theWeezL

WEll I bought this FC not too long ago and have been slowly getting it back in running order. The biggest problem aside from the fact that it idles for **** is that overnight the battery drains. In every car Ive ever owned electrical has been my weakest area.

While trying to trace a wire for the power antenna I discovered that one of the ACC circuits showed around 4v with the key off. I really have no idea where to start but I wondered this. The factory alarm seems to still be partly functional but doesnt arm or disarm. Only the security light in the console flashes when the doors are open. I was wondering if that may be partly responsible? The car did have an aftermarket (Clifford) alarm in it when I bought it, but it was partly disabled at that time and Ive removed it the rest of the way since then.

Are there any common circuits that tend to drain power with the key off that are known to the FC? If not does anyone have any simple advice on where to start tracing the problem? Electrically everything seems to work properly and only when it should.

Anyone know this problem or have any tips on where to start?

just read this:

I will try thi tomorrow and see if I can find the source.

RoTa7

buy a new battery if its not new

capn

test the battery first to see if it will hold a charge if not thats one less thing to worry about. Also make sure connections are SOLID and CLEAN

theWeezL

yeah those are kinda the first things I tried. I have two batteries both are almost brand new (like april '07) and its not the connections. They are clean and shiney. Its definately a drain from somewhere. I didnt have a chance to get the ampmeter on there today. Im having to pull the ground clamp off at night to have a charge in the morning. The car isnt my daily so sometimes it sits for a couple days.

I was mainly trying to find out if there was a known or typical issue on the FC that was documented. If its uncommon then I'll just have to do more testing.

capn

I have never really had a problem with it but if I had to guess I would say start at the ignition switch.

Boosted11

iTrader: (11)

When i first got my rx7 this happened to me. I bought a battery put it in and a few days later it had hardly any power. So i took the alternator to get tested and sure enough it was faulty. I bought a refurbished alternator and installed it, problem went away. If your battery is for sure good, definetly take the alternator in to get tested followed by the starter possibly.

theWeezL

Just got the car, but the alternator looks to be VERY new as well. Doesnt mean it cant be faulty but Im guessing its ok.

ericgrau

iTrader: (1)

Easy. Get an multimeter set to ohms or amps, or get a test light. Remove battery terminals. Measure resistance across terminals. Or remove only one battery terminal and measure current (connect to battery post and removed terminal). Test light is wired the same as measuring current.

Next, keep pulling fuses until the resistance / current / light goes away. Once the drain disappears, you've found your culprit. Look at the name of the fuse and start examining the related components.

There are 2 sets of fuses, one under your hood and one under your dash. The BTN fuse under the hood is connected to the fuse box under the dash. So if removing the BTN fuse fixes the drain, you need to put the BTN fuse back and start pulling fuses under the dash.

theWeezL

^^ awesome info thanks. I read about doing that but havent had the chance to get in there and test yet. Had to rebuild my clutch master and slave today instead. I'll look for the drain tomorrow. Thanks