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I'll just start out by saying I've read nearly every post on parasitic battery drains I could find in this forum but nothing seems to get at my problem. I've got a '05 6sp TL with a .850 amp drain when I hook up the ampmeter to the negative terminal / ground cable. It sits with the ground cable disconnected to save the battery as I've had this problem for years. Sometimes I leave the hood "cracked", sometimes I have to open the driver door to pop the hood (but close the door before hooking up the meter). I've pulled every fuse in both the hood fuse box and the dash fuse box but none of them make a difference on the amp draw, its always ~.850amp, with the exception of the main fuse (i get a reduction of .06amps - I realize I can chase this one but the larger draw is my main issue). I've also disconnected the alternator with no difference in amp draw. Am I simply performing this test wrong???
The only clue I've gotten is that when I disconnect the battery from the fuse box via the positive cable, the draw all but disappears.
Last edited by sheaglassman; Aug 17, 2021 at 02:01 PM.
Ive got the amp meter hooked up to the negative post on the battery and to the inside the clamp ring of the ground cable. No electrical mods, and I’ve disconnected the HFL a few weeks ago but it hasn’t seemed to have an effect on the drain. It’s really got me stumped.
If you have current draw yet all fuses are removed.....you either missed a fuse, or something earlier on the line is still connected. I am not familiar enough with the actual cable routing of the electrical system to know what all is fed directly from the battery. I would pull all fuses and disconnect the alternator all at the same time to confirm the draw. If still there, follow the positive leads off the battery and trace where they go to confirm all fuses are pulled.
The only clue I've gotten is that when I disconnect the battery from the fuse box via the positive cable, the draw all but disappears.
That might be a clue given that pulling the main fuse did almost nothing. Not too many fuses bypass main fuse number 22. If it were my car, I would focus on fuse 13 (see attachment). If removing 13 does not change your amp draw, I would remove the fuse box and look for green corrosion on the bottom. Here is a link for a video showing how to remove the fuse box on a 3g TL.
