So my gf's RSX has been having issues starting when the car sits overnight. I already replaced the battery since it was somewhat corroded and it was still under warranty. I was hoping that fixed the issue but it didn't. I then, tested for battery drainage and with everything off, my meter read .440A. I pulled the fuses 1 by 1 and found that all the draw was comming from the back up fuse. The only aftermarket part on that fuse is the radio. So I removed it and rechecked how much the car was drawing now and it went down to .250 A. I reinstalled the factory radio and it stayed at .250A so I'm assuming its the aftermarket radio causing the problem. Is there any limit to how much the car should be drawing while its off? I know my gf isn't happy about reinstalling the factory radio so do you guys think that's enough to kill the battery? If so, I'm guessing the radio is no good either and of course its out of warranty by a few months. Any help is appreciated.

 

.50ma is the max amount of draw you want. .440Ma or even .250ma is too much. How are you checking the draw? Describe your procedure and what you are using for measurement,you may be doing something wrong.

 

I removed the negative battery cable and clamped one side of my multimeter to it and then I used the other lead and put it on the negative pattery post and checked for voltage draw that way. I put the meter on dc amp and with everything off and the doors closed it read .440. I then removed fuses one by one in the compartment under the hood and as soon as I pulled out the back up fuse, my meter read 0. I reinstalled the factory radio and did the whole procedure again and it went down to .250A. The car still won't start on its own when it sits overnight for like 8+ hours or so and once it does start, its fine for the rest of the day.

 

ok.

What brand is the meter and how low is it rated to? This is important because many DMM's are incapable of accurately reading below 1 amp. And that is where most draws occur.
How long after you turned the key off did you start your testing? Most if not all modern vehicles have various modules that need time to power down . Testing should be done no sooner than 30 mins after the key has been turned off.



Good luck..

 

94, I'm having pretty much the exact same problem with my 2002 RSX. The car was having trouble starting after not driving it for a couple days. I also replaced the battery and that didn't help much. I checked the current draw with everything off and got about .460 A (I turned the key off and closed the doors, and waiting a while before testing). So I started pulling fuses and it went down to about .008 A when I pulled the back up fuse. I looked in the service manual to see what connects to that so I also suspected my aftermarket stereo as the culprit. I disconnected the stereo and it went down to .260 A. So the stereo was a lot of the problem but I had read that it shouldn't be over about .035 or .050 A, like DCFIVER said. I had to do some other work on the car so I haven't done anymore testing yet, but I guess I will have to start disconnecting the other devices that connect to the back up fuse.

I took the car to get a wheel alignment yesterday and I asked one of the mechanics about this, and he actually didn't think the draw I'm getting is very abnormal. He didn't know what was typical for Hondas/Acuras but he said he's heard of BMWs having a normal draw of between 500 and 800 mA. He said I could just leave it on a trickle charger overnight to keep the battery from wearing out from the constant discharging. I might end up doing that if I don't find a relatively easy fix for the problem. I'm curious about the typical draw of aftermarket stereos; the factory stereo sucked and it wouldn't even play CDs a lot of the time, so I don't want to have to back to that one.

 

He was an idiot. Tell him to stick to alignments. Very few, if any vehicles, should have more than 50mA. (There are some Mercedes that have as high as 70mA. But they have over 60 modules in them! And a HUGE battery) 50mA is considered the max amount of draw. But realistically, you should see around 10-30mA. If you have 400mA, that is VERY high and will kill your battery in a day or so.

 

Well, on her car it turned out to be a bad starter so it could be the same thing going on with you car. About a week anda half after the issue started, the car just finally died and wouldnt start again until I replaced the starter and now its perfectly fine.

 

What is the draw now?