radio draining battery

[gonefishin]

What is the acceptable draw on the battery from the radio with the key off? My battery cable lightly sparks when I hook it up. I have traced it to the radio. I used my meter and it is drawing .143A with everything off. It is a sony cd player that I have had in the blazer for about 4 years. After 3-4 weeks of sitting the battery went dead.

 

[4xcrazy]

I've never seen a battery NOT spark when you connect the cable, I would think even if you didn't have a radio or computer in the vehicle, you still have to energize the wiring system in the vehicle, completing a circuit, slight sparks.

 

[diesel4me]

I think all radios with a memory have a slight draw--not sure how much,but even a factory radio will drain a battery eventually..I'd say a month is pretty good,considering if the vehicle also has a clock thats always "on",to help pull the juice out of the battery..

A battery can also discharge itself simply from being dirty...I never believed that till my shop teacher took a digital multi-tester and hooked the positive lead to the + terminal,and then touched the negative to the battery case--the film of crud and moisture was a good enough conductor to show a discharge..left in that condition long enough it can kill the battery after a couple weeks even with the cables not connected..

I had an elusive drain killing the battery on one of my trucks,I decided one day to put a test lamp between the positive battery post and the positive cable,and it lit up,indicating a draw --pulled every fuse out one by one,the light stayed on,so it wasn't a short or the clock,radio,or cigar lighter sapping it down...

I tried taking the big red wire off the altenator,hoping it was a bad diode causing a drain,nope,the test lamp still stayed lit up!...it wasn't till I tried unplugging the HEI power wire,that the light went off...it wasn't brightly lit,just a dim glow...never did figure out how power was getting to the coil with the ignition off either...I tested a few friends trucks,their showed the same dim glow,so I assumed its "normal"?.....a new battery solved my "drain" problem...as long as I drove it every couple of weeks,it always started after replacing it..

 

[Russell]

Under 0.050A is ideal. My Tahoe has 13mA with the key off now. It had 800mA with the radio hooked up and would kill both batteries totally dead within 2 weeks of sitting. The radio is now disconnected and will be replaced sometime in the future. My windsheild started leaking a while back and the radio got wet with water dripping off the mirror. It still works but draws the batteries down now.

I found the issue after I froze and destroyed 4 brand new batteries in it. The first set I thought was just a bad cell in one battery that killed both and the second time was becuase I didn't bother to measure my key off draw when I replaced the batteries.

My truck now sits for 2 or 3 months between being driven and the batteries are always good.

 

[gonefishin]

Under 0.050A is ideal. My Tahoe has 13mA with the key off now. It had 800mA with the radio hooked up and would kill both batteries totally dead within 2 weeks of sitting. The radio is now disconnected and will be replaced sometime in the future. My windsheild started leaking a while back and the radio got wet with water dripping off the mirror. It still works but draws the batteries down now.

I found the issue after I froze and destroyed 4 brand new batteries in it. The first set I thought was just a bad cell in one battery that killed both and the second time was becuase I didn't bother to measure my key off draw when I replaced the batteries.

My truck now sits for 2 or 3 months between being driven and the batteries are always good.

Yea my radio got a little bit wet on my last muddin trip, so I think it might be bad now.

Thanks everyone for the help. I think I am just going to replace the radio.