Weird power drain issue. - SOLVED
 

** Solved: Turns out I had a faulty ignition switch **

Ive been trying to figure this issue out on my own for about a few weeks now and Ive had little success. I have a new battery in my car and within around 18 hours it will totally drain to the point I cant turn over the car. I put a test light inline with the battery and found that when I pulled the int lights fuse under the hood (50amp I beleive) the test light significantly dims. Anyhow, I was in my car tonight and when I shut it off and removed the key from the ignition I noticed that the little light by the shifter that tells you which gear your in is lit up very dimly, and on the dash the inflate light, ses light, traction light are all lit up very dimly also. At this point Im boggled to what would be keepin those lights on very dim (barely visible at ngiht, not even visible during day)

Any help wouid be very much appreiated.

You had the right idea for testing but use a multimeter instead. It will give you better results. Same drill...probes inline with one of the battery cables and have a buddy start pulling fuses, one by one, and monitor the difference in current.

The dim dash lights make me scratch my head a bit though. This would mean a residual voltage coming into the bulbs as there are not too many grounds in the vehicle that are switched. Hmmmm...

I'll have to give that one some additional thought.

I missed this part before. A 50 amp fuse would not be only for the interior lights. They would probably drain 10 amps...maybe 15 on a bad day. That circuit is for much more than just lights so don't limit your search to them only.

I have the same problem and I have yet to be able to figure it out. I narrowed it down to the PCM drawing about 2-3 amps (which is a little high). If it is cold out and I let the car sit for a couple of days, it won't start. I normally use the car every day so it doesn't affect me too much. I will eventually get to tracing everything to do with that circuit but it is going to be a daunting task for certain.

If you are going to tackle this you are going to need a multimeter hooked up in series with the postive battery cable. You may end up pulling the relay for the interior lights (below glovebox). Note amp drain when the 50 amp fuse is hooked up and when it is disconnected. After that, let the car sit with the door open for about 10 minutes to let all the control modules to time out. Next you will need the wiring diagram and go through it disconnecting each individual component and noting the difference in drain, then reinstall that component before proceeding to the next. Daunting yes, but this is the only way that you will find the drain. Good luck ( and let us know what you find if you find it....lol)

Re: Weird power drain issue.
 

What aftermarket things do you have installed on the car?

cd deck

Did the power drain coincide with the first day that you installed the CD deck?

no

Hmmm. Sounds like you have a short somewhere. You need to find where the drain is. Sounds like you already started it. Did you try pulling fuses under the dash to help pinpoint the location?

yea, the power drain was the same on all the fuses under the dash, it wasnt until I pulled the under hood fuses I found any differences.

So you could not get the light to go dim on any of the underhood fuses. Which was the fuse under the hood (specifically)? Let's track this short down.