[Spidermonkey]

I seem to have a battery drain that will render the car un drivable within 4-5 days.
I have just put a multi meter from the negative lead to the battery but as soon as I do this I can hear the pump prime and I can see a draw of 5-6 amps.
How do I stop the pump priming?
Do I need to remove a fuse?
Also should I be removing fuses for the interior lights etc before testing.

 

[E-R53]

Does the pump prime even if the engine is off & the key out?

It shouldn't.

You may have found the issue if it does, try removing the relay, it could be stuck on.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

A parasitic drain of 5 to 6 amps is a lot! That'll drain the battery in hours. 30 milliamps is acceptable.
The pulling fuse method can wake up some control units, best to measure the voltage drop across the fuses.
Found this, easier than explaining

Testing for Parasitic Draw with a Multimeter | Test Meter Pro

As long as you have a multimeter and a bit of savvy, you don’t need to be a professional to check for parasitic draw. See this basic step by step process...

testmeterpro.com

Also check the alternator, a diode may have gone south.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Sent from my SM-A202F using Tapatalk

 

[E-R53]

best to measure the voltage drop across the fuses.

In reality that doesn't work very well as a mode of testing as a fuse is just 1/2 an inch of wire so volt drop across a fuse (even when it has a large current going through it) will be very small, certainly not enough to measure a small/medium drain.

Better to check current in the circuit/through the fuse.

 

[Spidermonkey]

Does the pump prime even if the engine is off & the key out?

It shouldn't.

You may have found the issue if it does, try removing the relay, it could be stuck on.

No key in the ignition but the front door was open

 

[E-R53]

Shouldn't be priming in that case, find which relay it is & swap it for a known good one.

 

[AstroCooper]

Relay for fuel pump K96

Relay for fuel pump K96 | Mini MINI R53 Cooper S W11 Europe

minifans.info