Dead Battery

[stsanford]

I have replaced my battery but it seems to die after 5 days or so of being parked.

I just charged it back up, but this time I looked and removed all the "extra" electronics that are on the car from previous owners (Phazer, K-40, some other crap I don't recognize, etc...)

Could there be a LoJack on the car that I'm not aware of or something else taking a draw?

The Amp Meter reads between 13 and 14 volts when the car's running, so I think the alternator is okay...

Thanks in advance!

Scott

[Loren]

Draw should be 30-40 ma. If it is more then you will have to start pulling fuses until you find the circuit with the draw.

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...indpost&p=36570

[emty]

mine dies after a week or so and its getting irritating. i did some searching and found this today: griot's

worth a try at $70.00

[djantlive]

just get a battery tender

[stsanford]

Thanks for the replies...

just get a battery tender

I have a trickle charger, was more or less wondering how off the mark it is to have a battery die after 5 days of sitting. This is with the alarm off, just seems like something is afoot.

[Long Islander]

How old is your battery? Mine is just two years old and it wouldn't start the car (but not completely dead) after I left it sitting in the garage for 3 weeks.

[87turbolook911]

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=7399

I have replaced my battery but it seems to die after 5 days or so of being parked.

I just charged it back up, but this time I looked and removed all the "extra" electronics that are on the car from previous owners (Phazer, K-40, some other crap I don't recognize, etc...)

Could there be a LoJack on the car that I'm not aware of or something else taking a draw?

The Amp Meter reads between 13 and 14 volts when the car's running, so I think the alternator is okay...

Thanks in advance!

Scott

[Hroussard]

Emty, I assume that when this gizmo disconnects the battery for you it will also disconnect the radio and you will need to reset the radio every time. SOmething to be aware off.

HarryR

[wwest]

My 99 C2 would do that and now my 2001 C4 will also. The only answer seems to be a trickle charger for when the car is parked for extended periods.

[1999Porsche911]

I just weet out to the unheated garage, where my 99 C2 has been sitting since December 2nd and she started right up. You should not have any problems letting the car sit for up to 6 weeks or more without a battery maintainer. Either you are leaving the key in the ignition or an accessory on, you have a drain somewhere, or a bad battery. I have never had any problems letting my car sit, and I use a $48 Sam's Club battery.

[Izzy]

Glad to see I am not the only one that doesn't seem to have that problem. My 99 C2 can be sitting at the airport for a week, or at home when we are out for vacation for 10 days, and no problems starting at all. I would suggest that there may be some leakage to ground somewhere that is drawing from the battery, or bad contacts somewhere for the alarm system? The old trick of removing the fuses and seeing where the bad circuit is can be handy.

For a potential quick-fix, try this:

Our Honda Odyssey on the other hand, would go dead after a couple of days (even when new), nearly a few hundred mamps draw when locked (common according to the dealer). Fixed that after enough dealer "that's the way it is" with a $50 new battery. BUT I change the CCA (cold cranking amps) from the stock 480 to 1000. The new battery box is the same, just a more powerful battery. Problem solved, never went dead again

[stsanford]

Thanks for the helpful advice.

This battery is not even a month old, and as I remember, I upgraded the cranking rating. Sounds like I've got some sort of drain here. Will try the fuse trick.

Could it be the Harmon Kardon NAV system that I replaced the CDR220 with? (I'm thinking maybe I have mis-wired the power for the amp and now the amp is staying on all the time.

I don't have a volt meter, but I think I may invest in one.

Thanks again.

[wwest]

As a general rule the amp is direct wired to the battery, but fused. There should be a "signal" wire from the head unit that tells the AMP when to be "on-line", internal power relay pickup.

[stsanford]

Okay, so I got myself a Voltmeter.

Connected the positive lead and negative leads to the battery, but I didn't disconnect it from the car.

Car was sitting but the trunk light was on.

Reading on 10A setting is .01 (isn't that 10 miliamps?)

