El. leak found, weird things discovered

[BigBabyLou]

I noticed recently that I had an el. leak on my boat. This was draining my battery pretty bad (it was dead withing a week or two).<br /><br />I found a 2mA current draw from the AM/FM radio (memory circuits, that's normal), 40mA draw from my depthfinder (even if it's off, so I disconnected it) and - what is weird - a 150mA current coming from my VHF radio INTO my el. circuits. That means that the VHF radio is supplying 150mA. That seems very weird. Maybe I am not seeing something, maybe it could be caused by a bad ground? I'm really lost on this one.<br /><br />Any help will be greatly appreciated.<br />Thanks guys.<br />Lou

 

[BillP]

Re: El. leak found, weird things discovered

Static electricity...or electroylsis is the only passive way I know of to get current like that...but then again I'm not an electrical guy. Is that on an aluminum boat?

 

[BigBabyLou]

Re: El. leak found, weird things discovered

Bill, it's not an aluminum boat, it's a '89 fiberglass 26' minicruiser.<br /><br />I've heard about static electricity buildup on antenna cables if they are grounded on both sides but that does not apply to me since my coax is grounded only at the PL connector on the station.<br /><br />Still wondering where those 150 mA are coming from.<br /><br />Lou