out where the problem was. It was definately an electrical problem and it was up under my dashboard. Whoever had the car before me, hooked up neon lights that goes underneath the car. Well whenever they took the neon lights off of the car, they did a real poor job of tapeing the wires that was up under my dash. Yesterday, the car caught on fire and almost burnt to the ground. I was driving down the road and the car started acting all wierd, so i coasted to a good stopping place and quickly got out, when i noticed the smoke pouring out from under the dash. If it wasn't for fast thinking on my part. The car would be a pile of ashes and charred metal. I unhooked the battery by using a pair of bolt cutters and cut the positive battery wire. The car is a total loss and not worth the time, effort or money to repair it. I only had liability insurance on it and will not get a penny for the car from the insurance company. However i will sell it to a junk yard and get a couple hundred for it. My luck has gone from bad to worse.

Thanks to those that has tried to help me out with this car. I consider it a huge lesson learned.

[black]

i bought my car new.

from day one, it had this issue.

if it was not started in 2 - 3 days max, the battery would be dead.

if i knew i would not be driving it for more than 3 days, i unhooked the battery.

i gave up after a year of trying to find out what it was.

dealershit sucked asss, they never admitted there was an issue.

[Ryan from Ohio]

Does it have the stock radio?

Any additional security?

Security systems use power too.

The factory system and the theftlock radio BS.

[Malibu369258]

Originally Posted by Ryan from Ohio

The factory system and the theftlock radio BS.

This is all I have... no aftermarket electronics.

Originally Posted by black

i bought my car new.

from day one, it had this issue.

if it was not started in 2 - 3 days max, the battery would be dead.

if i knew i would not be driving it for more than 3 days, i unhooked the battery.

i gave up after a year of trying to find out what it was.

dealershit sucked asss, they never admitted there was an issue.

This is exactly what mine does, glad its not just me... I'm not giving up yet though, cause this really pisses me off. Especially with the radio fuse disconnected, because it means NO RADIO for me.

[Monza]

You might plug the ammeter in where the radio fuse was to see if the radio is the draw or the radio is enabling something else (like the amp if you have the premium sound system).

Another way to see if it's the amp drawing current is to pull the 10A trunk release/rdo amp fuse in the rh i/p fuse block.

[cherrington17]

if it is indeed your radio, you could always rig a kill switch into it. cut the power wire going to it, run it to a switch.

that way you can turn that off when you get out.

[Malibu369258]

Originally Posted by Malibu369258

I thought the fault was the newer stock radio I replaced a few months ago, but the old stock radio has the same draw.

Does anybody know what else is connected to the RADIO BATT fuse?

[Monza]

Looks like Antenna Amplifier is powered from the radio. The radio can also cause the audio amp to come on (if you have one).

Does the excess current drain go away if the radio is turned off? (I expect not or you wouldn't drive with the fuse pulled).

Do you have the premium radio (with amp)?

[Malibu369258]

Originally Posted by Monza

Looks like Antenna Amplifier is powered from the radio. The radio can also cause the audio amp to come on (if you have one).

Does the excess current drain go away if the radio is turned off? (I expect not or you wouldn't drive with the fuse pulled).

Do you have the premium radio (with amp)?

I don't think I have the premium system, I do have the factory XM...

Yeah I have to pull the fuse in order to keep it from draining the battery.

[zzyzzx]

I'd be disconnecting things on the radio circuit one at a time and measuring the drain. Via a process of elimination you will eventually find the cause. you will most likely need the wiring diagram to figure it out, but if you don't have that try disconnecting the amplifier (you do have one, even if not Monsoon) and the power antenna (one at a time) to eliminate those as a possibility.

It doesn't suprize me that the dealer didn't find this problem. It would not take me long to figure it out.

You should be able to let your Alero sit for months without it draining the battery. I've done it a few times already.

[Malibu369258]

Update: So I'm still trying to find out what it is. When I remove the fuse and put it back in I can hear an electric motor turn??? What exactly is this coming from, noise seems to be in the center dash area...

[Monza]

Near the radio? Cassette or CD drive?