Ok this is going to sound more like a story than a problem, but here goes...My 95 max SE has run very well for 88k miles, has a K&N air filter, 500w pioneer/kicker system...rewired foglights so i can turn em on...notthin too crazy but i love her anyway..

Recently however i have been some serious problems...about 6 months ago, my driver and rear left side windows stopped working.

Driver window motor runs when you press the button, but not strong enough (or connected to whater it's supposed to be) to move window up, but will hold it in place or let it down.

Rear window motor runs when you press button, but does nothing to affect window position, and will not hold it up. Both windows dies with 2 months of eachother, and both are on left....

Ok next...4 months ago, my alternator died (elec systems malfunctioned while driving, car died, assume was the alternator, mechanic confirmed). I had it fixed, but about 2 weeks later, it died agian..had it replaced under warranty...about 2 months passed and had no problems with the car starting till about one month ago..

One day it just wouldnt start...had NO elec power whatsoever..no lights, no power locks, nothing. so, i assume its the alternator again...nope..i take it to mechanic, he says alternator is charging fine, so i change the battery...works for three days then dies again...

so i bring to mechanic again...tests battery and alternator charge, both work...there is however a DRAW of 4-5 miliamps or whatever unit the batter power is measured in on the battery..supposedly its supposed to be around .5 of that same unit.

so i take the car to the dealer to find the draw, which everyone says is likely a short somewhere...i have an aftermarket radio, and assume its that so tell them to check that first..they unhook the radio, charge me 300 bucks and tell me the draw is gone..two weeks pass, with no radio and yesterday the car is dead again...AARGH..

I take it to a local shop, they test battery and alternator for free and both are normal...theres still a DRAW..of 3-4 milliamps or whatever unit...so the radio may have been a part of it, but still theres a draw...

SO..im thinking something strange..once when i parked the car, i heard a strange, faint mechanical sounding noise, like an electric motor coming from it. the car was off and the sound persisted for about 30 seconds. happened twice that day...actually it was right after i bought the battery. could it be that some relay broke which caused the motors in the two windows to spin even when off, that broke the motors and is also causing the draw? Maybe the reason i heard it that day and no others was because that was the battery was fully charged, so the motors spun enought to hear...normally they may spin enough to drain battery, but not to hear.

i have no idea what the heck is wrong but i need to get this draw fixed...is there anyway to isolate the problem enough so i can tell whoever's fixing it exactly where it is, so i wont have to pay for 10hrs of labor for them to find a shorT!!!either that or someone in NJ who can fix the prob themselves for a reasonable price or tell me how to do it myself!.. (that may be difficult, i don't know crap about cars)

Well thanks for listening, please help if you can!

 

3 - 4 Miliamps is nothing to be concerned with. And LED will draw that, or an alarm system. An automotive battery should be able to supply that current for about 2 years before dying. Don't concern yourself with that draw. You have another problem you should be looking for. How are you battery cables and connections? Are they nice and clean? Check the main ground wire too. Both ends. If you have corrosion developing, you have weak connections which could cause your car to lose all power. Which is what your problem really is.

3 - 4 miliamps = .003 amps. A cars battery will supply 50 and up amps. The draw on your battery is approx 17,000 times less then when you turn your ignition to start your car. If you can crank 30 amps for 10 min. before you battery dies, then 3 - 4 miliamps should last 10,000 hours.

 

Pull off your door panels (it's very easy to do) and disconnect the motors to see if that's the problem. You need to see what's causing the window problem anyway.

 

Thank you for your advive!

as far as 3-4 miliamps being nothing, maybe i am using the wrong terminology...i have a large enough draw that if i jump my car, and run it for about 30 mins, it will be dead in a few hours if left turned off. I saw the voltimeter (i beleive its called) and the meter read 3.3...he said the normal was .5...so if 3.3 isnt too high, you think the problem is either corrosion or the main ground wire?

my battery terminals are clean,just checked em, so its not that.

so where is this main ground wire?

ps. is there anything else i can check? or maybe a tool i can buy to check the draw on my own?

thanks again, phil

 

B.T.W. i think i may have messed up in my initial e-mail...i think the draw is 3 to 4 AMPS not milliamps, because i just spoke to one of my friends and he said the normal draw on a car when its off is .5 amps...when i was at the mechanic, he said my car was drawing 3-4 of some unit i didnt remember (either amps or miliamps) and the normal draw is .5 of that same unit...thus i probably have a 3 - 4 amp draw...hope that gives a little more information...

thanks again for the assistance

phil

 

I'm having a simular problem as yours and was wondering if you found a solution. Since I've made no changes to the car (problem just started today) I'm assuming that it may be the voltage regulator. I had one go out a long time ago on another car and it caused all sorts of weird issues.

 

I'm having somewhat similar problems also. It has happened on occasion where my power windows won't work, and then once driving they start working again. I remember hearing like a motor running by my coolant container, but it's gone now. And then some times my hazard would light up and stay on not blink but just light up, aswell as my seat belt light would light up on and off, and faded on and off. Weird stuff. everything is fine now, except for my hazards not blinking when i push the lock button on my remote. Let me know if you find any solution. Thanks.

 

So, doens anybody know what the normal draw is on our cars? I might be having the same problem and would like to know what the norm is. I couldn't find the answer in my FSM.