# Parasitic battery drain...or not?



## darkid (Oct 31, 2011)

Hi,

I'm having an issue with my 2005 Xtrail (Canada). I put in a new battery this summer (Motomaster Eliminator) because it was due for replacement. I barely used the car at all this summer so it sat there for about a month. Started fine afterwards. Then I park it again for a week, and it's completely dead. I checked the altternator and it's putting out 14.5 or so volts while running. So I start checking for current draws when the car is off, and I'm getting a reading of 0.11 amps (110 milliamps). That seems like a lot. From what I read online it seems 50 milliamps should be the high end. If I pop the "Room Lamp" fuse out of the panel, it goes down to 0.01 amps. Much better. Problem is, this fuse handles the power door locks, interior lights, warning chimes, and rear defroster. I brought it to the dealer and the guy told me 99% of the time it's due to the aftermarket remote starter/alarm. So I go to a remote start dealer this morning, and the guy tells me in all his years he's never seen a bad cable causing a short. He said if the starter's bad you'll notice it by either a burning smell, or the lights will stay on etc...

So now i'm back to square 1. Is 110 milliamps too high of a drain on the battery when the car is off? The guy was telling me that new cars sometimes drain upwards of 700 milliamps. I find that hard to believe but...
Maybe I have a bad battery?! If I leave it parked for a few days with the battery cables connected, every night I check the charge in the battery and it goes from 12.9 volts to 12.7, 12.6, 12.4...that's pretty much no more juice by then.

Any help appreciated.
Does anyone know how much their Xtrail draws when it's off?

Thanks.


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