Help battery problem

[stefos]

have a new battery only 2 weeks old, and my chrome plated tuff stuff alternator has about 5000 kms on it! Problem is I can drive the car all day round, with radio on, air, start up all the time, even the next day too but If I let the car sit for more than 3 days the battery goes dead when i jump it, there are no lights interior being left on, no aftermarket electrical things (lights,amps,etc)that have been added on in the last 2years except the alternator, I barely drive the car, in the last two years just 5000kms were put on it and that was the alternator, Something is causing a drain on my vehicle any idea before I take it to a shop? any help would be appreciated and thankyou for any help too

[00ls-1]

the glove box light may be on but cant see it...
it could be going through the ground on something no tellin what though...
disconnect the ground on your altrnator and let it sit for the same ammount of time it could b going throuogh the alternator

[pajeff02]

Any aftermarket accessories that could be drawing power? Amps or stereo equipment? Absent that the easiest thing to do is either connect a meter or a test light between the postive battery post and the cable (with the cable disconnected from the battery). The meter will show your draw as will the test light (the brighter the light the greater the draw).

Obviously, there are some things that draw power all the time, like the clock, however it should be only a very small amount. Once you are hooked up and have a reading, you can disconnect the alternator to see if the draw changes. If that is not it, then start pulling fuses one by one and watch what effect it has. When the meter drops or the light dims substantially you probably have found the offending circuit. That's the one you need to further inspect for a problem.

[sjsingle1]

pull the alt and have it tested???

[Too Fast]

Any aftermarket accessories that could be drawing power? Amps or stereo equipment? Absent that the easiest thing to do is either connect a meter or a test light between the postive battery post and the cable (with the cable disconnected from the battery). The meter will show your draw as will the test light (the brighter the light the greater the draw).

Obviously, there are some things that draw power all the time, like the clock, however it should be only a very small amount. Once you are hooked up and have a reading, you can disconnect the alternator to see if the draw changes. If that is not it, then start pulling fuses one by one and watch what effect it has. When the meter drops or the light dims substantially you probably have found the offending circuit. That's the one you need to further inspect for a problem.

This is a great beginning to try to find what can be a real tough thing to locate, if you have an actual electrical draw. There should be no more than a 50 milliamp draw, preferably under 20.

[JayTA98]

yeah make sure that all the accesories are turning off. if you have amps make that they turn off. i had a friend that the wired the remote cable to
12v direct power.

[00ls-1]

I've done a remote cable that way also in a chevy truck battery lasted 2 days if I didn't drive it everyday

[SMWS6TA]

Do you have an aftermarket amp for stereo?

List some of your after market stuff you've installed since the problem has started. If you wire a radio or amp wrong it will drain an kill the battery.

[blackcar]

I know this is an old thread, but I'm having a similar problem. When you put the multimeter on the positive side are you reading volts or amps?

Over a week ago I went to start my car and just got a click. Didn't have time to mess with it before work so I took the truck. Came back that evening and still wouldn't start. Pulled the cables off and cleaned them even though they were not very dirty. Checked the water in battery and it was a little low. Filled it back up with distilled water.

I hooked my battery charger up and put it on the 35 amp setting and was able to start the car right up. Pulled it in the garage and hooked the charger up and put on the 2 amp setting and let charge overnight. Started fine the next morning. Took and got the battery tested and it tested out good. Been driving it for over week without an issue. But there have been a couple of times it set for 48 hours with out being started.

I drove it Monday but did not drive Tuesday. Got in it this morning and same thing just a click.

[SMWS6TA]

First thing I would check is the battery and Alternator. Eliminate those first. Next I'd check all the grounds. other than that chasing electrical gremlins is a major bitch. Good luck finding it.

[pajeff02]

Mine also has a draw, but I can go about a week or two and be fine. You disconnect the negative cable and connect a DVOM from the terminal to the cable. You then set the meter to read milliamps and if all is good it should be no more than a 40 milliamp draw with around 25 being preferable. Our car cycles the CD changer when you power up, so may be a good idea to pull that fuse when you start testing things as that is going to give a temporary false high (unless it then continues to draw juice).

[blackcar]

I had the battery checked a little over a week ago when it did this the first time. It checked good, but won't hurt to check it again. The voltmeter in the car shows the alternator is working. I'm thinking it pretty much has to be a draw or bad spot in the starter. If it was a bad spot on the starter would it still start with the battery charger set on 35 amps?

[pajeff02]

If it was a bad spot, the amount of amperage really shouldn't matter.

[Too Fast]

^^^I agree with Jeff. If it is a bad spot on the the starter, the amperage one selects on the charger won't matter. A bad spot means no current flow, usually makes no difference with a starter like that. Most of the time you can hit the suspect starter with a hammer to be sure it's the problem, while someone holds the ignition in the 'crank' position

[blackcar]

ok.

Never dealt much with starters other than just changing them out. I didn't know if the "dead spot" was just a corroded section that with a little more juice would work.

Sounds like I must have a draw some where. But I haven't changed anything in awhile. I'll have to get on it this weekend and try to figure it out.

I'm going to also check the battery again. With it being a little low on water the other day it may have a issue going on. Even thought it checked good after filling it back up and charging over night.

[0rion]

how old is your battery? Running them low on water can be a death sentence for an older battery. It may take a charge but won't hold it or won't have the balls to start the car. Check the volts on the battery prior to starting and see where the volts are sitting before you try to start it. Also....just to rule out the alternator not putting a good charge on it get the car started and check volts across the battery....should be ~14.4 volts.
I went through something similar to this with my truck a month or two ago. Batteries ran dead from leaving the key on with the headlights on (it was late in the afternoon and the cab was in the shade which made the lights come one). Batteries never were the same after that. They would take a charge and start the truck but if I left the radio on or something like that it didn't take much to run them dead. They were the original batteries from 06 so they were due.

[blackcar]

Thanks 0rion. I got the car in Dec of '10 and this is the battery that was in it. So it is at least 4 years old but more than likely older than that. That is the reason my first thought was bad battery. It checked good at Autozone a few weeks ago. But I am going to check it again.

[0rion]

it should have a code on it somewhere that'll tell you the age of the battery. Depending on the manufacturer it could be a sticker somewhere on the side with a month/year or it could be a cryptic type code like GM uses that uses the alphabet and numbers to determine the month and year. Just have to look them up.

[blackcar]

If I remember right it is a Duralast.

[35th-ANV-SS]

i had a friend that the wired the remote cable to 12v direct power.

This made me laugh.