Buck531 Posted December 24, 2011 Report Share Posted December 24, 2011 Ok so last Saturday my son goes to start his car. Battery dead. I jumped it and it was fine until Tuesday/Wed. Then the battery died again. Nothing was left on that we could see. We got the car back in mid September from Anthonys Dad. It's been a great car for him too. We took the battery yesterday to Interstate where we got the battery and there were ZERO cranking volts. Funny though, it started perfectly fine 8 hours before this. I took off the alternator to Autozone (that place sucks ass btw) and it tested fine. While the car is running it's getting 14.5 volts so it's not over charging. Spoke to Sigman and he suggested to get a test light and put it between the battery and the terminal. Did that and pulled every fuse we could fine. Light is still on. Also unplugged the alternator plug to see if that was it. Nope. The voltage on his gauge in the car is reading 17 (almost at the red part of 18 but not quite there yet). A few weeks ago it was normal in the middle around 14-15 volts. I did tighten up a ground that seemed to be loose. Not sure what else to check. I hate electrical problems. If anyone has any other ideas I can try that would be great. It's odd though. The day after I jumped it, it ran fine for 3-4 days and then no issue. Then crapped out again. My son swears he doesn't leave anything on in the car. Lights, etc. It does have an aftermarket alarm though that I'm debating in the culprit. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted December 24, 2011 Report Share Posted December 24, 2011 Just because a battery can start a car doesn't mean it has any amperage in reserve. Most people testing batteries are using a tester that estimates its cranking Amps, not something that is capable of putting any actual load on the battery to give you a real number. I'll bet the battery is bad for starters. Testing with a test light between the ground and terminal isn't very acurate, use a multi-meter to see just how much draw there really is. Then I'd also use the multi-meter to see how much voltage you really have when the gauge is reading high. This what GM says about current draw; 18. Note the battery reserve capacity. Refer to Battery Usage . • Divide the reserve capacity by 4. • Compare this to the multimeter milliampere reading taken in the previous step. • The parasitic current drain should not exceed this number. • Example: If a battery has a reserve capacity of 100 minutes, the current drain should not exceed 25 mA. Most GM cars have batteries rated at 115 minutes, so that leaves the door open to a number big enough to keep a test light on. Also make sure you are testing after the vehicle has sat for a few minutes to make sure everything has powered down. Personally I don't want to see a car draw more then 8-10mA. I bet you replace the battery and its fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted December 24, 2011 Report Share Posted December 24, 2011 +1 for what Scotty Said. Also, with bad / failing cell(s) it's not uncommon to see the voltage running higher than usual. Battery's that temporarily "seem" or test okay but have bad cells will drive a regulator crazy. Replace the battery, stat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck531 Posted December 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2011 We JUST replaced the battery two days ago. What happened a few minutes ago with a new battery? Battery is dead. Now I have to jump it and it'll work for a few more days until I figured this out. It worked fine last night when we came home from bowling and he ran out to get a few things at Giant Eagle. 12 hours later, it's dead again. So.. it's not the battery. any other ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patterson Posted December 24, 2011 Report Share Posted December 24, 2011 Swap the alternator. I had a Mazda B2200 that would kill the battery when it sat for more than a day or two. While it ran it would charge, but one it was shut off it would show a draw. Swapped the alternator, and it fixed it. You may want to check to see if a trunk light or something is staying on when it should be off. That's a big one for VW's and older Audis. Notch the switch, and then it's all good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck531 Posted December 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2011 Swap the alternator. I had a Mazda B2200 that would kill the battery when it sat for more than a day or two. While it ran it would charge, but one it was shut off it would show a draw. Swapped the alternator, and it fixed it. You may want to check to see if a trunk light or something is staying on when it should be off. That's a big one for VW's and older Audis. Notch the switch, and then it's all good. The alternator has a lifetime warranty through Autozone. I had it tested there the other day and it tested fine. My son (nor I) want to drop $100 on a part that may or may not fix the issue since we can't return it. I'll unplug the lights for the hood light and the trunk and see what happens. Anyone think the aftermarket car alarm would cause this? There is the red light on the dash to note it's on but I doubt it has much draw on it. (enough to drain a battery in 8 hours.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinisterSS Posted December 24, 2011 Report Share Posted December 24, 2011 only thing i saw in this whole thread was AutoZone alternator, but like Scott said get a DMM and check by using mA to see how much of a draw there really is, then unplug the things you think it might be, don't count out the audio unit either factory or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Bastard Posted December 25, 2011 Report Share Posted December 25, 2011 if your concerned its the alarm then pull the fuse for it, it is a possibility if it was not professionally installed (who are we kidding, just if it were improperly installed as we know even pros mess up sometimes lol) that a wire came loose somewhere or something and is just shorting enough to drain the battery or something along those lines. anywho pulling the fuse for the alarm should eliminate that possibility Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck531 Posted December 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2011 I haven't messed with it lately as Christmas and Eve and such. I think I'm going to play around with it tomorrow. One thing that I googled and it said that one person had the starter solenoid was going bad and draining the battery. That got me thinking. His ignition for the key has been sticking when he goes to start it. Like when you go to start the car and it would spring back to ON.. sometimes it'll stick and stay on "start". Quickly pull it back and it's fine. I wonder if it's just stuck a tad forward that it will engage something to keep the solenoid going. I don't know. I'm grasping at straws. Yes I have read what everyone else has posted above but haven't done anything with the car yet as we've been busy and now it's just too fucking cold outside. I'm just trying to get as many ideas as possible to figure this out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck531 Posted December 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Ok.. got a chance to mess with it today. Mike (302 powered) yanked out the alarm. It's still reading 14.x volts on the battery with the positive cable disconnected and multi-meter in between the terminal and the battery. Took off every single fuse, relay everything and it's still reading the same. I did a google search the other day and there was something said about a solenoid being bad on the starter. Possible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Ok.. got a chance to mess with it today. Mike (302 powered) yanked out the alarm. It's still reading 14.x volts on the battery with the positive cable disconnected and multi-meter in between the terminal and the battery. Took off every single fuse, relay everything and it's still reading the same. I did a google search the other day and there was something said about a solenoid being bad on the starter. Possible? What kind of test is that? You should've pulled the negative cable and set the meter on amps to check the draw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck531 Posted December 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 I was told it didn't matter if it were the negative connection or the positive. I'm terrible with troubleshooting electrical issues. That and I hate chasing them down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 I was told it didn't matter if it were the negative connection or the positive. I'm terrible with troubleshooting electrical issues. That and I hate chasing them down. Well you will want to clamp the leads of the meter to the ground and the battery terminal some how, because you'll need to let the car sit for a few minutes with nothing on in order to start testing. That'll make sure everything is powered down, make sure it's set on Amps and then you can pull fuses. If the car is already below .010 of an amp, don't waste any more of your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.