[63viking]

Can some one tell me what the normal draw on the battery would be with everything shut down?

[63viking]

Come On, None of you electrical genesis’s can reply to this question????

[padgett]

Sure when I see it. (I do not live here, been getting the Fiero outta the Reatta stall).

Around 20 ma (think the 88 - no RKE - was 17 ma last time I looked. AFAIR the GM spec is 50 ma and 200 will drain most batteries inside a week.

[Richard D]

My 90 with RKE draws about 26 Ma.

[jgmck]

Has any one found a decent disconnect switch??????? I have two Reatta's a Park Avenue that just love to kill batteries.

[63viking]

It's all well and good to install a disconnect switch, but then it kills everything and the computer looses memory.
The shutoff switch I use has a bypass fuse line that I have a 5 amp fuse in. It will allow all the computer stuff to continue to work, but if you try to start it, it blows the fuse.
The reason I asked about draw is because when I reconnect the battery kill switch I hear a click from around the relay center under the hood. It may be coming from the headlight area also, I'm not sure.
Yesterdaywas greeted with a completly dead battery. I had left my battery minder off for about a week. This has never happened before and I am concerned that I have a draw other that normal.
Still wondering about that.
THANKS for the replies.

[Ronnie]

Jon, Something is not right. I can leave my Reatta sitting for a month or more without draining the battery. I never need a trickle charge to keep the battery up. The alternator is a good place to start looking for the problem. Try disconnecting it while the car is sitting and see if the battery still goes dead quickly. Be careful and not short the large wire connected to it. It is hot all the time. Reconnect the alternator before trying to restart the car.

[Richard D]

You can also put a Multimeter set to milliamps in series with the thick wire that hooks to the alternator, as Ronnie said be careful, it is hot at all times and the terminal it connects to and look at the meter. any more than 1 or 2 millamps leakage means one or more of the six diodes are failing and you need to replace both sets of three or the alternator if you don't feel like taking it apart.
Another method is to hook up the meter in series with the negative terminal of the battery and the the ground cable, make sure meter is set to DC amps, if set to millamps the courtesy lights will blow the meter fuse. Then start pulling fuses one at a time while someone watches the meter to drop to 0.00. Then you have found the circuit that has the current draw. Most multimeters have a limit of 10 amps so make sure key is off and lights are off or you may pop the other fuse in the meter. Oh yeah, don't step on the brake pedal, I don't know what they draw but I bet it is close to or more than 10 amps.

[63viking]

I have discovered that it is in the headlight circuit. When I pull the two fuses in the relay center under the hood the draw stops. But what can it be. When the fuses are in and I unscrew the battery disconnect I hear a click like a relay coming on or off. It is coming from the headlight motors. The draw is 2.45 amp and 11.o4 volts. Is this normal?

[Ronnie]

I believe the click is normal. My car does the same thing.