I am sure that all lights are off, the radio is off, the key is off -- why is battery draining ?

So far I have taken ground cable off and inserted a meter to check while I take out the fuses and the relays to see which one indicates a drain.

I can also see a spark when I connect the + cable or - cable

Any more ideas on how to track this drain and stop it? Drains my battery overnight.

When I start the van the side lights are on but I cant find a switch to turn them off -- maybe that is problem?


thanks very much
Frz

 

everything you said is normal must need a new battery cuz you can have a battery that's bad inside dying like that.

 

A spark when reconnecting the cable is normal. You could remove one of the cables and leave it overnight. If the van still doesn't start in the morning, then you have a bad battery. You still may have a bad battery if the small amount of power that is drawn on a regular basis drains the battery overnight.
If you feel certain that the problem is still a matter of excess power being used when the van is off, you can try pulling fuses one at a time and see if that cures the problem which will help you narrow down where the problem is.

 

didn't he say in the first post he pulled relays and fuses?

 

When connecting the battery,is the spark very big like you are trying to weld something? Or is it small.Also do you have a glove box lite, or is the dome lites working.The side marker lites should be off,even if you started the van. This could a bad BCM or an aftermarket alarm system.

 

NO ALARM ... AFTERMARKET RADIO ? nope .. when disconnected I still have a little spark and volt meter shows a leak.

thanks

 

Solved! I think... The key was turned off but past the tiny marker to what could be an ACC. position.

Battery lasted the night without problem. So far so good