Andre

Ok my car has been sitting for about 3 weeks and the battery was completely drained. Didn't think too much of it because it sat so long but i jumped it and took it for a ride. got back turned car off 10 min later wouldn't start. Battery is brand new and car runs fine when its on. Something is either draining a lot of power or maybe something is loose?i know this is a very vague topic because it could be a lot of things but any "this happens a lot" ideas?

thanks

Sam Lin

Check the battery connections, then get your battery load tested by an auto parts store (usually free). Lead acid batteries can easily fail overnight, even when new.

Sam

Andre

i checked the connections and everything already. I am skeptical that it is the battery because it is litterelly 3 weeks old, i got it right before i sat the car. But i guess it doesn't hurt to check again. Could a bad starter cause a leak in battery power?i say leak but that is also unlikely isn't it?because i was in the house for 10 min maybe 20 at the most, after a 15 minute right, could the battery uncharge that fast from a leak?

Bri Bro

One bad cell would do it. Take Sams advice, go to your local Autozone and they will test your battery and charging system for free.

MitchB

You may have two issues -
1. Something is draining your battery. If it was new, and you're sure it was fully charged, somethings puliing power.
2. My experience is, if your battery completely drains (like when you've got a short, or something is left on) completely, it's done. You can jump it and drive it, but it won't hold a charge.

IceShark

I'd also suspect the battery. New doesn't mean it is still good. To drain a fully charged stock capacity battery down in 10 to 20 minutes would mean you have a few hundred amp draw on it. Other than the main starter cable and the run to the alternator there aren't any wires large enough to take that sort of load without melting in half. And I'm not so sure the alternator cable could take a load like that without at least making the insulation pretty soft and gooey. In other words your nose would tell you that something was haywire.

As Mitch noted, bad things happen when you draw a lead acid battery too low - like sulfiding the plates. There are recharging schemes to try and recover the battery back to more or less normal but they don't always work the greatest.

Since the battery is only 3 weeks old it should be under 100% replacement so take it back to whomever sold it to you and let them test and give you a new replacement.

Andre

since you mention the starter, i have had some problems with my starter. I had a couple lieing around and i changed mine for one that was around...i dont know if you guys have had this problem but the little connection on the cylinoid was loose, not the wire but the actual connection was a little messed up. I tried to solder it as best i could...didn't work too well because of the large surface but anyways...could a bad starter without a visible short cause a huge drain like this? or could it even cause a small drain?because it is possible the battery went bad after a small drain over the 3 weeks because after i changed the battery i drove the car fine for a couple days and it defenetly didn't drain that bad.

Got Me a Porsha

Also, one of the tidbits of info that stuck with me from ASE automotive electrical class was that the automotive electrical system is designed as a battery maintainer, rather than a battery charger. A completely dead battery is very hard on (and possibly damaging) the electrical system. We have all successfully charged a battery while driving, but nothing beats a nice slow trickle charge. Unless it's an Optima battery...different story.

If the diodes fail in the alternator, it will act as an electric motor, and will drain a battery quickly. It will also get hot while sitting off.

special tool

Dude - the most important question is how long of a "ride" you took - not how long it sat before you tried to start it again.

Andre

it was about a 15 minute ride, i posted that above. I figured that should have been enough time for the battery to be charged enough to start the car again....

special tool

Dude, it is 20 degrees at my house and I am SOUTH of you. 15 minutes isn't even long enough to thaw out a battery. PUT A CHARGER ON IT.
And I have to say, you may be a knucklehead. I say this only because I too, am a knucklehead - and I can reckognise my brethren at GREAT distances.

Ian Carr

It probley is your battery like every one has said take it to a local auto store and they will test it for free.

OT: Special tool- Its actualy 8* here (im only 10 minutes north of you) haha..~burrr~

Andre

ok well if thats the case then somethign still had to drain the battery while the car was sitting

dme

There is an easy way to tell if something is draining your battery. You need a multimeter that can measure current. Disconnect the negative terminal from the battery. Put the positive lead of the meter on the cable and the negative lead on the negative terminal of the battery. You should get a reading of how much current is draining from the battery. Of course you are doing this with the car turned off and the key out of the switch. Now if you want to track where the current is going then start removing fuses or vampire connections from the positive terminal and watch for changes on the meter.

hosrom_951

Sorry to jump in, but do you have an aftermarket alarm system installed?