Battery Drain

[Toyotass]

Hi Guys ( especially JimL, the only name I recognise) I have not been here since I sold my georgeous surf and got a Lucida ( family had to come first I'm afraid)
Anyhow it has been fine till now but has a fault on the wiring, it drains the battery, I suspect a sticking relay as it is intermittent. The problem is no one on the related forums seems to have a clue. Also it seems even harder to get a wiring diagram, I just thought I would appeal to the infinitly more savvy surf crew. Anyone know of a diagram source or could you say what a fuse marked AM1 would be? I think this is the problem cicuit. I tried to disconnect the turbo timer but it made no difference.
Thanks for any help that comes my way.
Steve

[kitesurf_phil]

Hi Steve.

If you have a multimeter or can buy a cheap one (they start at about £6 in Maplins) you could set it to Amps range, pull the fuses one at a time and put the leads in series with the fuse holders measuring the current being drawn on each circuit. I say Amps range because it is always best to start with the meter on the highest range and then step down the ranges until you get a reading. Scribble down the results and add them up, which will give you the total current being drawn when parked.
I haven't got many extra toys on my truck and the standing current drawn is about 300mA, which I presume is the clock, fuel guage, radio, ECU and alarm system. The standing current rises to about 600mA when I have my Ham Radio gear in the car (automatic antenna tuning unit, transceiver and stuff) If you have a tired battery even a low current would sap it quite badly.
Good luck with your search.

[crazybitch]

Aree you sure there is a drain? could just be a dodgy battery! the cold weather is great for taking a chunk of charge out of a battery which isnt holding a proper charge any way! your local auto elecs or car accs would be able to load test it for you and its free of charge!

[Toyotass]

Thanks I suspected the battery at first, in fact it may be on the way out but that is not the real problem. The current draw changes almost each time I try it, sometimes it will be 0 mostly 0.7 and ocassionally 15 or so amps because it energises the starter and glow plug relays. This is with no interior lights or radio on & I don't have an alarm. On the two or three times it has done this the battery flattens in minutes. Why the 50amp fuse doen't go I don't know. Probably a good thing the battery is old! I have trawled the web & it seems there is nothing available so it looks as if I will have to try and map out the whole system by tracing each wire, I'm just going out to start,,,,, I could be some time! Happy New Year
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SteveT