What should my max voltage be/max amp draw?

[kadeas]

Just wondering, what is the max voltage reading I should see in my car? I got a reading of 15.5 at the cigarette lighter, is this too high? :?

 

And, what is the max amperage draw you should see at the batterys negative terminal with everything off? I'm trying to test for a short.

[Redwingvksm]

15.5 is quite high. Usually it's around 14-14.5 tops.

 

I'd personally like to see less than .05 amps on cars w/ computers (As in 2000+) but some do vary up and down. A short will be quite high... (1-2+)

[jdcutty]

What kind of problems are you having to make you suspect a short?

[kadeas]

My new Optima battery died over night, jump-started and drove it around for a bit. I then used a test light in between the battery- and -cable, and the light lit up. Pulled fuse #10, (I/P Electronics batery feed), the light went very dim, so the short is in that circuit. With fuse pulled, key in the ignition switch, a door open, and you press lock or unlock on lock switch, the chime goes off! Does anyone's car besides mine do that? Give it a try and let me know! It's a 95 gp 2 door.

Pull # 10 fuse; open door; key in ignition; press lock switch, does chime go off?

Thanks!