diagnosing a mystery current drain

[wc701lists at bellsouth.net]

Jim Wright wrote:
> On Nov 19, 2008, at 11:26 PM, David Pertuz wrote:
>> So....I hook my meter up in series with the ground terminal, and I get
>> no current reading. Zero point zero zero. ?!??
> 
> OK, silly things.  Make sure that your meter leads are plugged into  
> the correct jacks to measure current, also try setting your display to  
> a lower range to read smaller currents.

Yeah, all good advice Jim.  You should be able to read some small 
current from turning on the radio or parking lights or such.  power = 
volts * amps, so a parking light at like 5 watts should show about 0.4 
amps times however many there are.  If you're reading 0.0, something is 
not right.  Even a properly functioning car should have a tiny draw for 
the clock and other little stuff, though you will need to dial the meter 
way down to read it.

   -Wayne