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[TheBoy]

As Kevin Wood implies, 0.4A idle discharge is very high.  Mine are in the order of a few 10s of mA, once the consumer timer has turned off.

Sounds like the battery is shagged TBH, but that may be a symptom of the drain issue.

[05omegav6]

If a new battery allows the car to function acceptably for a couple of weeks or so, then I can live with that tbh...

[2nddaniel]

I tend to think 0.4A isn't very high at all.
A 5watt load connected to a 12volt battery consumes 0.4amp, or 400mA. A security alarm on a car would fit that description. Hell, a household security alarm runs 350mA without any PIRs or battery charging -for comparison.
 

[omega2018]

agreed 400ma isn't high however the load when quiet and settled down should be 60-80ma.  even at 0.08 amps (80ma) draw, a 66a/h battery would be completely flat in 1 month

[05omegav6]

Ok, so the conclusion is that the battery is indeed Donald, a situation not helped by the current drain, rather than the current drain flattening a good battery in short order...

[Kevin Wood]

I tend to think 0.4A isn't very high at all.
A 5watt load connected to a 12volt battery consumes 0.4amp, or 400mA. A security alarm on a car would fit that description. Hell, a household security alarm runs 350mA without any PIRs or battery charging -for comparison.

Yes, but it runs from the mains, so power consumption is not critical. A car's consumption should be under 100 mA.

A 400 mA load will completely flatten a 65 Ah battery in good condition in less than a week, so it's an unacceptable level of drain.

[omega2018]

double check the altternator i recall that before my regulator failed completely i had a drain that was only cured by removing fv5.  the alternator was charging but a bit low.  after replacing the regulator the drain has gone.

[05omegav6]

Have dropped a new battery in, and pulled fuses 5 and 6... also acquired a new multimeter, as last one hasn't worked since a gravity induced conversation with the drive , so will follow Kevins guide and systematically go through the thing