Jfrahm

Updating this issue: It finally happened again, I left the key in the ignition for 2-3 days (in the garage) and the battery went stone cold dead. I'm not sure if you are supposed to have excessive drain with the key in the ignition (but everything off, door closed, dome light off, etc.) but that seems to be my issue. I generally do not leave the key in the car unless I am working on it. I did not check to see if the delayed accessory power stays on forever if you leave the key in.

-Joel.

mel_t_vin

Joel, whether you pull the key or leave it in the ignition [pos 0], shouldn't the circuit for delayed accessory power in US-spec cars be opened/terminated/broken as soon as one of the door switches is grounded [via an open door] to turn on the dome light(s)?

Jfrahm

I think so, and in testing it seems like the delayed accessory power does shut down when I open and close a door with the key in the ignition. The door switches and dome light work as expected.

tamathumper

If one of the door switches is hanging up, it might not work *every* time?

Jfrahm

Well, I have strongly correlated leaving the key in and having a dead battery and have never observed a problem with the door switches (i.e. dome light not coming on.) I think the next thing to do is put an ammeter on the car to look for excessive drain with the key in the ignition and see if it is related to a particular circuit that might be misbehaving.

mel_t_vin

Joel, I wonder if simply inserting the key into the ignition completes/closes some sort of preliminary power stage for the ignition/switch itself?

Let us know what you find out.

Jfrahm

I put an ammeter on the car last night and could not find any extra drain with the key left in or not, so it must not always happen. The door switches and delayed accessory power all worked as expected.

I am tempted to disable delayed accessory power, anyone know how?