Re: Dead car - see comments and please help, TIA (archive)

You may want to measure the current drain from the battery with a DMM. While watching the meter, you could one-at-a-time pull out each fuse and look for the current draw to drop way down to normal. When (if) you find the fuse, at least you've narrowed it down to that circuit.

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Yep, that's the ticket.
It should not draw much more than 100 DC milliamps at rest. About 50 DCMA or so would be very good. Of course you would want to test it without any lights burning (door trunk etc.)
Disconnect a battery terminal and run the amp meter between the loose cable and the battery.

Common culprits are the glove box light, the trunk light, stuck cigar lighters, aftermarket alarms and stereos. Check all of that before moving to door lock heaters and such. If the trunk is missing the bumper that hits the switch then the light could be staying on all the time.

Another thing to check is your relays.
See if one of them feels warm after the car has been sitting a while. Also listen for a relay clicking when you or a helper disconnect the battery cable. If a relay is staying on then it can drain a lot of juice. Sometimes you must start the car and drive around or use the various electrical devices for the relay to go back to the on position after disconnecting the battery.
Good luck and please let us know what you find.

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