98 S-10 dead battery

Left idle for 36 hours, and battery totally dead. I got in, and pushed the electric lock, and the buttons barely moved. The starter just chattered. I could not find any evidence of a light left on. The back hatch was closed (that turns on the dome light, if left almost - closed.)

New battery in February. Autocraft Titanium, from Advance Auto. I'd had three other dead battery moments this year, and finally took the battery back for exchange.

Put charger on for a couple hours. Alternator runs at 14.5 volts. With engine off, disconnect the battery. Ammeter in line, draws about 1.3 amps, and then settles down to about .43 amps after a few seconds.

Does this sound like I need another brand of battery? Is the Titanium a bad line?

I think I would start by finding what is causing the draw(S) with the ampmeter in line. First start with disconnecting the alternator wiring, then individual fuses from the panel to kinda give you a hint where to go.

Your voltage measurements appear to be within reason.

So you had one bad Titanium, exchanged it, and the new one is fine so far?

You have a current draw somewhere. When the engine and all accessories are off, the truck should only be drawing a few milliamps, not almost half an amp. Start pulling fuses out of the fuse boxes and see which circuit is causing your draw. When you get the correct circuit, the ammeter should read almost

If it's really .43 Amps, it's way too much. Find out what's on. Do you have an after market stereo amp or an alarm?

Al

Neither amp, nor stereo.

What did come to memory, though. Last Wednesday, I had a friend of mine in the truck, and also his four year old nephew. The nephew is noted for pushing buttons (I had to switch off the window controls, cause the kid runs the window up and down all the time). I'm wondering if there is a book reading light in the back seat, and he left it turned on?