Toyota Repair: battery runs down, second car, darden

Question
I have a 1991 camry le - a second car that I drive only
occassionally.  With everything turned off I measure a 25+ ma current flowing continuously.  Is there something on [like the cpu or other keep alive electronics]?

But, this problem started recently.

What is probable source for that leak - could it be the alternator?  And what else is a potential culprit?

Answer
There are always things on. Normally you should only be drawing about 10-15ma. But 25ma isn't excessive by any means. Since you've got a multi-meter (Great!) get a chart of battery outputs VS the current air temperature & measure it. You'll most likely wind up replacing the batery & testing / replacing the alternator.

http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/carfaq4.htm

Has some info on doing it. You can google up alot of stuff like that in more, or less depth as needed. (Just the first one I ran across).

You may want to invest in a dedicated battery charger for that car. Just make sure it does nothing more than top the battery off as it drains & doesn't actually *charge* it!
Even then some of them are pretty lame & will ruin a battery. So it can be good to put them on one of those little timer switches & only let it run an hour or so a day.