WHEN I PUT A VOLTMETER BETWEEN BATTERY TERMINAL AND BATTERY CABLE, HAVE ABOUT A 2 VOLT BATTERY DROP, WITH IGNITION OFF. WITH KEY ON, NO DROP. CHECKED AND SANDED GROUND ON NEG CABLE, NO CHANGE. THIS DROP HAS KILLED 2 BATTERIES SO FAR, AND DEALER IS NO HELP. DID TIP OVER IN SOME DEEP WATER, BUT STARTED RIGHT UP. CHECKED VOLTAGE ON STARTER, SOLENOID. WHEN RUNNING EVERYTHING SEEMS FINE. ONLY PROBLEM IS WHEN KEY IS IN OFF POSITION. NEED HELP.

 

What do you get when you unhook the battery cable and take an amp meter reading?

A few miliamps would be normal. If it is more than that, I'd unhook the regulator/rectifier and see if that makes it go away. I'd also check any add on accessories. Pretty much everything else should be key switched.

If you run in deep water, it would be worth while to take apart every electrical connector to clean them with some contact cleaner, blow dry, and hit them with some diaelectric grease.

Welcome to the forum.

 

Yes remove the negative battery cable and check draw with an amp meter .. But with the amp meter connected DO NOT turn on the ignition ..

 

Thanks, I checked with ampmeter, shows 0.0. Dont have any add ons, took apart a bunch of connectors, and greased them. Could a 2 volt drop be normal? If I have a bad wire shouldnt something not work?
Maybe it really was just a bad battery.

 

What year & model is it..?

 

2004 honda rubicon

 

There should be some draw for the dash on the Rubicon for the clock & memory ..

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my ammeter only has 10a setting for dc, is this too high or would it still register. it doesnt show any draw.

 

That's too high. A fraction of an amp would kill the battery pretty quickly. A cheap multi-meter will have a miliamp range...