idle current too high - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

crazy_german · 07-09-2006, 18:32

My battery has been going flat very quickly lately. I checked the idle current with all accessories off and it is at 800mA which is way too high. It might be the after market head unit not switching off completely so I will check that soon, but does anyone have any other possible reasons of why it is so high?

Cheers

atec77 · 07-09-2006, 18:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazy_german

My battery has been going flat very quickly lately. I checked the idle current with all accessories off and it is at 800mA which is way too high. It might be the after market head unit not switching off completely so I will check that soon, but does anyone have any other possible reasons of why it is so high?

Cheers

Place a current measuring device in line with the battery and then pull fuses untill you find it.. DONOT start the car untill you remove the meter :)

fordboy98 · 07-10-2006, 19:06

Common and very annoying contrbutor to this - check the boot light!! You normally can't determine if it stays on or not. Get the kid (or girlfriend) and temporarily lock them in the boot to see if the light stays on. Could be the boot light switch gone on the fritz. I've seen batteries replaced more than one in the same car because of this. A 12 volt 6 watt globe will draw about 500 mA (a 10 watt is in fact about 800). Allow a few more mA for alarm systems etc. and you're up round you figure of 800mA. Go and check.

crazy_german · 07-13-2006, 18:49

Cheers Fordboy that sounds like it could be the problem. I'll check it and get back to you.