Parasitic current draw - 2005 Leon mk1

[swk0214]

Hi,

New member here. I have a 2005 Leon Mk1 1.6 16v that has a tendency to discharge the battery when not in use for more than 24 hours roughly.
I've spent the day trying to troubleshoot it but a blown fuse in my multimeter put a halt to it pretty quickly. Measured about 3-4 amps being drawn at the battery but I am pretty sure the car was still in it's "on" state so I don't trust those numbers fully. I also tried measuring millivolts across the bigger fuses with exposed measuring points but found no millivolts across them so problably nothing there. Can't measure across the minifuses since those are completely molded over.

Also checked that all lights turn off and such, so it's problably not them.

Does anyone have any ideas about common culprits that could be drawing current? I'm pretty new to messing around with car electrical stuff so any advice will be helpful

Cheers!

 

[mty12345]

Hi mate, parastic drain is one of the hardest faults to track down. It sounds like you are going about it the right way.

I'd suggest buying a pack of the mini fuses with the test points and then using the millivolt technique to troubleshoot further. That's the only real way to narrow it down. You may need to use a screwdriver or similar to push the latch closed on the drivers door, so the car thinks the door is shut. Then leave the car for 10-20 mins to make sure everything has gone to sleep.

 

[nd-photo.nl]

I can also recommend a battery monitor to see what is happening. I had a pesky leak in my Mercedes CLS55. I also read that a heat camera is able to assist, as current creates heat.

Also check earthing points and the state of your negative battery cable & earthing strap (should be somewhere between engine/transmission and body of the car).

I bought this one: https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/Battery-...oring-temperature-notification/dp/B00ZETXNAQ/