Battery dead a lot- radio drawing 60ma

How were these tests done? Was the battery done with a full load test?

A few months.

It seems a little higher than I'd like, but not out of line.

Depends how cheesy the installer was.

Any external amplifier or CD player harness. Even if you don't have the CD player, the harness is probably still wired up. The motor for the retracting antenna, if you have one.

I would be really suspicious of your battery.

--scott

I hope I remember this correctly: In the ideal world, a one a/h battery can supply one amp for one hour. So, your 60 a/h car battery THEORETICALLY could supply 90ma for 666 hours, or about 27 days. However, chemicals wear out, temperatures change, so in real life I'd be happy with 2/3 that or 18 days.

My parasitic drain with engine off is 11 milliamperes ( after the GEM module turns off, of course ).

I think 90ma is way way too high. I would toss the radio, or put a power switch in line with it to cut B+ until I want to listen to it.

Lg

It is a bit higher than one would want, but not so high as to say it is completely out of range either.

The current draw (90 ma less 30 ma residual= 60 ma) is equivalent to a lamp bulb of less than one watt . So while it would perhaps leave you with a flat battery after a couple of weeks (or a month as someone estimated), it isnt really a red flag item.

Hope you get to the bottom of it

I see you're still working on this problem. There are two fuses to the radio. Did you find a 60 mA drop when you pulled the #5 25amp fuse or the #30 15amp fuse?

The #5 fuse also feeds the trans control module (TCM) and the TCM power relay in the PDC *if* you have the V8 option. This fuse is always hot. Replace the fuse(s). Pull the TCM connector and the TCM relay alternately. See if they are the cause.

The #30 fuse is only hot in run and accessory positions, so if it is causing your problem with the key off I would suggest there is a shorted contact in the ignition switch or related wiring. It appears to only feed the radio.

Toyota MDT in MO

In an earlier posting, you wrote that it's a 2001 vehicle. If that's the original battery, it could simply be that it's dying from age. The life of a car battery can be as short as four years. According to what type of test is the five-year-old battery "fine"?

The battery is less than 1 year old. I had this problem about 8 months ago. I replaced the battery and it was fine for a while. Now it seems like it is back.

I actually am suspicious of my alternator. Even though it checks as fine, I wonder if there is an intermittant problem with it. Last night (this only happened once before) I was driving. I had to jump the car to get it going. Even after driving around for a while, the car would die if I completely stopped. If I was going 1 mile an hour, it was fine. This indicates to me that it is the alternator as even if the battery were not fully charged, why would the car die when stopped?

Obviously you need to check charging voltage at idle to go further with this theory. I would further rule out B+ or ground side voltage drop with your DVOM. I would also look at the charging Current rate as close to the battery as possible using a low amp probe. If charging current is near zero or negative and your wiring is intact then you have an alternator or PCM regulating issue. If charging current is high like 10 amps or more then you most likely have a problem internal to the battery, though it could still be a regulation problem with the PCM. It should be noted that this test is only valid with a fully charged (or attempted charged) battery, otherwise the PCM *will* charge the battery at a high current rate until it determines the battery is charged.

This isn't a blue label Delco replacement battery by chance?

Toyota MDT in MO

P.S you should still do the checks I outlined in my last post.

No, it is not a Delco. I don't remember the brand off-hand. I got it at Murray's and was one of their mid-range batteries.