Here's hoping someone can shed some light on my problem. '96 Tacoma 4x4 5 speed std. Purchased the truck used, and there was an aftermarket radio installed, but it didn't work well. The truck could sit idle for 6 months, thru the winter, and the battery would still have enough poop to start the engine. I replaced the radio, hooked up the power wiring the same as the old one was, and everything seemed fine.Now, if the truck sits for maybe two weeks, the battery won't turn it over. Thinking the battery was getting tired, I replaced it. Same thing, battery drained after sitting a couple of weeks. Removed positive cable end and installed test light in series, between cable and battery terminal. Test light lit. Began removing fuses until light went out. Dome light fuse broke the circuit. Checked all door switches, dome light, but light still was on. Left fuse out, and reconnected battery. RADIO didn't work! My question is, should the memory circuit for the radio pull enough current to drain a battery in that short of time, or do I have the radio wired incorrectly? Any input would be appreciated.
Tom

Is it a battery issue, or do you need to rebuild your starter?

Is your battery total dead when you try to start it?

I know my factory cd/tape/radio doesn't power on when the ignition is off, does yours?

No. Lift the battery lead and insert in series with the leads a Volt Ohm Meter configured to read milliamps.. Your vehicle should have less than 50 milli-amps draw with every thing in the vehicle shut down, and doors closed (affects security system current draw, not to mention dome light).

I've actually measured it on my 2000 4Runner.. With the security system, remote key fob lock/unlock feature (this stuff is running all the time), the draw was 40ma..

Opening the doors causes the security system to draw more power (dome light turned off) as it comes out of its "sleep state" into active operation as shown in the first chart below...

Leaving a door "ajar" even with the dome light turned off, will run the battery down overnight due to the increased security system draw. I found this out when I parked the vehicle in the garage and left doors open, dome lights off to dry out the carpet from some spilled water... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />)

Ignore the second chart, those are things specific to my vehicle..

Sorry for the long delay in responding, but I was away from the computer for a few day's.
1st off, the battery isn't totally dead after a few day's. There is some juice, but only enough to rattle the solenoid. The truck doesn't have an alarm system or any other goodies, so that's not an issue either. The radio will come back on when the ignition is turned on unless it's physically turned off, but should that be an issue of current draw when the ignition is off? I'll do the mili-amp check tomorrow, and plan on having both batteries load tested, just to be sure. Thank's guy's for the quick response.

Update: The current draw, with everything off was only 6.24 milliamps. I had a load test done on one of the batteries, and it's all but shot. The second battery tested good under load, but it was also one that got drained after 3 day's of sitting. It's in the truck now, so I'll see how long it lasts again. In the mean time, I'll keep the emergency jump box in the truck. Thank's for all the help. Right now, it appears that it's not an over draw issue.
Tom

Final update:
Both batteries turned out to be junk. Just had a new battery installed today. Worries over? I'll keep the jumper box in for a few day's yet.Thank's to all that responded.

That sucks. Where did you buy the bad batteries from? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Just a tidbit of info in case you didnt know. The mfg date on the battery is coded as A thru L, A being January, L being December and the year 07. Make sure your battery is no more than a couple of months old at time of purchase.