Strange battery drain / problem.
Under the Lift
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Joined: Mar 2002
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From: Buckeye, AZ
Man, is that ever the truth (learned the hard way)! Thank you for the follow-up.
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Joined: May 2007
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From: Mississippi
My battery drain problem (after 3 months of searching) turned out to be the overhead dome light between the sun visors. The plastic housing on the inside was cracked and was interfering w/ the metal tabs used to hold the bulb in place and supply electric current. The light would come on and go off perfectly fine for the most part. However, a few trips down a rough road surface was all it needed to vibrate the bulb and connections.
Then, it started throwing the fuse (which is actually when I narrowed down the light). I called Dave at 928 Specialists and he knew instantly that the overhead light was the problem. Sure enough, it was and quickly remedied.
You may have checked this already, but just throwing in my $0.02 in case it helps.
Then, it started throwing the fuse (which is actually when I narrowed down the light). I called Dave at 928 Specialists and he knew instantly that the overhead light was the problem. Sure enough, it was and quickly remedied.
You may have checked this already, but just throwing in my $0.02 in case it helps.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 171
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From: New Hampshire
I used a light tester, made it easier for a rookie like me, ended up being 2 systems, left the fuses out for now as they are not going to hurt at the moment. Fix em later. Left her for 2 weeks and started up yesterday without issue. Also cleaned all the grounds, ground strap, grounds behind the fuse box, can't hurt.
Electron Wrangler
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From: Phoenix AZ
Dan - you got lucky if you can detect a current leak with test light - not quite sure how you used it but this is not usually a good method. Test lights can be useful for testing voltage levels (though rather intrusively) - but usually not for current conditions (they change the circuit behaviour quite radically if you use them in series this way).
For $20 (radio shack) you can get a DMM that will make the process much easier - I wouldn't start without one... But if it worked for you - good!
I actually have 6 multimeters 2 old analog ones, 2 DMM's and 2 clamp meters each has its uses and one of the analog ones is a dinky little minature thing I keep in my travelling kit - no batteries to worry about (just in case).
Alan
For $20 (radio shack) you can get a DMM that will make the process much easier - I wouldn't start without one... But if it worked for you - good!
I actually have 6 multimeters 2 old analog ones, 2 DMM's and 2 clamp meters each has its uses and one of the analog ones is a dinky little minature thing I keep in my travelling kit - no batteries to worry about (just in case).
Alan
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From: Phoenix AZ
Bert its really not clear to me what problem you actually have..?
Its obvious you have an issue that the trickle charger/maintainer doesn't work correctly and tells you you have a faulty battery.
I understand you don't drive the car often and thats why you got the maintainer - however if the car holds charge for 3-4 weeks (sufficient to start the car OK) and then is getting close to the edge - thats not so odd - it may well be considered fairly normal. If the car totally discharges in 2 weeks you probably have a problem.
Here is some math: Battery is 75Ah, you'd never want to discharge to more than 50% so you have 37.5Ah to play with. If the car has a parasitic current of 50mA (a little high but not too bad) then in a week (168h) you deplete ~8.4Ah so you will deplete half the battery charge in ~4.5 weeks.
Maybe you don't have a real problem with the car - just the battery charging? (of course you also have the problem that you don't drive it often enough!)
Alan
Its obvious you have an issue that the trickle charger/maintainer doesn't work correctly and tells you you have a faulty battery.
I understand you don't drive the car often and thats why you got the maintainer - however if the car holds charge for 3-4 weeks (sufficient to start the car OK) and then is getting close to the edge - thats not so odd - it may well be considered fairly normal. If the car totally discharges in 2 weeks you probably have a problem.
Here is some math: Battery is 75Ah, you'd never want to discharge to more than 50% so you have 37.5Ah to play with. If the car has a parasitic current of 50mA (a little high but not too bad) then in a week (168h) you deplete ~8.4Ah so you will deplete half the battery charge in ~4.5 weeks.
Maybe you don't have a real problem with the car - just the battery charging? (of course you also have the problem that you don't drive it often enough!)
Alan
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2004
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From: Staffordshire United Kingdom
You're absolutely right about not driving it enough! I'm ashamed of myself sometimes when look at the shark for not using it enough.
Back on topic, the battery will be dead flat in around 2 weeks - ruined my last one as the voltage dropped to 0.8v! Hence buying the battery maintainer to try and save my battery from complete discharge. I do definately have a problem with drain and fully intend to isolate it. I've just been after a short term fix as i'm fed up with jumping in the car and getting nothing so much as a click when i turn the key.
