Honda Civic / Del Sol (1992 - 2000) EG/EH/EJ/EK/EM1 Discussion

DIABOLICAL PARASITIC DRAW

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Old Dec 10, 2024 | 07:39 AM
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AliArmi00's Avatar
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Icon5 DIABOLICAL PARASITIC DRAW

Hello, my name is Ali

I've got a 1998 Honda Civic EJ9 4-door sedan with a diabolical parasitic draw.
When I measure the draw at full battery charge it says 70mA initially but then jumps up to 3.5A, it sometimes goes down to 70mA again but then goes back up. When the battery discharged down to something like 9V the 3.5A draw also falls down to about 2.5V. (The discharged takes 2-3 hours)

So far I have check every single fuse 2 times, once by pulling each one and checking if the drain disappears and once by checking the mV across every fuse. None of them was the cause. I also check the trunk and glove department lights, but there were none. Finally I tried removing the alternator wire connected to the positive terminal of the battery, but the drain didn't change.

I have noticed that every time I connect the multimeter probes between the GND cable and the negative battery terminal (To check the drain/draw) a sound appears from the right side of the engine bay. It sounds like a small hollow wooden piece hitting something, something like a brighter and lighter version of the first sound in this video:

I'm very new to cars and I don't know all the cool terms yet (But I do know some electronics), so please explain in as much detail as you have patience for.
Any help is appreciated.
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Old Dec 10, 2024 | 08:00 AM
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theYBLEGAL's Avatar
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Default Re: DIABOLICAL PARASITIC DRAW

Do you have aftermarket stuff wired in there 'incorrectly' bypassing fuses perhaps? Extra non-oem wires off the positive terminal would be a telltale sign.

The fuse pulling method would be the best way to check. There are fuses in the engine bay and under the driver side dash. You checked all those?
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Old Dec 11, 2024 | 01:16 AM
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Default Re: DIABOLICAL PARASITIC DRAW

As far as I know there is no additional stuff wired, and the one extra wire connected to the positive terminal seems to be the one from the alternator.
I did check all the fuses in all three boxes.
Here is a diagram if relevant:
https://www.startmycar.com/honda/civ...anchorfusebox0
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Old Dec 11, 2024 | 01:35 AM
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Default Re: DIABOLICAL PARASITIC DRAW

Originally Posted by AliArmi00
As far as I know there is no additional stuff wired, and the one extra wire connected to the positive terminal seems to be the one from the alternator.
I did check all the fuses in all three boxes.
Here is a diagram if relevant:
https://www.startmycar.com/honda/civ...anchorfusebox0
Go out when its dark and look around the car for any lights that are on. I had the same problem with an old Suburban. It was the dome light. If no lights, feel around the fuse boxes for a fuse that feels warmer than the others
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Old Dec 11, 2024 | 02:39 AM
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Default Re: DIABOLICAL PARASITIC DRAW

Originally Posted by youstolemybeer
Go out when its dark and look around the car for any lights that are on. I had the same problem with an old Suburban. It was the dome light. If no lights, feel around the fuse boxes for a fuse that feels warmer than the others
I like the warmth idea. But since none of the fuses seemed to be the problem, how could the get warm?
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