528e electrical problem

[John Oehlert <joehlert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have a 1987 528e that has developed a short somewhere in the electrical 
system. I first noticed it about a week ago when the car would not start in 
the morning. The battery was completely dead. I thought I might have left 
the interior lights on over the weekend so I did not think much about it. I 
jump started the car and the battery charged up quickly. Then the other day 
it would not start again. It has gotten so that just sitting overnight 
would completely discharge the battery. I checked the alternator output and 
it seems fine.

All of the below is happening with the ignition turned off.

Yesterday, I put an amp meter in the system and found a draw of between 4 
and 5 amps (hard to tell on the gauge). I started removing fuses to see if 
I could find the circuit that caused the draw. The fuse that supplied the 
OBC, hazard warning system, trunk light, glove box light, electronic door 
locks, etc.. I think it is fuse #5... appears to be the culprit. Remove the 
fuse and the current draw drops to just above 0.

I pulled the light bulbs to see if it might be a faulty off switch in the 
glove box or trunk. No luck with anything that was easy to test. One thing 
I did notice was that when I installed/removed the fuse I would hear what 
sounded like a "click". I had someone else handle the fuse while I tried to 
isolate the noise. It appears to be coming from behind the glove box. Above 
the glove box is what I think is the Motronic unit (right?). Would that 
normally make a clicking noise when the power is connected by inserting the 
fuse?


Right now, I have pulled the fuse. The car starts and runs fine but this is 
not, obviously, optimal.

Ideas?
Suggestions?

Thanks in advance.
John

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