new at this..need some help
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
From: Arlington Tx
The way I troubleshoot this problem is to put a meter that can measure amps and sometimes it may be milliamps between the negative battery terminal and ground. You should get a reading then I start removing fuses until the problem goes away. Make sure you remove any charging devices for phones etc.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,328
Likes: 345
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Close... but the correct method is to remove the cable from the battery and then put the ammeter (or multimeter set to use as an ammeter) between the battery terminal and the cable. You can use either positive or negative but negative is less likely to accidentally cause a short by touching a body panel. You will always have some current draw for things like the BCM and the radio memory/clock but it should be small. If you read excessive current flow then you can start pulling individual fuses to determine the circuit that is drawing current. Start with the dash fuse panel but don't forget the fuses in the junction box under the hood.
