My 2002 Honda Odyssey has a weak battery. It is at the end of its expected life and I will be replacing as soon as I can.
The ignition switch has the following positions:
- 0 - Off
- I - Accessories
- II - Run
- III - Start
I notice that if I leave the key in position II with the engine NOT running, the battery drains rapidly - I can no longer start the car after about 5-10 minutes.
I have a hall-effect DC clamp meter, so I measured the drain in this situation. The meter is not very accurate, but its probably good enough for a ball-park. With the key in position II, the engine not running, and as many systems (lights, dome lights, radio, fan, etc) switched off, the current drain is about 8A.
Is this normal?
Is this drain due to alternator field coil energization? Or what else would cause it?
To clarify - normally I switch the car off and take the keys out right away, but it turns out that I am human and sometimes get distracted. Sometimes the keys get left in this position by mistake.
My question still stands - What is the expected current drain in this position (when all accessories are off), and what causes it?