FLYT993

wondering if the board can recommend a shop in the LA/SoCal area to troubleshoot a battery that dies within a day or two. Already researched the issue here, cycled the door locks, windows, check dome lights, hood, engine lid...and even had Robin pull the CCU and the battery still drains to zero within a day. i'm tired of disconnecting the negative cable every time i take her out and put her away. can anyone recommend a good shop (relatively close to Pasadena) that won't charge $150/hr for 6 hours of troubleshooting before the eff'ing culprit is located ? thanks in advance.

IXLR8

Anybody that knows what they are doing should be able to pinpoint the issue within fifteen minutes, that is if they know how to trouble shoot instead of replace parts till the problem goes away.

mongrelcat

I had a situation like this and the shop (reknown in the area) found it very quickly, but they also commented that in some cases a resolution for such issues could take hours or even days of troubleshooting.

FLYT993

well said, my sentiments exactly. hopefully someone relatively local can chime in with a "rennlist" referral, those are worth their weight in gold.

shadow993

Ok ...just an idea. Mine will drain if I have the dome light in anything, but off.

If it is on the door...it will not be on, but will drain my battery.

Just a thought.

keithgreer

Which part of So Cal do you live? There are a few down in Orange County.

FLYT993

keith, OC is close, i live in the inland empire. thanks.

keithgreer

I live in Laguna Beach. I work with an Indy named Frank's Motor Cars. Their hourly rate is much more reasonable. They have a Porsche expert there that was at Newport Porsche for a long time. I bet they could diagnose it. You might call Dario (the manager) and mention my name (Keith Greer) and talk to him on the phone about it before you drive out. His number is 949-494-9420.

FLYT993

keith, thanks for the help i have to quote chris w. here... "is this a great place or what?"

AOW162435

What is your alternator's output?


Andreas

mike cap

Dan,

If I remember correctly from my testing the current draw for a static car is about 60 ma. That was with all dome, engine and trunk lights off, ignition off and Driveblock set. Just as if you were parking the car locked up in your driveway.

If you can test this yourself and are in the ballpark for current draw, you may want to look at the battery or alternator as Andreas suggested. Your post didn't say if you have already eliminated these possibilities.

If you've got a fully charged and healthy battery that is a lot of current draw to go dead in a day or two. But if you've got Robin on the job you've probably eliminated the battery and alternator - no one knows more about the 993.

FLYT993

andreas, it checks above 13.5V (my meter isn't that sophisticated, it shows the values in "ranges") after i shut it down. 6-8 hours later the meter shows 7.5V and flashes a yellow" indicator saying it's low. exasperating...thanks!

FLYT993

mike, the battery and the alternator were the first things i eliminated. i installed a new battery and it was drained of all life the next day, which clued me into that fact that i have something more ominous going on. i had the alternator checked too and it's fine. and that is where the battle began...in terms of me cycling door locks, windows, hood and engine lid lights, i pulled the fuse for the dome lights to eliminate them. moreover, i thought for sure it was the CCU based on other RL member's comments; robin helped me remove it, and i was going to send out, but just wanted to verify that IT was the demon i've been searching for. no luck. it's sitting on my back seat and the battery is still cycling to zero in less than two days. the car used to be able to sit at least a week before it would die...so the last couple of months have been exasperating.

i'm not a DIY, neither the knowledge nor the tools, so i'm trying to leverage the collective (immense) wisdom and good will of our 993 community. thanks for your help.

--dan

techman1

Strange thought:
Never considered a thermal scanner. After the car has been sitting, draining the battery, do you think one of those thermal scanners (the fancy one with the imaging) would show a warm spot?

Another thought is use the cheap harbor freight IR scanner, and see if you could find any fuses or relays warmer than the others? It is pretty sensitive, and that big a drain should show up warm.

IXLR8

Get yourself a digital multimeter and be done with the guessing. You can get this one at Walmart for $12. I keep one in my roadside repair kit.



Dan, find a local RLer that knows what they are doing. They can do some simple tests in a matter of minutes.

Although unlikely, just because you installed a new battery does not mean it can't be a dud. With the engine running, your battery voltage should be 14.0 to 14.4V, provided the battery is health and fully charged. An on-board voltmeter is a handy device.