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spark1: you might try reinserting the bulbs....and if you then again have the battery current draw (drain), then start removing other fuses until you see the current drop to some very low level. Then you know what circuit is back feeding the lighting circuit. If you post here, then we can figure out what the common source (ground path) would be and you could potentially find it pretty easily.
Thank you Paul. The testing I did indicated that you are correct. Ran out of time yesterday. Hope to resume today (between family events).
Thanks again for the great input Paul!
I also have a drain (to no-start in about 4-5 days).... When opening up the dash for the tach/speedo install, i discovered the little light behind the middle heat/a/c vents was on. (Odd)..... Still, my drain is prolly coming from some other source/s similar or the same like what you all have cited above..... Because this beast is still my daily driver, i have to disconnect the battery when i drive to airports, or leave town by other means.....
Life still in Bosch.
Last edited by odurandina; 12-25-2017 at 11:46 AM.
odurandina: Do you disconnect positive terminal or both terminals?
During previous battery drain diag., I removed negative battery terminal, and found that when I re-installed interior light fuse 8 (.6 volt drain ) that this drain would continue without the light bulbs in place. I reconnected the negative battery terminal reinstalled light bulbs and drove the car for about fifteen minuets. I tested the battery charge while car was running immediately after the drive and it showed 13.54 volts. I shut the car off and measured the charge at 12.65 volts but was dropping .01 volts per second until it reached 12.43 volts and seemed to stabilize. I checked it an hour later and it was 12.39 volts. Checked another hour later and it was 12.37.
Decided to check for drain per Clark's garage instructions (http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/elect-26.htm) by disconnecting positive battery terminal and (measuring via ammeter) and, for my own analytics, voltmeter settings. I found that fuse 8 showed .06 mA usage for about 5 minutes while all other fuses showed .00 or .01. Ammeter was indicating a .12 drain and voltmeter was indicating a .5 volt drain after fuse 8 stopped showing power usage.
I pulled every fuse and relay (in engine compartment) one by one and found no significant difference in readings except that the battery continued to slowly drop in volts and mA. The last reading of the day (five hours after the 12.43 volt reading) indicated there was no more drain but the battery voltage was at 12.31volts.
Ten hours later (over night, while only the negative battery terminal was connected) the battery charge had dropped to 12.27 volts charge. I disconnected negative terminal and battery remained at that same charge for 4 hours. I reconnected the negative terminal and the battery charge and mA have not changed in over 6 hours
The battery is correct size and is two month old. Not ruling out that battery is bad...next step I will charge battery and fully disconnect to see if it holds charge. If so, disconnect alternator and reconnect battery to see if diode/rectifier is causing battery drain
Spark: you only need to disconnect the NEG lead from the battery and you are good to go. I never leave my battery connected if my car will be sitting tor more than 2/3 days.
A clean wheel is a happy wheel
Today I dedicated a lot of time to cleaning the steering wheel and after much elbow grease, the wheel looks like a 4 year old wheel vs a 24 yr old wheel.
Very nice OC968! I need to do the same thing. Hopefully this weekend.
Thanks spanky and oduradina. The reason I asked about which terminal you disconnected was that I was still seeing battery decline with negative terminal disconnected.
I charged battery and left it for 24 hours with both terminals disconnected. It held the charge
Turns out it was a short in the left turn signal side of the signal lever at the steering wheel.
I got the chance to install these Midnight Blue Lloyds mats and wash my coupe for the first time. The Porsche is silver. What do y'all think, good choice or should I have went with the traditional red? Now I just have to figure out how to operate the sunroof. J/k, I've owned my other 968 for 23years, but it's a cabriolet.
12-24-2017, 12:52 PM
