Parasitic Current Draw with no fuses! 2004 4.4 X5 E53

[Effduration]

Can I ask that we get our descriptions consistent ?

you are looking for less than 50 Milliamps - not 0.05 milliamps - when car is sleeping.. Using a multimeter set to DC 10 Amp setting, this will show up as 0.05...see pic in link below.

Based on your readings, I am not sure you have a parasitic draw, but maybe it is intermittent...

I think you should not have pulled ALL fuses but probed the back of each installed fuse per the following link:
https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...t-sunroof.html

I think pulling ALL fuses may actually hide (disable) your parasitic draw if you indeed have one.

I would put all fuses back in, hook up the MM between negative terminal and neg cable, leave it that way and periodically check for a draw higher than 50 milliamps, THEN probe fuses...

[newblondon]

Originally Posted by 80stech

23ma is still pretty low for starters, what is the symptom ? Having the alternator tested doesn't rule out anything for draw. Do the draw test with the alternator disconnected.

thank you, will try that. sorry - typo in original post - 0.23A, not mA. hence just over x4 times the recommended ...

[X5chemist]

Wow, that's a big draw. It definitely drains a battery. A thermal imaginer would find something that warm.

[oldskewel]

Feel free to expand / confirm these factors in your problem:
- the draw is not intermittent. You get 0.17 to 0.23 A, all the time.
- details on exactly how you measure the draw? ammeter in 10A setting, in series between disconnected ground cable and battery? something else?
- regardless of measurement specifics, your new battery goes dead after a few days.

Given all that, there are not many things that could be at fault. Not many circuits on the car are unfused. You could check a wiring diagram to find and test them. Examples are the starter and alternator. An internal short in the alternator is a not uncommon cause of parasitic draws like this one.

An alternator with such a short might operate just fine other than that, and testing for current generation might still pass.

The heating from the draw will be about 2 Watts, so will not be obvious.

I would use a clamp ammeter (partly because I have a few of those already; but I'd buy one if I did not, to solve this problem) to measure current flowing in the wires up in the engine bay, in particular to the alternator.

Even if it is not the alternator, you could use the clamp ammeter to follow wires at each branch, starting at the battery, to see where the current is still flowing. And this is done non-invasively to the circuits.

When checking circuit diagrams for these cars, the 3.0i and 4.4i have very different layouts for the engine. So be careful what web info you find on this. If you find something that does not claim to apply to the 3.0i vs. 4.4i, be assured that it will be incorrect for at least one of them.

It may not be easy to get to, but if you wanted to do something without doing circuit research or buying a tool you don't have, you could try disconnecting the connector and cable to the alternator (i.e., disconnect that rather than disconnecting your battery to prevent the battery from going dead), and see if that stops your flat battery problem.

[workingonit]

Originally Posted by oldskewel

...I would use a clamp ammeter (partly because I have a few of those already; but I'd buy one if I did not, to solve this problem) to measure current flowing in the wires up in the engine bay, in particular to the alternator....

If/when you buy a "clamp ammeter", make sure you get one that has BOTH AC and DC capability. I bought my first ammeter years ago, in a hurry, while testing and rewiring bad circuits (some with aluminum wiring!) in my aged house (now demolished & replaced).

The clamp ammeter worked fine, but at the same time, my old GMC's alternator was acting up, and it was then that I realized that my ammeter couldn't measure DC amperage.

That was 10-12 years ago, and I've only recently rectified the situation, by purchasing an AstroAI Digital Clamp Meter, to use on yet another problem with the '98 GMC (HVAC fan drawing too much current)...better late than never.

It's currently on Prime Day sale at Amazon, for $32 https://www.amazon.com/AstroAI-Multi...ef_=ast_sto_dp

[X5chemist]

Nice. When I was chasing a small amp draw, I went big.
I use this one as a quick voltmeter and amp draw tester. It's the resolution that makes it expensive.