1991 EX Coupe Battery Drain

[SwimDad]

The title is wrong... It is a 1991, with those stupid seat belts!!!!

Well, First post, so here goes.
I have worked on my own cars all my life and I hate electrical problems the most.
I had my '91 Accord stored for about a year while traveling for work. When I went to resume it's use I knew it would need a new battery so I installed one.

After about 3 days the new battery was dead, so I removed it, charged it had it tested (it was good) and reinstalled it. I purposely did not drive it for a few days and sure enough it was dead again. So, the battle has begun...
This ain't my first rodeo, so I started with the basics.
-I pulled the negative battery cable and put a digital ammeter in series between the post and battery clamp. It shows about 170-200 milliamp drain. Certainly enough to drop the battery below 11.5 volts in 3 days.
- I started with the under hood fuse box and with no lights on of any kind (checked dome and trunk light by looking through the back seat into the trunk) I pulled the fuses one at a time.
-The drain drops to 20 milliamps, which I assume to be the clock and memory save in the (small Alpine stereo) when I pull the Passive (Seat Belt) motor fuse, either one (I believe).

• I have lubed the seat belt tracks from the B pillar to the forward stop in case the runner was not fully hitting the stop limit switch (a long shot I know but it's good maintenance.
• I replaced the drivers side lap belt retractor because it needed it and being in such a poor state I hoped it might help.
• I purchased a used but clean seat belt control unit (the one under the passenger seat), still no effect.

I'm looking for ideas. This car came with the very nice Honda factory manuals (Service and Electrical). So I have documentation and determination.
Thanks in advance for any help or wild ideas.

[Raf99]

I just finished going through this. 20ma is fine. But...

What fuse(s) was pulled to take it from 200ma to 20ma?

[chipocb7]

20mA its a normal draw. If its more than 50mA or so you may have a problem. What i have seen is usually aftermarket stuff that causes draw. Sometimes aftermarket stereos will come on by themselves and cause a draw. I would definitely pay more attention to the alpine stereo you have. Also try to remove a fuse at the time so you can keep better track of which circuit is the one that drops the draw to 20mA.

Also sometimes having a weak or old battery would act like its draining.

[SwimDad]

I just finished going through this. 20ma is fine. But...

What fuse(s) was pulled to take it from 200ma to 20ma?

The fuses for either side passive seatbelt motor. I can also drop it to ~~20mA by unplugging the seat belt controller under the passenger seat. I have replaced the controller with no changes in the problem.
Worked on again today with no improvement.

[SwimDad]

20mA its a normal draw. If its more than 50mA or so you may have a problem. What i have seen is usually aftermarket stuff that causes draw. Sometimes aftermarket stereos will come on by themselves and cause a draw. I would definitely pay more attention to the alpine stereo you have. Also try to remove a fuse at the time so you can keep better track of which circuit is the one that drops the draw to 20mA.

Also sometimes having a weak or old battery would act like its draining.

I have replaced the battery (twice) so it's not a battery problem.

Pulling the fuses for either side passive seatbelt motor drops the drain to !!20 mA. I can also drop it to ~~20mA by unplugging the seat belt controller under the passenger seat. I have replaced the controller with no changes in the problem.
Worked on again today with no improvement.

[Raf99]

Right, so the seat belt motor electrical is pulling 200ma even when replaced, which tells me something else is on this circuit besides the motor (& doubtful Honda ran one wire for just this motor, they usually put other things on that wire).

So what else is on this circuit? (what's the manual say)

[cp[mike]]

here's what I would do:

look at the helms manual for the electrical system diagram/description of the seatbelt functions. Then either replace or re-solder any circuit boards and clean/lube the related moving pieces (which you've done).

Then, I would start disconnecting things 1 by 1 to help pinpoint it further: you've disconnected the control unit, but that has numerous devices behind it that could be causing it: what about disconnecting each seatbelt and buckle, etc? The manual would also identify any other relays or components that you could also check. Some of the limit switches could possibly be hotwired/bypassed, too, as a way to test each aspect. The manual would also have a number of troubleshooting steps that could pinpoint certain areas.

Then if it's still causing a problem, I would use an electrical multimeter to start checking the actual wiring harness, by identifying pins and wire colors at either end and ensuring that there is continuity and nothing obviously shorted out. The manual would indicate all of the connections and could provide some insight into which wires are most relevant to check (power related, etc)

If none of that worked, I would probably consider upgrading to 92-93 manual belts, hah!

Good luck...

[Raf99]

Ya, help me out, what fuse are you pulling? (what # or location) I'm trying to find the electrical layout here. Also watch this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLvrLAH0Az0



If this is way over your head already then you can take it to a shop or convert to manual belts.