Answer

Hello and thanks for your question, chrishutch. Well we definitely have a dead battery! There are only a couple of things to suspect. First off when the engine is off there will be a slight draw of about a half an amp or so because the computer needs a small amount of power to retain its memory. If the battery is old it may have gotten to the point where it cannot hold a charge and thus the small draw is enough to drain it over time. Jump the engine with another vehicle or connect a battery charger and get the battery up to a full charge and then test it with a capacitance type tester (if you don't have one most parts stores can do this for you). The second possibility is that something in the car is drawing current when the key is off. To check this you will need an ammeter (to measure amps). Have all doors closed, make sure all lights are off and the key is off. Clamp the ammeter probe around either battery cable and measure amps. No more than .75 amps or 750 milliamps is allowable. If the meter reads more than that then we must determine what is drawing the power. We do this by pulling the fuses one at a time while watching the ammeter. If the draw goes away when a fuse is pulled then something on that circuit is drawing power. We then look at a wiring diagram to see exactly what is powered by that fuse. Put the fuse back in and start disconnecting each component that is powered by that fuse and see which one makes the draw go away when disconnected. That component is shorted and will need to be replaced. Thanks and let me know if I can be of further assistance!

Expert:	Dennis
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Answered:	10/20/2008

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ASE certified since 1988. Washington State certified Phase II Emissions Specialist. Shop Owner