79 LBZ Parasite Battery Drain

[Jim Fierst]

After a few days of setting I notice the LBZ is hard starting. I checked the voltage and it was down. Alternator charges fine at 14.7 at idle. I decided to check the amperage drain and found that there was .11 Amps/ 110 MA. Definitely too much. I checked all the fuses and found that the only circuit that showed a drain was the clock /lighter/radio and that was about .4A/.40MA,which is normal. I do not have anything hot wired anywhere so the question is what do I do next ?
The relays??

[len_newstrum]

After a few days of setting I notice the LBZ is hard starting. I checked the voltage and it was down. Alternator charges fine at 14.7 at idle. I decided to check the amperage drain and found that there was .11 Amps/ 110 MA. Definitely too much. I checked all the fuses and found that the only circuit that showed a drain was the clock /lighter/radio and that was about .4A/.40MA,which is normal. I do not have anything hot wired anywhere so the question is what do I do next ?
The relays??

On most cars have a few other items that are "hot" even with the ignition switch off and may not even go through a fuse. Any of them could be a problem: stop lights, hazard signal lights, 'door ajar' warning, right side power window lift (N/A cars), for instance. It means spending some time with a Beta wiring diagram (coupes and Zags are pretty much the same) and a magnifying glass. LOL.

Let me give you an example.

For her last two years of college my daughter carried a set of jumper cables around at all times because her '88 Toyota GTS would randomly have a dead battery, even after replacing the battery twice. I eventually discovered the problem after she graduated and gave me 'her' car back. It seems that the stop light switch had become sticky. If you let the pedal up quickly, it worked OK; but if you let it up slowly the switch stayed on. Unless you happened to walk around the car at night after it was stuck you wouldn't notice. Stop lights have a considerable drain--enough to make the battery go flat overnight. I replaced the switch and the problem went away.

Len

[davidb]

If you give up hunting that "vampire" circuit down you could
install a battery kill switch. Will has pics of a Hella he installed.
Also acts as a cheap anti-theft device. Of course you'll have to
run a lead directly to your radio so you don't have to re-program
it all the time. Kind of a last resort, desperation solution I admit.

[Jim Fierst]

I installed a new ignition switch and the drain dropped to .044 AMPs..just about where it is supposed to be.