I have a 1996 Maxima when some months ago I started to require getting a jump after some four or five days of being parked. A new battery did not solve the problem.
I started removing the positive cable from the battery when parked and and have no problem since so it is definitely getting charged.
I suspected the keyoff current, borrowed an ammeter and found that it was 200 milliamperes whereas 30 is the limit What would be causing it?
There are lots of potential causes. I’d start pulling fuses to the obvious culprits and see if the drain goes away. Keep testing until you find the circuit with the excessive current draw.
I’m no expert on this stuff, but I’ve read here before that some systems continue to draw higher current for a while after the ignition is shut off before they go into a lower-current state. In case that applies to your car, you might want to wait 30 minutes or so before doing your measurements.
Yes, this is very true. But be aware that you need to have your meter connected between the battery and the load the whole time. Anytime you interrupt or restore the connection, the thirty minute (or however long) time period starts all over again. Troubleshooting this is also hard, because once you find the module that is drawing the excess load, it may not really be the one at fault. A fault on one of its inputs may be causing it to stay “awake.”
i have a 95 and had this problem. there were 2 things wrong w/mine…one was the tensioner and the alternator. the 2nd thing is my alarm. although there is no fuse for the alarm, the alarm thing blinks. and that blink is causing my drain.
Even opening the door can cause some electronic modules to wake up and start to draw more current. That makes it a pain to start pulling fuses because you have to crawl in through the window or defeat the door switch.
Not that if the blinking “alarm thing” is an LED, it should not draw more than about 20 mA.