230mA battery drain

[Roland]

I have a 2000 VT series 2 that is having a problem with its electrical system. The battery will go flat in 2 days when not driven, it has a brand new battery and the alternator charges fine. I used a multimeter to measure the drainage from the battery which is 230mA, I pulled one fuse at a time and found that the the eng cont/BCM draws about 100mA and the power door locks draw about 130mA when unlocked and about 170mA when locked. The car is also fitted with an aftermarket alarm system that i dont think even works, would it be worth pulling that alarm system out. this seems like a lot of current being drawn, I have another commodore which is a 1994 VR and it draws nothing from the battery when its off. What do you think the problem is?

[acarmody]

Mate I just had my VX in to the Auto-sparky, he originally thought it was the BCM, which apparently is fairly common, but one he disconnected the aftermarket alarm I had, the draw stopped. And my car was flattening my D34 Optima within 24 hours, and thats a hefty draw.

[morphix]

I had a similar issue, except mine was going flat within 12 hours (eg. park car after work, sleep, get up in morning and its flat).

I had NRMA come out 2-3 times giving me a jump start and checking battery and alternator, they said the alternator was fine, the battery was damaged.

Replaced it on the spot, and that day the same issue occured, shortly after this, i had issues trying to unlock my doors and the dash would flash up errors.... turned out my ECU was stuffed.. which was the reason the battery was damaged and had all the power drain issues.

Also, a 'mobile mechanic' i called come out and check it over and advised "your key is broken" and i went and bought a new key.. this was BEFORE i found out the ECU was dead.. wasted money on a new key.. but hey.. i have a spare now.