Glove box light I think has to have the headlights on for it to come on. All FD's I think have glovebox lights. Could have been removed or something.

Dale

After testing everything to the best of my ability, I think I’ve determined it to be the cluster 😥 I have it removed and now have a 0.00 draw.

Congratulations. Good luck with the cluster. Still, you might want to check the continuity of the wiring to your rear hatch light to make sure it isn't shorted. Even with the bulb removed, an intermittent short would kill the battery. The hatch lamp is controlled by 2 switches in series - one in the lamp and the other in the trunk latch.

For all I know, your '92 might not have come with a glove box light, or it might have been yanked as Dale suggested, but for future reference, my '94's glove box light bulb is tiny. It is in a cheezy little grey plastic reflector up in the dash next to the the latch striker bar. The socket and bulb unscrews as a unit from the reflector with 1/4 turn. It's easier to see if you use a flashlight and mirror. The switch for the lamp is on the side (the left side on my car) of glove box opening, and has a little rod that is pushed up to open the switch when the door is closed.

But, if Dale is correct as usual, the glove box light alone wouldn't kill your battery because the exterior lights have to be turned on for it to work in the first place.

I’ll mess with the hatch light next to ensure there is no short, that was a good point thanks! I narrowed it down to a plug on the cluster, I removed all the bulbs and other plugs to see what if it was any of them but it wasn’t. When I removed the one plug it went from 110mA to 0mA

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...25aba228d.jpeg
it was that plug

Interesting. That looks like connector 4 on the gauge cluster, page Z-42 through Z-44 in the wiring diagram for the 1994 US model. With that connector unplugged, try measuring voltage at each of the pins on connector 4.

4A should not have power with the key off, and the wire might not be present on manual-trans cars. It looks like it gets grounded by a water thermoswitch.
4B should not have power with the key off, this is the illumination circuit that dims the numbers and labels for most of the gauge cluster
4C should not have power with the key off, looks like this gets powered by the ECU (when the key is on) and grounded by the power steering pressure switch.
4D, I'm having trouble finding in the diagram also.
4E looks like it should have permanent 12V when the key is off. If I'm reading the diagram correctly this sends power to the speedometer board (from the 10A room fuse).
4F should not have power with the key off, it looks like this activates the Seat Belt lamp.
4G should not have power with the headlights off, it looks like this activates the High Beams lamp.
4H should connect to ground.
4I should not have power with the key off, this connects to the 'Battery' lamp and the alternator.
4J should not have power with the key off, this connects to the parking brake switch and the brake fluid level sensor
4K should connect to ground.
4L should not have power with the key off, this connects to the starter cut relay

Hmmmm.....try this.

- Plug the cluster back in
- Unplug the 2-wire grey connector to the alternator
- Test again

That circuit has the alternator warning light which has to be there for the alternator to work properly. A bad alternator can drain the battery. I'm wondering if it's the alternator since it's that circuit - unplugging that connector breaks that circuit that eventually goes to the grey alternator connector.

Dale

Wow that’s some very helpful information, thanks so much. I actually just sent my cluster to Gagne for some repair. I went over a few of the leads with him last night and they checked out ok but I didn’t go that in-depth. Is there another way to test my alternator without the cluster?

I would just wait for the cluster to come back, Gagne will have it back pronto.

Dale

I just chased down an issue with my alternator, in the beginning stages the alternator would draw power with the car off draining my battery. This was solved by having the alternator rebuilt with new components (~$100).

When it was drawing power the alternator would make a very slight buzzing noise. It had to be dead quiet with garage door shut to hear, put your ear right next to the alternator if you are checking for it. If any of the wiring leading to the alternator or the alternator case itself is warm to the touch that is another sign its drawing power

But, with the cluster out that circuit won't be complete and it might not do anything. Again, wait until the cluster gets back. But, good evidence that this can happen.

Dale

The S wire on the alternator is live, if there is a short or some faulty wiring associated with the L wire the alternator could still drain power with the cluster unplugged. Mine was doing it while getting no signal from the cluster.

All I'm saying is it's something to check, one more possibility to check off the list

I was looking at connector 4 on the diagram vs in my car and none of the wire colors matched up. I also compare to connector 3 and same thing nothing lines up. Is this a difference in JDM vs US? the colors on my plug readout R/B - R/G - G---- B- Br/Y- W/B and the other row is Blue- Blue/Y - B/R----R/W-W/B-B if that makes sense lol and one of the pins seems loose

I tried this with no change unfortunately. That would have been the easy fix lol

OK, so the cluster is back from Gagne and in the car?

Car starts/runs/drives OK? Alternator charging properly?

How are you seeing the current drain at this point?

Dale

yes. Cluster is back, car runs, starts drives no issue. With a multimeter it’s registering a 120ma draw with connector 4 plugged in. If I take it out, then no draw. I noticed the draw because after my car would set for 2-3 days the battery would be about dead. Idk if the connector is the same as usdm (mine is rhd jdm) just different colors, but pin 4J had a 3 volt reading with the key out. And another pin also had 3 volt reading. According to the chart of voltages vs grounds they should either be 0v or a ground.

Wondering if it could be ABS, that's one of the warning lights on that circuit. There's a relay for the ABS pump, it's on top under the cover on the pump. Pull that and see if it makes a difference. That's not an uncommon problem.

If not, go through each item that's on that connector - defroster, I think turn signals, a few other things.

Dale

are you referring to the abs relay under the fuse box cover? (60amp) if so, it seems it has been pulled. The old cluster did not have an abs warning light bulb, and the bulb was placed by Gagne and it is lit up...for obvious reasons I’m assuming

No there is a relay on the ABS pump itself. It's not obvious, there's a plastic cover that hides it. One time mine was buzzing with the car off, I removed and re-installed it and it's been fine ever since.

Dale

ohhhhh I did not realize that. I will check that when I get home from work this evening. I appreciate your help

Let's recap.

With the ROOM fuse out you get 0mA with key out correct?
And also 0mA when cluster is unplugged?

And buddy charged you to fix something that wasn't broken correct?

I was going through the thread and I want to be sure we're on the same page as far as colour coding.

You say 4J is the culprit. What colour is it? Is it Brown(Br)/Yellow(Y)? If not, what colour is it?

I'm not sure if you tried this:

Plug everything in.

Locate connectors X-06(CPU), C1-10(Parking Brake), C1-11(Brake Fluid)

Disconnect them one by one and test for draw.

Post results.

Also locate CPU #2, and locate E2-01 connector, unplug it and test for draw.

You're problem has to lie in one of these connectors.

correct...ROOM fuse out, 0 draw, with connector 4 out on cluster and the other 3 plugged in, 0 draw. Haha and thankfully the cluster was done by Gagne who has been a huge help during this whole thing and charged me only shipping to run through the cluster which checked out fine on his bench test (I’m not getting an odometer read out, it just lights up, no numbers) let me recheck the wires, there were 3 I believe that had 3v to them with the key out. It’s jdm so idk if the colors are different or not because they don’t line up to the diagram completely. I’m currently at work, but I will run through your check list you provided and report my finding on those, I really appreciate it!