Stoplights draining battery
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
From: Luxembourg europe
Stoplights draining battery
HI
I have a strange problem but I have no clue where to start looking. I noticed my battery always went flat after about 2 weeks not driving. There is a constant power consumption of 0.15A when ignition is off (no key, doors closed) .Now I figured out it is from the stop lights: when I pull out the stop/haz 20A fuse the current stops ( 0.15A !) and drops to about 0A. what could be pulling 0.15A in the brake light circuit?? something shorting?
switch?..?
thanks
I have a strange problem but I have no clue where to start looking. I noticed my battery always went flat after about 2 weeks not driving. There is a constant power consumption of 0.15A when ignition is off (no key, doors closed) .Now I figured out it is from the stop lights: when I pull out the stop/haz 20A fuse the current stops ( 0.15A !) and drops to about 0A. what could be pulling 0.15A in the brake light circuit?? something shorting?
switch?..?
thanks
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
No idea what year you have. It could be a defective switch that has some internal arc-over which is leaking current. If the clock wiring is fed by the power going to the brakes, the clock (if it is not running) could be the source of the drain. Also, there may be a radio noise suppressing capacitor hooked into the brake switch that could be leaking current. If you have an upgraded radio head installed in the car, you no longer need the suppression capacitor on the brakes; just remove it. Another source of current drain would be a non-operational dome light timer module (later C3's). If you have this problem, SEARCH the archives for how to resolve this one. You can bypass this module or actually repair it.
In general, you need to identify ALL the possible circuits that are fed by the brake light power feed line, then (while measuring the drain) remove each of those...one at a time...until you find the single item causing your drain.
In general, you need to identify ALL the possible circuits that are fed by the brake light power feed line, then (while measuring the drain) remove each of those...one at a time...until you find the single item causing your drain.
