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What is draining my battery?

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Old Dec 4, 2005 | 11:58 AM
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Default What is draining my battery?

Car has been sitting in the garage the last two weeks and I go out to start it and its completely dead, the keyless entry doesnt even work. The battery is only two months old, so it seems there is a constant drain on the battery coming from somewhere. Any ideas?
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Old Dec 4, 2005 | 12:13 PM
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aftermarket amp not wired to a switched 12v remote source?

what other electronic stuff do you have in the car?
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Old Dec 4, 2005 | 12:39 PM
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I don't have any aftermarket electronics. Only mods are in my sig.
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Old Dec 4, 2005 | 02:45 PM
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I have a similar battery problem that only occurs when it's cold. between 30 and 40 degrees it turns over slowly, but starts and the alt. shows a strong charge going into the battery. below 30 degrees I have to jump it off. Same thing happened last year and I replaced the battery, now the same thing again. It seems to me like something is draining the battery. I make alot of short(10 mile) trips and maybe the battery dosn't get fully charged again.
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Old Dec 5, 2005 | 09:17 AM
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Anyone?? My car is just sitting in the garage with a dead battery and no explanation.
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Old Dec 5, 2005 | 10:58 AM
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I found that sometimes the light in the glove compartment is on with the door closed. If i adjust it a little it turns off. Could be that or any other light in the car. Check under the hood, center console, rear hatch lights, door handles, that kind of stuff. Oh, also check your interior dimmer switch (usually the most obvious problem you'll find) and make sure you don't have the interior lights switched on. If you can't find a light problem, you might want to check some relays. The old fashioned way (and more difficult way) is to disconnect the battery terminals if you're not going to drive it for a while.
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Old Dec 5, 2005 | 03:19 PM
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Pull out each fuse, and measure across each fuse clip terminal with an ammeter to see which circuits are pulling current. A few will have some draw, like the radio and BCM, but if you see any particular circuit that looks like it is drawing too much that might be the problem...
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Old Dec 5, 2005 | 06:41 PM
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Ok that's a good idea, I'll have to borrow one from a friend. Will the battery being dead effect this test, or do I need to charge it first?
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Old Dec 5, 2005 | 06:57 PM
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mine was doing the same thing, turns out somehow my blinker housing had to be replaced. $30 from autozone
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Old Dec 5, 2005 | 07:02 PM
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Originally Posted by 01formula6
Ok that's a good idea, I'll have to borrow one from a friend. Will the battery being dead effect this test, or do I need to charge it first?
Yeah. You're gonna need a charged battery. That is a good idea jimbonzzz. I wish I would have thought of that...
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Old Dec 12, 2005 | 09:28 PM
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Originally Posted by jimbonzzz
Pull out each fuse, and measure across each fuse clip terminal with an ammeter to see which circuits are pulling current. A few will have some draw, like the radio and BCM, but if you see any particular circuit that looks like it is drawing too much that might be the problem...
Another way to do this is to remove the negative battery cable, and put your ammeter in series between the cable and the battery. Watch your milliamps with all your fuses in and let it stabilize, then begin pulling fuses out one by one and watch your ammeter, if it drops when you pull that fuse, you know that you have drain in that circuit. Normal drain should be 30-40 mA.
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Old Dec 14, 2005 | 11:36 AM
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I had the same thing happen and it ended up being my battery cables weren't screwed on tight. Make sure you tighten them real good. Replace the battery as it probably won't hold a charge from being drained so much. Connect the cables and see if that solves the problem.
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Old Dec 16, 2005 | 12:17 AM
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yea stated as above i had the same problem. Try cleaning off any corrsion on the battery connectors either on the battery itself or on the female adapter. And make sure it is screwed in very tightly.
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Old Dec 20, 2005 | 02:29 PM
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Originally Posted by joshp14
Another way to do this is to remove the negative battery cable, and put your ammeter in series between the cable and the battery. Watch your milliamps with all your fuses in and let it stabilize, then begin pulling fuses out one by one and watch your ammeter, if it drops when you pull that fuse, you know that you have drain in that circuit. Normal drain should be 30-40 mA.
Ok, this sounds like a great idea. My car is still sitting in the garage dead, I've just been really busy and haven't had a chance to look at it. I do know that the cables are tight and there is no corrosion. I will definitely give this method a try though. Even though my battery was only 2 months old when this problem happened, I think I'll get a new one since this one is probably gone (luckily its under warranty at Autozone).
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Old Dec 26, 2005 | 08:36 PM
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Ok, here is the update. I got the battery charged and then tested at Autozone, and it checked out fine. Went back to the house and hooked up the ammeter to see if there is an unusually high drain on the battery. Result was 300 mA. This seems pretty normal. I didn't think it was a charging issue because my voltage never drops when I'm driving around and the only time there is a starting issue is when the car has been sititng 2+ days. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
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Old Dec 26, 2005 | 09:06 PM
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You said 300mA the normal is 30-40mA (for ecm, radio, clock )
Start pulling fuses till the drain drops down to 30-40mA
If the 300mA is a typo then IDK
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Old Dec 27, 2005 | 01:03 AM
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My car has these sympotm as well........now starting if untouched for 2-3 days.....

00 TA...new battery, alt, starter.........tons of add on gizmos for the N02 and gagues.......

Ive been trying to find the problem for sometime now.


i hate everyone knowing how sweet my ride is and then the mother F*cker doesnt start on me......
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Old Dec 27, 2005 | 09:39 AM
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The 300 mA was not a typo. That seemed like a pretty reasonable amount to me, you guys are positive it should only be about 30 mA? Would an extra 270 mA really cause the battery to go dead in 2 days?
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Old Dec 27, 2005 | 11:08 AM
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Well when I had my radar detector plugged in (before I hard wired it) and left it on, it would drain the battery in 2 days, especially when it got cold. I dunno how much that would draw but it can't be much, so I'd say yes
BTW now that it's wired to go off and on with the car I haven't had a problem starting it even after a week of it just sitting (and that's in 20* weather)
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Old Jan 5, 2006 | 08:59 PM
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Ok, I finally figured out that the problem is somewhere in the power accy. circuit. This includes the parking lamp relay, hatch release relay, power mirror switch, radio, shock sensor, and instrument cluster. Before I go trying to figure out exactly which one of these is the problem, has anyone experienced any issues with these? Which would be most likely to be the problem?
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