electric draw-help!

[BART'S 911 SC]

I have 86 944 turbo.I found that my electric draw is 3.8 A!I checked already starter and alternator(both disconnected)ignition switch,headlamp motor,cooling fans,pulled all relays and fuses and still nothing!Draw goes away only when I disconnect two main power wires in fuse box.Please help I am out of ideas...

[idontknow]

You've taken all the fuses and relays out of the fuse box and it still draws 3.8 amps?

[Icey1174]

Same problem here. I just traced it down to the "Radio/Booster," fuse #39 I think it is. It's a 15 AMP fuse. I have had the problem ever since I got the car 5 years ago. I do not know enough about tracing the circuit to find the EXACT problem. I am going to install a switch with a 15 AMP fuse inline on Tuesday to get rid of that nasty little problem. It gets old having a dead brand new battery all the time not to mention looking like a fool with a boost box to start the car everywhere you go!

[flash968]

many new car stereos do not actually turn off when you turn off the deck or even the ignition - instead they go into "stand by" mode - this can be seen by metering the draw with an ammeter - anything over .3amps is generally considered too high

the good news is that you can yank the face plate on many of these decks, and the draw goes away

[carlege]

Originally Posted by flash968

many new car stereos do not actually turn off when you turn off the deck or even the ignition - instead they go into "stand by" mode - this can be seen by metering the draw with an ammeter - anything over .3amps is generally considered too high

the good news is that you can yank the face plate on many of these decks, and the draw goes away

or you just press the mode button for 3 seconds and it turns off completely. (at least thats how Kenwood works)

[flash968]

oddly i found that to not work on some decks (pioneer for one) - the deck powers down and all that - dead screen, yada yada - however, the ammeter still shows the draw, until you remove the face

[Icey1174]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but how do I get rid of this problem of the power draw? I was going to put a switch in to the radio so I can cut the power off from a hidden switch in the car. It is a DVD screen so I cannot remove a face plate.

[krystar]

if you've already isolated it down to the radio, just put a relay on the radio's power supply with the ignition or some switched power as the trigger.

[bearone2]

door switches, alarm system and radio/39 are big draws.

if you can run windows up/down with key out of ignition, one/both door switches are bad. mine checked ok with an ohm meter but switch was still bad.

[flash968]

you may be screwed if it turns out to be the deck - memory of things like radio stations and such are tied to the constant power line - if that has to remain connected to power, and not interrupted by a switch or relay, then you will have a problem

get an ammeter, and see if the deck is the issue - no way to really diagnose this without one

[Toran]

Originally Posted by krystar

if you've already isolated it down to the radio, just put a relay on the radio's power supply with the ignition or some switched power as the trigger.

Could you explain this with a few more words please?

T.I.A.

[krystar]

what i meant was...for his situation, he has an unknown amperage draw from the radio circuit that he's trying to remove. to use a relay means to install a switch between the radio circuit and the battery. when the switch is off, it cuts off the radio circuit from drawing power. this switch isn't a manual toggle switch. it's a relay. the signal to turn the switch to ON is provided by the "ignition ON" or some other "power controlled by a switch"

[Toran]

Thanks krystar!
I think I need something like that. Where would I start to get such a relay switch?
How are they installed?