short circuit?

It could indicate a dead battery. :-) What did you test the battery cables with? I assume a voltmeter? A better test would be to use an ammeter; this will tell you if there's a current draw.

I assume you are referring to actually testing the vehicle wiring via the battery cables, not the battery. When you test the resistance (ohms), not the voltage, you shouldn't have an open circuit as you are supplying a voltage to the circuit to test the resistance. Since there is an onboard computer, clock, etc. all requiring a voltage to operate, they will take whatever power is supplied, even though it is inadequate to actually operate. Since this is the case, you cannot read your vehicle as having an open circuit.

Ok - thanks.

Is there some way to determine if there is a short somewhere? Is there a listing of what the resistance should be?

The ohm-meter is notoriously inaccurate for most electrical systems tests. It has it's uses when testing controlled continuity but in most instances, voltage drop testing is better. There is no factory spec on "system resistance"... if there was, it would be somewhere between 5 ohms and infinity (just joking...).

For your situation, the logical procedure would be to charge the battery and have it tested. If the battery passes, have the charging system tested. After that, I can only suggest that you purchase the manual for your vehicle and use the proper method for testing for parasitic draw. 50 milliamps (after all the modules have "gone to sleep") is the factory spec on parasitic draw.

Additionally, I would suggest referring to the manual that came with your meter for the various ways that it can be used. Tread carefully in your electrical testing... often, the unwary can create damage where none was before. Recent vehicles make extensive use of "voltage divider" circuits which makes these sorts of acidents less likely but we should always excersize caution to avoid costly mistakes.

The other problem of checking things in the vehicle is that it is hard to measure the voltage drop across a given component, largely because it is next to impossible to physically place the meter in circuit, and even if you could, without altering the electrical properties of the circuit. If you do attempt it, make sure you have a decent meter with a minimum of 50 mega-ohm input impedance, and even then, unless you are familiar advanced circuit analysis, it won't tell you a lot. Welcome to the electronics age.

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I posted this earlier, but maybe it didn't get through (I haven't seen it)... Use an ammeter with the battery connected. This will tell you what the actual current draw is; there will always be some. Pulling fuses will tell you what circuits are pulling how much. If the battery is draining that quickly, you'll have a fairly large draw somewhere (or the battery is going bad).

Thanks to everyone for the input.

Was wondering what the current draw should be?

Not positive (it will vary from vehicle to vehicle) but it should be in the low milliamp range.

There ya go.