How much draw is acceptable? Battery going dead

[spaceldman]

I have 92 Grand Prix. Just wondering how much current draw is acceptable when the car is not running. My battery seems to be dead in about 4 days if the car is not used. It had a draw of 340 mA. I disconnected the remote start and now it has 140 mA. Is this OK? Can I put the remote starter back in? Maybe the battery is no good?

[curtis73]

It sounds a little hefty on the draw, but I don't think that is enough to drain a battery in four days. I had 670mA draw on mine and it took about a week to drain the battery.

I would do the pull fuses trick. Take them out one at a time and see which circuit creates the greatest draw. Obviously the radio and remote start will draw the most, but see if there are significant draws on any other circuit.

I would also pull the fuses for the radio and remote start to drop the drain way down and see if the battery still goes dead. Then you'll know that its the battery.

Auto parts stores have little handheld drain simulators that can test your battery, alternator, and drains all in about three minutes. Stop by and ask them to test the battery and you'll know for sure.

I would say that 340mA is excessive, but by no means terrible. I try to shoot for 80-150 mA

[sracing]

Originally Posted by spaceldman

I have 92 Grand Prix. Just wondering how much current draw is acceptable when the car is not running. My battery seems to be dead in about 4 days if the car is not used. It had a draw of 340 mA. I disconnected the remote start and now it has 140 mA. Is this OK? Can I put the remote starter back in? Maybe the battery is no good?

Sounds like the battery might be a liitle weak, but 340 (or 140) is way too much. A decent 50ah battery would be dead in 5 or 6 days easily. (at least not enough to start the car.) 40ma is more realistic. Even with lots of electronic stuff (in standby) 100ma is max.

Jim
SR Racing