Parasitic current drain on 2007 95 Aero auto
I went to start the Saab 95 (2007 model) 3 days ago and the battery was flat, down to about 8V. The ignition key just made some relays flutter.
I am only armed with the Owner's Manual, a Haynes handbook and the web page
http://saabworld.net/showthread.php?t=27821
The battery is only a few months old and is a good quality replacement. I gave it a full charge.
I have been using my multimeter and have found results that baffle me because the drain current seems to be affected by the order in which things are done! I went through these steps
- Put 10A range on meter and put it in series with the battery
- Turn on ignition, meter reads 9.02A
- Turn off ignition, meter reads 4,55A
after about 20 secs this drops to 2.7A with all doors shut. This I describe as point A.
I then disconnect the battery lead and reconnect it.
- Meter reads 1.7A for 20 seconds then drops to 0.15A for 10 seconds. Then it drops to 0.10A.
If I pull maxi fuse 2, drain drops to 0.0A. If I replace maxi fuse 2, drain returns to 0.1A. No other maxi fuse, when pulled, alters the current draw.
If I go to the fuse box in the side of the dashboard (fuse box 22a on the side of the dash in the above web link) and pull the fuses, one at a time, it says are connected to Maxi fuse 2 (numbers 17, 1, 16, 20) no fuse causes a change in current.
Turn on ignition etc. and get again to point A, above.
If I just pull fuse 9, current drops to 2.3A, replace it, back to 2.7A
Same with fuse 13, current drops to 1.36A, replace fuse, the CD player makes little robotic noises for about 15 seconds and the current goes back to 2.7A
If I pull Maxi fuse 1, current drops to 1.29A. The current drops from fuses 9 and 13 pretty much match that due to Maxi fuse 1.
If I pull Maxi fuse 2, as described in 4. above, it seems to do a more profound reset that just pulling the fuses that are downstream of it. The other equipment listed in the web reference as being downstream of Maxi fuse 2 are
- Light switch 10, but I don’t know where that is
- Main relay 229
- Starter relay 517
- Glow plug control module (presumably absent on my petrol vehicle)
I have to consider that these above items may be causing the current draw. My dashboard seems to be different from the one in the web reference and does not seem to have relay box 22b anywhere, so I haven’t yet seen relays 229 or 517.
To summarise, only if I pull and then replace Maxi fuse 2 then I can get the current draw down to 0.1A.
If I go through the sequence to get to point, but with fuse 13 removed, the CD and radio are of course dead, and the current draw is 2.4A.
I should add that I used the CD player a few days before all this, for the first time in a couple of years, so could it be involved in some way?
Well, there it is at the moment. If anyone can offer help I’d be very grateful!!
Kind regards,
Jon D