4th Gen Infiniti I30 Battery Drains over night.

[Dj Eves]

My 98 Infiniti i30 (130,XXX) has been draining the battery over night! I been reading the amps and something inside the car is pulling .45 -.56 amps. I just changed the alternator, starter and going to change out the ignition switch. Before I start pouring in all my money into this puppy...has anyone had any issues with this draining?
Modified by Dj Eves at 9:40 PM 2/12/2010

[maxhopper]

Welcome to NICO.

About the only thing you can do is try to trace down the cause of the draw.

[loystock]

Make sure all lights (cabin, trunk, etc.) are off. Parasitic drain typically is @ 50mA (should be less than 100mA in most cases). Pull one fuse at a time until you isolate the source of the drain.

[Dj Eves]

No solution yet. I pulled out all the fuses(under hood and in car) and still car is pulling .52 amps. I think it might be a grounding issue?? Does anyone have a grounding diagram of the cars grounding locations, points or schematics?
Modified by Dj Eves at 2:26 PM 2/15/2010

[MinisterofDOOM]

Lots of good wiring info can be found in the FSM. Get it here. Specifically, see the EL and "foldout" sections.

[loystock]

I don't see how poor grounding can can cause that current drain. Is there any mod done in the ca?. Some modifications gets power directly from the battery and the wire(s) routed into the firewall. If that particular wire is not properly protected/insulated, it may get nicked in the firewall area and cause a partial short.

Also check the positive terminal as it goes to the fusible link and the starter motor. Sometimes, a stripped wire can cross the power line and cause a short circuit.

[Dj Eves]

Car is bone stock. No mods. Where do you recomend me to look after you removed all fuses and just about all the relays except the ones under the driver dash (too hard) to pull. So all fuses removed and still pulling .52 amps. What could be hooked up to the car that is not linked to fuse blocks???????????

[loystock]

All electrical loads go thru a fuse, fusible link and/or circuit breaker, except the starter (hot side). Even the alternator uses a fuse. Have you tried pulling out the fusible links and checking the wiring going thru them?

[Dj Eves]

Found it! The wires that traced from the alternator were crossing like this:(X) and exposed. This was done many months ago from the guy who changed the alternator last june. Thank god for nothing major frying.

[loystock]

Great! You're lucky nothing else was damaged. The mechanic who changed the alternator needs an earful for a botched job.

[tombo321]

My 96 was doing the same thing. My problem was my power antenna. When it went all the way down after I turned the key off, I noticed it made a faint clicking noise which meant it was still drawing power and in turn drained my battery overnight. Probably not your problem but worth checking. Walk to the back of your car and listen for the clicking noise. I had to pull my #40 fuse and still need to fix it permanently.

[loystock]

There are numerous reasons to drain a battery. It's always best to look and listen for the obvious and check for symptoms, if any. BTW, I answered your other posting about Power Antenna.

[Zibble]

Our 98 I30 had this problem, the leads to the audio amps were corroded, once cleaned problem fixed.99 QX4 is now doing the same thing, antenna doesn't go down and the CD disk changer is always trying to eject.I thought these things were covered by built in run down protection, apparently not.