It sounds as though the battery isn't charging while running the car.

 

Maybe I was completely clear... most of my tests were done when the engine was not running. I just had the ignition turned to the ON position

 

And the battery drains whether the engine is running or not?

Do I have this right?

--Spike

 

Doesn't seem to drain when the engine is running. When the car sat overnight it when from 12.5 cranking amps to 10. Once it started I let the car run for 15 minutes and shut the car down. It then went back to 12.5 cranking amps.

I'm doing a test tonight. I've had the car on a trickle charger for the last couple of days and the battery is showing as fully charged. I've unplugged the charger and will check it in the morning.

 

OK... I get it. You are on the correct investigative path.

It sounds as though there is a parasitic drain the battery. This happens when you incorrectly wire/install an aftermarket component.

--Spike

EDIT: Here is another thought… Try running the car with everything on (interior fan, headlights, radio, etc.).

If the battery is charging OK (does not run down at all), you know the alternator is good.

 

After a couple of days of testing I've got some more optimistic results.

1. Car has started back to back days. When the turns over it's not a quick immediate start... There's a little bit of lag. Once started I turned on all the accessories, lights, AC, etc and the car runs fine. The volt meter is pretty steady at 14volts.

2. Drove the car to work yesterday. I got to work at 8:30am and went out for lunch at 1:00. The car started but again it was not the normal quick start that I've been a costumed too. After a 30 minute lunch the car started quickly as it did before these issues became present.

Car is sleeping in the garage today... I'll see what happens tomorrow.

 

Update...

Car sat in my garage for 2 days with no trickle charger. Went out to check the state of the battery when car is is turned to the ON position... Not good car, is only get 10v. Put the trickle charger back on.

If I just re-install the OEM Bose unit will the drain continue?

 

^^ Your aftermarket radio is the problem...It's probably doing some sort of parasitic drain. It is not a problem caused by the aftermarket H/U, but rather a problem created when installing/wiring the new H/U.

--Spike

 

Hey Spike,

Will the drain continue if I put my OEM Bose unit back in? Any other advice on how to correct it? Perhaps have the HU re-installed a professional audio installer?

 

How is the yellow memory wire connected behind the unit??

 

I'm storing my car next week... I'm just going to disconnect the negative terminal and use a trickle charger on the battery.

I'll get to the bottom of this next spring.

 

I would think It is due to the power being connected to the yellow wire as well..but them the radio would still be on when you shut your car off...I know this bc when I first hardwired my gps, I hooked it up to yellow and it wouldn't turn off lol

 

similar case here, I installed aftermarket head unit and amplifier by myself Mid Jan 2012 (think i should add a capacitor), then car can't start few weeks later. Trickle charged and desulphurised it then it seems good for a few months. But since i don't drive my Z too often ... sometimes i leave it in the car park for two weeks straight.... i have to bring the battery back home to charge it every few months. Last month i drive it for 60mins to work then to another destination in 1.5 hr, when i arrive the parking i turn off the engine while waiting for a car space. 1 min later i see a car leaving try to start my car but it won't crank... then i had to beg for a jump... once back home i charge it, the charger shows that the battery is full in a few minutes.... but i still leave it for float charge for an entire day. Battery voltage stand well above 12.7, and it started my car straight away, Multimeter shows 14.xV then down to 13.xV once my Z started with this battery, then i drove 45 mins to war game site, i tried to re-start the engine few mins later just to make sure it's ok,,,, but then no luck car won't start again, i pull the battery out & charge it at the site, then it's start my car again......back to my own car space and done some testing, i found that the battery can stand above 12.7V but just doesn't seem to store much power which just barely enough for one or two cranks.
The similar part is when i connect a small compressor to the battery immediately after charge the battery voltage drop from 13 to 10.5 immediately. After a few times, the charger won't bring the battery go over 13.4 V. I can conclude that the battery has one of its six cells dead completely. So it can only stay at 10.5V (5*2.1) rather than 12.68 (6*2.1X).
The trickle charger won't give more than 11.4 V to this battery now.
So, I changed the battery few days ago, done an drain test, resulting a 0.110A drain. Obviously, not a brite reading.
Can any one suggest what is the basic drain reading for our Z? 0.030mA? or even lower?
Why the battery can't be charged up by the alternator but the trickle charger? (obviously the alternator is good as it can bring 14.xV)

 

I don't see any critical current drain drop by removing fuses 1 by 1 in all 3 fuse boxes except the radio fuse give a 19 mA drop.
But finally, i find out its the Body Control Moudule (BCM) at the kick panel which draw current consistently.
When I remove the first plug the drain drop from 115mA to 43mA.
Remove the major power plug isolated at the inner side, it drops to 26mA.
Further remove the radio fuse > drops to 7mA.
So anyone knows what the first plug do?

 

Took my car out of storage last week. Had some basic maintenance done (plugs, drive belts, and oil change) The car has been on a trickle charger all winter and just barely cranked over. I got it to my mechanics shop and discovered that the battery was shot... It was less that a year old but I guess the constant draining took it's toll as the battery could no longer hold a charge.

My mechanic pulled out my head unit and did a drain test. It fluctuated between 0.010mA and 0.032mA. He cleaned up the wiring on the harness, re-installed the head unit and did another drain test. This resulted in the same 0.010 - 0.032 mA draw. I put in a new battery last Monday and all has been good. The car has started up strong every time... Hopefully these drain issues are behind me.

 

If your stock Blose amp is still hooked up, unhook it.

 

U know before I read page two I was gonna say ur battery may b bad by now but now that I'm here it seems u covered that. U should b good now if the wiring was solved and the new battery is in. Hope for the best.

 

I have a battery parasitic draw on my 350z and I used a meter to find out and it's showing me that it is coming from IGN CONT & ECCS fuse.
I don't know what that is?
what does IGN CONT & ECCS stand for?

 

Your problem description points to a fault in either the wiring connection or a ground failure. The “IGN CONT” makes me believe you are connected to a constant power supply (a yellow wire) where you need to connect to an IGN controlled wire (usually a red wire).

Of course, I am guessing.

 

Im having the same problem on the IGN cont and eccs fuse I noticed that my maf sensor has some wires exposed not sure if that has anything to do with it but did you ever find out the issue?