My battery won't stay charged and I can't figure out what is draining it. I had my altenator tested and it works. Is it possible that my starter is causing this?? Please help me figure the problem out.
a bad starter shouldnt cause the battery to drain. Sounds like you might have a light or something staying on. How long does it take for the battery to get drained.
It could be various things. What you can do is pull fuses or disconnect things one at a time and watch a volt meter to see what's causing it to drain. Have you checked the battery yet? It's obvious, but I just want to make sure you're not overlooking that.
Arsonist wrote:I have a brand new battery and I have checked all of the fuses.
I just want to make sure you know what I meant... it's not exactly checking fuses to see if they're bad, so I just want to clarify. Find a way to disconnect each electrical thing on the car that can be draining. An easy way to start is to pull a fuse, check the volt meter. If the volts still drop, put it back & pull another, check the volt meter. If at any point you pull a fuse and see that the volts are NOT dropping, you know what's pulling your power. Just find a way to disconnect each electrical thing one at a time until you find what's pulling. I assume if the battery drains that fast, you can literally watch the numbers on the volt meter drop, so when you cut the drain it should be evident that you've found it.
If you already knew that, I appoligize for going into explanation.
stargrrrl wrote:Arsonist wrote:I have a brand new battery and I have checked all of the fuses.
I just want to make sure you know what I meant... it's not exactly checking fuses to see if they're bad, so I just want to clarify. Find a way to disconnect each electrical thing on the car that can be draining. An easy way to start is to pull a fuse, check the volt meter. If the volts still drop, put it back & pull another, check the volt meter. If at any point you pull a fuse and see that the volts are NOT dropping, you know what's pulling your power. Just find a way to disconnect each electrical thing one at a time until you find what's pulling. I assume if the battery drains that fast, you can literally watch the numbers on the volt meter drop, so when you cut the drain it should be evident that you've found it.
If you already knew that, I appoligize for going into explanation.
Good start !!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are looking for somethimg that is drawing current. A Current draw will drain your battery.
I would check to be sure your battery cables are not grounding out on any metal. This is often referred to as "circuit is going to ground", which will kill ur battery. 10 mins is a quick time for the battery to die.
Ryan1
If you're staying charged, you found the drain. Just try one at a time so that you can identify which accessory caused the problem. Good luck.
When did this problem start ? Was it after you installed some aftermarket accessory?
I would do this....I would check the connections where you took power from for the accessories. maybe you have a wire that is rubbing on the casing and causing metal on metal contact. However after just saying that, your fuse would blow and you said they are ok.
could be a ground problem? could be anything really.
let us know what notice, and we'll try to help u.
Ryan1
well I is it draining after you got the car running......I had a similar problem and it turned out to be a bad main battery ground!!!! it would take a charge (kind of) but not fully....cleaned the stock ground connection to the bare metal and reconnected the ground, sealed it with the liquid electrical tape and been running like a million bucks since.........AFTER I went throught the freaking electrical system...new batt. alt, traced all wiring but never checked the ground!!!!
Its all about the pain...The Jewelry and Ink are just souvinirs
^^^^^^ lil blue rocket
but Arsonist is losing enough current to kill the battery in 10 MINUTES!
That's a major short-I checked the specs on my battery and it's reserve capacity is 160 minutes--that's 160 minutes @ 25 amps before the battery is down to 10.5 volts.(a 93 2.2Cav)
I think you should, after making sure headlights etc are turned OFF:-
1. Disconnect the POSITIVE battery cable
2. Disconnect the main BATT cable (Usually a big RED one) at the Alternator.
(This is to isolate the alternator as it is still possible to be causing a short when stopped, EVEN when giving the correct output whilst running)
3. Recharge the battery so there is something in there for the tests.
4.Connect light bulb/lamp (STOP lamp size) between the Battery positive terminal and the Battery Positive cable--the lamp should light because you have the drain somewhere in the system.
If the lamp does not light with good connections the fault is in the ALTERNATOR
5. Pull out fuses and disconnect things until the light goes out or gets very dim
6. When it's dim disconnect the bulb and put the multimeter in it's place, set at the highest DC AMPS scale to measure the current still draining. I would guess it would be 0.25 Amps or less but I will try to find out and post back.
NOTE The reason for using a lamp in the first instance is you have a major drain and it would be too large to measure with a normally priced Multimeter. expensive ones esp with ammeter shunts will measure large amperages but the lamp idea works fine.
Hope this helps
Alont
alont wrote:
1. Disconnect the POSITIVE battery cable
2. Disconnect the main BATT cable (Usually a big RED one) at the Alternator.
(This is to isolate the alternator as it is still possible to be causing a short when stopped, EVEN when giving the correct output whilst running)
4.Connect light bulb/lamp (STOP lamp size) between the Battery positive terminal and the Battery Positive cable--the lamp should light because you have the drain somewhere in the system.
If the lamp does not light with good connections the fault is in the ALTERNATOR
5. Pull out fuses and disconnect things until the light goes out or gets very dim
6. When it's dim disconnect the bulb and put the multimeter in it's place, set at the highest DC AMPS scale to measure the current still draining. I would guess it would be 0.25 Amps or less but I will try to find out and post back.
NOTE The reason for using a lamp in the first instance is you have a major drain and it would be too large to measure with a normally priced Multimeter. expensive ones esp with ammeter shunts will measure large amperages but the lamp idea works fine.
Hope this helps
Alont
YOU CAN NOT DO THAT ON A VEHICLE WITH A COMPUTER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU CAN NOT USE THE BULB TEST FOR A SHORT EITHER
YOU HAVE TO USE A AMP METER , BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE THAT IS OK WITH HIGH AMP DRAWS
another good tool for a short is a inductive amp meter , it is alot easier to when trying to find shorts , but you have to have the wire harness exposed in order to use the gauge
Are you sure your battery is draining?
It seems to me that if your battery is new and your alternator is good, then your problem lies somewhere else.
Quote:
The problem still exists. I took the car out for a spin and it worked fine but when I came back and tried to start it wouldn't start. It seems like there is a short somewhere I'll go get a voltmeter
If you can, please describe exactly what it does when it won't start. If it just clicks and the engine doesn't turn over, then it could very well be a bad starter.
Oops
Thanks for the heads up Eric.
I bet it's the alternator diodes leaking
Alont
How are your accesorys hooked up?
If you are running power from the cig lighter power wire, That would be your culprit. Its not a switching 12V line. Its constant 12V. So even if your car is off, power is still going to your acc.
Some people i know from the org, tried to use it as a power wire for their stereo's. That killed the Batt in about 10 mins.
http://members.rankmyride.com/djtorello
Arsonist wrote:YAY!!!! I found the short. Thanks for all of the info everybody.
what was it?
Me I had the same problem after my stero system was installed. Turned out I fried the alternator
I went to start up my car and nothing, didn't even try to turn over. Gotta love manufactors warrenty
dan
My momma told me I was cool = )
Arsonist wrote:YAY!!!! I found the short. Thanks for all of the info everybody.
Where was the short? We gave you numerous ideas and help. We want to know too!
Ryan1