Should be fine right?

Got the Griot's battery disconnect. Great little device. Still disconnects the battery ever 3 days or so.

If I drive the car for 5-10 min and turn it off, starts right away, so I know the Alternator is fine.

Any other ideas?

[Scouser]

amps (current) must be measured in series with the circuit not in parallel with it. You cant measure the current by placing a meter across the battery. You must disconnect the battery and place the battery connection "thru" the meter and then onto where the battery terminal connects.

car electrical circuit_____| -ve bat +ve|_____-ve meter +ve____car electrical circiut

[wingless]

Why not just quantify the state of charge and the available cranking amperes with this tool that performs a fast, safe, easy and accurate measurement.

The old days of putting a large load onto a battery are, or should be, long gone. Now, with this tool, the battery characteristics are quantified.

[Tool Pants]

You need to measure current draw the way Berny said, and with a multi-tester set on amps. You cannot set the tester on amps and have a correct reading by touching the probes to the positive and negative terminals. Otherwise you are reading volts, and the gauge on your dash is a volt, not amp, meter.

I have bought new batteries that would not hold a charge, after just a day, and after they were fully charged. They turned out to be defective when I took them back for a load test. Learned my lesson and now when I buy a replacement battery I have it load tested before I leave the store. Costco is the exception because they do not have a tester. Yes, you can buy a brand new defective battery.

I know you had the same problem with the prior battery, and it does not make sense to have the same problem with a new battery. But it only takes a few minutes to go to any parts place to rule out the battery itself as the problem. If the battery test fine then something is drawing the current, so you go to the next step. BTY I think LoJack has it's own battery.

[stsanford]

Thanks ToolPants.

Will try again today. With the Griot's battery protector, I've got to disconnect a couple of things here, but will give it a tray agin.

[Long Islander]

mine dies after a week or so and its getting irritating. i did some searching and found this today: griot's

worth a try at $70.00

Forget that stupid thing. I bought a similar device and then returned it. The problem is anytime your battery drops to below 12V, it disconnects the electrical system, which means you have to press this button (mine came with a small remote) to start the car. Turns out , the voltage can very easily drop to below 12V, so this happens a lot. With me, it would happen when I programmed my automatic interior fan to circulate on my BMW on hot days. My solution was to get rid of this device and just stop using the automatic blower. In your case, you may just need to buy a new battery or find the source of your battery drain. Your battery shouldn't go dead after just 5 days -- 3-4 weeks maybe, but not 5 days.

[stsanford]

This has been a real pain in the arse to deal with. Car dies every 2-3 days. I just removed all the add-ons I've put in. Spoiler switch, disconnected the rest of the junk the prev. owner had in there.

I have a feeling it might be the Becker NAV system, so I pulled Fuses D8 and 9. See how it goes. If that's the deal, it may be that I didn't wire up the trip for the amp. I read up on the becker boards, but maybe it's just constantly on, I'm not sure now...

I bought the volt meter, but it reads 0.01 no matter what I put it on. 12V, 9V battery, 1.5 Volt. I'm going to send it back. Have a sneaking suspicion that I'm going to have to get fleeced at the dealership.

Strange, once charged, it starts and drives well. Stop it for a day or so and it still starts right up. VoltMeter reads 14 Volts.

Thanks again for your help,

[stsanford]

Okay,

Made a little progress.

Disconnected the D8 & 9 Fuses. Didn't charge the car yesterday, started and drove it today. Seems fine. I'm going to leave them disconnected from the fusepanel.

If it is the Harmon Kardon / Becker Traffic Pro. What could I have done that would cause such a rapid drain? I know I had to jumper a connector to send the signal to the amp to turn on, maybe it's not 100% right?

Does anyone have experience with this?

Thanks again,

Scott

[emty]

Emty, I assume that when this gizmo disconnects the battery for you it will also disconnect the radio and you will need to reset the radio every time. SOmething to be aware off.

HarryR

good point.