2001 GTP Unknown Battery Discharge

[amesjm0431]

Hey everyone!!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

So today I go out and drive to work like any other day. Everything was running normal and there seemed to be no problems. I go to leave for the day and when I go to get in the car, the remote won't unlock the doors. I figured the battery went out on the remote so I just unlocked it manually. I put the key in the ignition and turn it over and nothing happens. I do a couple of quick checks and sure enough, no power to anything in the car. I go to take the key out of the ignition and sure enough it is locked in place. This again due to having no power. I went in and got a friend to get some jumper cables and I got everything set up and sure enough I was able to get power and then get the car started.

I let it run for a bit and then headed home. I got home and turned it off and tested the start again and it seemed a little hesitant to start but it did start. I tried this a few more times and eventually it seems to be starting without any hesitation again.

Some quick background. I did not leave anything on like headlights or anything inside the car either. The battery is only about 2 years old and has not been a problem but I do know from past experience that batteries can go out of nowhere. I also replaced the alternator around the same time as the battery so that is fairly new as well. Each one only has about 24000 miles on them.

What I am trying to figure out is what could be drawing power while the car is turned off? I don't have any non-OEM parts installed in the car so I am wondering if I am missing something or if anyone has any ideas of where I can start.

Thanks in advance as I know that for any problems I have had in the past, I have been able to get my answers from people on this site.

[BNaylor]

Current is drawn even with ignition off even after retained accessory power (RAP) kicks in. Maybe around 12-15 mA or so. Several electrical components like the BCM and PCM modules could cause the excessive parasitic draw. It should not exceed around 50 mA of current. Also, it depends on the reserve capacity rating of the battery. You can test for parasitic draw with a digital multimeter and reading off the battery negative cable.