battery going dead
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From: Thibodaux Louisiana
battery going dead Any of you guys let your car sit a long time without starting it? How long before the battery drains? I need to see if i have something draining my battery mine will go dead after a week or so. I'll have to see if something is drawing power while the car is off. Another thing is i don't drive it much And my fans stay on for 2 min after i shut the engine off so that might be it too.
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Joined: Dec 2001
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From: Jacksonville, FL
Bring the battery somewhere and get a free load test. Unless you have an overheating issue the fans should turn off with the ignition...although they can be programmed to stay on longer.
there is a way to see how much parasitic draw you have, see if you can get a multimeter an turn it to amps, un hook the positive from the battery, hold or clamp the red lead to the positive wire, then hold or clamp the black lead to the positive terminal on the battery. make sure all your doors are closed an the key is off, look to see how much drain you have. if i remember correctly it shouldn't be much more than .2 amps--if you have an excessive amount something is drawing power.
Any of you guys let your car sit a long time without starting it? How long before the battery drains? I need to see if i have something draining my battery mine will go dead after a week or so. I'll have to see if something is drawing power while the car is off. Another thing is i don't drive it much And my fans stay on for 2 min after i shut the engine off so that might be it too.
- If the battery is a sealed unit, check to see if the green "eye" is lit up. If not, its bad - get a new one. (Only sealed units will have the indicator.)
- If the battery is not a sealed unit, check the fluid level inside. If the fluid is below the lead plates, add some distilled water until the plates are covered. (This will give you back some capacity.)
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TECH Enthusiast
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From: Thibodaux Louisiana
Thanks i have a load tester the battery is good. the test with the multimeter i haven't done yet. But I've don it b-4 on other cars i used the neg wire though. And the fans staying on was done by my tuner to help cool the engine between passes. I was just asking how many people let there cars sit for long periods of time and how long the batt. will last just sitting. thanks guys
