[scottj]

I replaced the alternator, battery, and starter! I went to start my car this past Sunday, and nothing. A local mechanic discovered there is a 100mA power draw on the maxi fuse 2.

This is what they wrote up:
---
TECH
TESTED MAIN WIRING AND FUSE ROUTING. CAR HAS 100 mA POWER DRAW KEY OFF ENGINE OFF.
MAXI FUSE 2 REMOVAL RETURNED A LOWER POWER DRAW.
FUSES POWERED UNDER MAXI FUSE 2 = FUSE 1, FUSE 20, FUSE 16, FUSE 17.
REMOVINGFUSE 17 RESULTED IN FURTHER DROP OF POWER DRAW.
FUSE 17 RUNS MAIN INSTRUMENT UNIT (DASHBOARD INTEGRATED CONTROL ELECTONICS MODULE)
Cause -

DICE MODULE IS MAIN SUSPECTED CULPRIT, THEFT CONTROL MODULE AND ENGINE CONTROL MODULES ALSO SUSPECTED IF DICE MODULE PASSES DIAGNOSTICS.

CUSTOMER RECOMMENDED TO REGULARLY DRIVE CAR, UTILIZE BATTERY TENDER WHEN PARKED, OR
INSTALL BATTERY CUT OFF SWITCH.
---
Any thoughts on what it could be? Would the SID module affect this? There are no interior sounds (turn signal, open door, etc.) The trunk light is off, and I turned the interior lights off. Or is a cut-off switch my best/cheapest option?

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Saaberachi]

Did he wait a couple minutes after the ignition was completely off to test for the drain?

 

[scottj]

Did he wait a couple minutes after the ignition was completely off to test for the drain?

That I do not know. My assumption is yes, however, I know what assuming does

 

[Mimmi]

You need to wait up to 10 mins.

 

[bob3000]

Leave the car for at least a half hour to be sure everything has gone dormant.

 

[Saaberachi]

Assuming he waited long enough, & the dice is suspect, how is it tested?

A constant 25ma draw or so is normal, 100 a bit too much but really not alot. When my alternator diodes shot craps it caused a 2.1A backdraw & would kill the battery overnight

 

[Windsor]

How long ago were the battery/starter/alternator replacement done? All at the same time? What were the symptoms that caused you to do all that?

 

[scottj]

How long ago were the battery/starter/alternator replacement done? All at the same time? What were the symptoms that caused you to do all that?

This past summer is when everything was replaced over a couple months. I noticed that the battery was not recharging so I replaced the alternator. Unfortunately, I got a 30 amp instead of the 40 🤦‍♂️. However I drove with the 30 amp Alternator for about a month. We replaced it with the correct alternator but the battery light kept coming on and I needed to jump it every three starts. It sounded like the starter was struggling to turn over. So we replaced that. There was metal shavings in the old starter. But car still continued to struggle, I took it to a battery shop and the battery was an issue. Got a new battery and the car ran fine for about month and then it wouldn’t start last Sunday.

So summary, replaced alternator (30 amp), little over a month later installed the correct alternator (40 amp), about a month later starter, another month later battery, and finally about a month later it wouldn’t start again.

I don’t recall the exact original symptoms so it is possible that it was a maxi fuse 2 the whole time. But each replacement worked for about a month.

 

[Windsor]

I think the proper alternator is around 80 amps. I’m wondering if your alternator is adequately charging the battery. also wondering if you are getting a voltage drop in the system. Most typical spot for a voltage drop is the battery cable. Might want to have alternator output checked and check for voltage drops

 

[scottj]

I think the proper alternator is around 80 amps. I’m wondering if your alternator is adequately charging the battery. also wondering if you are getting a voltage drop in the system. Most typical spot for a voltage drop is the battery cable. Might want to have alternator output checked and check for voltage drops

sorry, I was wrong on the amps. the first was 130 and the second was 140.

 

[jvanabra]

I think you need to go back to basics. Test battery voltage with the car off, and the car on. Disconnect the battery from the car and measure it, then do it again 24 hours later. Check voltage drop on the battery cables. Be sure the mechanic who tested parasitic draw knows you must wait 10 minutes before testing.

 

[bob3000]

I'd check and clean the main ground connections near the thermostat.

 

[Windsor]

I think you need to go back to basics. Test battery voltage with the car off, and the car on. Disconnect the battery from the car and measure it, then do it again 24 hours later. Check voltage drop on the battery cables. Be sure the mechanic who tested parasitic draw knows you must wait 10 minutes before testing.

I have found it can take up to 30 minutes before everything settles down to sleep

 

[scottj]

I checked everything this morning and confirmed there is a parasitic draw. The draw was over 200 milliamps with all the maxi fuses. When I pulled the first fuse, it dropped slightly 170-190 milliamps. I put the fuse back in and it went back to 2. I will continue to pull maxi fuses throughout the day to see which one makes the most impact.

 

[jvanabra]

Are you sure the maxi fuses are not ganged together, forming one 180 (?) amp supply for the car?

 

[scottj]

When I pulled the middle fuse, it dropped to 8 mA. Same with the last fuse. With all the maxi fuses in, it was 200 mA

 

[scottj]

I figured posting some photos of the amps vs maxi fuses maybe helpful. There was about an hour between each

reading.

 

[Windsor]

I think you need to keep the probes connected throughout your test. If you disconnect a probe and then reconnect it, you wake up some of the components, this not giving at sleep readings

 

[wdssaab]

Would you be saying to use something like alligator clips to the + battery terminal then pull the fuses individually to get readings after some timeframe to allow the functions to sleep? Yes I'm the PO of said SAAB!

 

[Windsor]

Would you be saying to use something like alligator clips to the + battery terminal then pull the fuses individually to get readings after some timeframe to allow the functions to sleep? Yes I'm the PO of said SAAB!

Correct