[shorod]

When the car gives the appearance of a dead battery do you get any sound from under the hood such as a single click of a relay or a rapid clicking? What doe the indicators in the dash do? Do they all come on and perform a bulb test? With the key in the run position does the radio work? If you try starting the car with the driver's door open what do the interior lights do when trying to start? Do they change much in brightness or go out completely? Have you checked the condition of the battery cable connection to the main power distribution box? Before checking the current draw on the battery I'd suggest hanging the multimeter across the battery and monitor the battery voltage with the key off, with the key in Run, and finally while the key is held to the Start position. If the battery is around 11V or higher in Run and doesn't drop below 10V when trying to start the car, the issue would seem to be something other than the battery, more likely a bad connection somewhere. If you need to move on to measure current, be sure to reposition the meter leads as mentioned by consultII above.

If using a current meter in series, use the highest current scale on your meter (probably 10A or 20A). Even though you are looking for something less than 100mA, the inrush current may be several amps. Using the mA setting of your meter will likely blow the fuse as soon as it's placed in series with the battery. It may take 45 minutes or better before all the modules in your 2004 go in to sleep mode, 5 minutes certainly won't be enough and 20 minutes may not be.

-Rod