996 Electric Drain

[DiscobayJoe]

I've got a 2002 996 cab that has been pretty low maintenance.    I'm 2nd owner and it has about 75K miles, about half of which were logged by me. 

 

With only about 6K miles per year average, It didn't suprise me 2 weeks ago when I had a weak battery (too weak to start).    I swapped it out for a new one from AutoZone, drove it twice, and now 2 weeks later the car is DOA, no power whatsoever.  

 

The only problem I'm aware of is about 10K miles ago the keyless entry quit working, so i've had to lock/unlock manually.    The power locks work from inside, just not from the remote. 

 

It was stored for the last 2 weeks in the garage with the doors locked and top down. 

 

Any idea where to begin finding the drain?    Except for the wheels and tires, it's 100% stock.

 

[Loren]

Do you have a amp meter?

If so, your troubleshooting should begin with the amp meter in series with the battery (battery positive lead -->amp meter --> positive lead from battery). Normal draw for a 996 is about 40-60 ma (no key in the ignition as that activates the airbag circuit and other things).

Once in place note the amp meter reading - remove one fuse at a time and note the change. A few miili-amps is normal anything higher suspect.

If there is little or no change replace the fuse and go on to the next one until you find the circuit with the high current draw. Once you do that report the fuse letter/number back here and we'll suggest what is next for that circuit.

 

BTW... it is normal for the door locks to stop working in as little as 5 days storage (not driven) as the alarm system shuts off non-essential (remote unlocking) features to save battery power.

[Ahsai]

If you don't have a multimeter yet, consider investing in this low DC current amp clamp that measures down to 1mA. You just clamp around the battery cable (or whatever cable you need to measure the current) without the need to disconnect anything. Perfect for measuring current draw and also useful for diagnosing general charging issues.

 

http://www.amazon.com/ESI-687-Amps-Current-Probe/dp/B000W8HD6O/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1411413914&sr=8-8&keywords=low+dc+current+amp+clamp

[DiscobayJoe]

Hey, I'm back!      My gremlin went away for awhile, but now it's back with a vengeance.      The car has been parked since the new year, so I decided to fire it up and stir the oil, etc.        The car was completely dead.   Completely.      So I took and hooked a battery up to the fuse panel jumper and door post and the alarm goes off.   Problem is that neither key in the door or ignition will stop the alarm.    The hood openers don't pop and I get nothing on the dash, just an alarm!

 

Suggestions?

Edited February 23, 2015 by DiscobayJoe

[JFP in PA]

Hey, I'm back!      My gremlin went away for awhile, but now it's back with a vengeance.      The car has been parked since the new year, so I decided to fire it up and stir the oil, etc.        The car was completely dead.   Completely.      So I took and hooked a battery up to the fuse panel jumper and door post and the alarm goes off.   Problem is that neither key in the door or ignition will stop the alarm.    The hood openers don't pop and I get nothing on the dash, just an alarm!

 

Suggestions?

 

Common response of these cars to very low battery voltages is for the alarm to sound when auxiliary power is applied.  If you have access to a battery maintainer with a lighter plug, hook it up to the car and let it run for a bit until the battery builds up enough to allow you to open the hood and pull the battery out.

[DiscobayJoe]

problem is my batterymindr won't charge as it doesn't detect any voltage (it actually says polarity reversal) and when I hook up a battery to jump it the alarm just goes off never ending.   

Edited February 27, 2015 by DiscobayJoe

[JFP in PA]

problem is my batterymindr won't charge as it doesn't detect any voltage (it actually says polarity reversal) and when I hook up a battery to jump it the alarm just goes off never ending.   

 

There is a reason for that, your dead or near dead battery is absorbing the current so fast, the alarm never sees it and goes off.  You are going to have to live with the alarm sound until the power level in the battery builds up, or resort to using the manual emergency cable to release the front hood so you can either charge up (yes, the alarm will sound unless you disconnect the battery) or replace the battery entirely.  And when you install a new battery, the alarm may sound yet again, but will respond to being reset by the remote.

[P.Viby]

Best thing always is to take the battery out and charge it somewhere warm for 24 hours to make sure it is fully charged.

[DiscobayJoe]

I left a trickle charger on it for 2 days.   After the alarm runs for 2 cycles of 3 minutes the alarm stops.      It still doesn't have enough juice to let me open the hood. 

 

Can you get to the hood manual release without destroying anything?

[JFP in PA]

I left a trickle charger on it for 2 days.   After the alarm runs for 2 cycles of 3 minutes the alarm stops.      It still doesn't have enough juice to let me open the hood. 

 

Can you get to the hood manual release without destroying anything?

 

Yes.  There should be a DIY on how to access it in the archives.  It is behind the front bumper cover  The cable is on the right hand (US driver's) side, the forward top portion. You have to pull hard on it to release the latch. The cable is exactly the one on the picture (arrow) but further aft because now the picture show the front bumper cover removed:

 

  

[gnetwerker]

I'll throw this in for good measure (all the advice about is good as well).  I had persistent battery problems on my 2004 996 C4S for about 2 years.  I bought a Battery Minder, checked for current draws, etc -- and still had problems.  In the end I left it with my favorite mechanic for about a week and he figured out that the alternator was weak, and the battery wasn't fully charging when I drove it.  He replaced that and all my problems went away.

 

Persistent under-charging will damage your battery, and I went through three in a three-year period.  This may or may not be what is going on with you.

Edited March 10, 2015 by gnetwerker

[DiscobayJoe]

Good News!   I was able to buy a cigarette lighter jump pack and it barely provided enough juice to light up the dash and let me open the hood without any dis-assembly

 

[Kim]

 

I left a trickle charger on it for 2 days.   After the alarm runs for 2 cycles of 3 minutes the alarm stops.      It still doesn't have enough juice to let me open the hood. 

 

Can you get to the hood manual release without destroying anything?

 

Yes.  There should be a DIY on how to access it in the archives.  It is behind the front bumper cover  The cable is on the right hand (US driver's) side, the forward top portion. You have to pull hard on it to release the latch. The cable is exactly the one on the picture (arrow) but further aft because now the picture show the front bumper cover removed:

 

  

 

Did they move the emergency cable for the 2002 model year? My front cable was (as shown in owner's manual) forward of the passenger side door hinge area (in effect, under the right headlight unit), in the right fender. One of the first tips I took from RennTech was to relocate the loop end so that it could be retrieved from behind the tow hook hole bumper plug. That way, I could open my hood even with the rest of the car completely locked up ... and retrieve a key I kept in the trunk.

[RFM]

The front emergency cable on 996 and 986 are on the right side of the car, for 997 and 987 on the left side of the car .