Electrical Issue
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 99
Likes: 0
From: Buffalo, NY
Electrical Issue I have a parasitic draw on my battery. I put the car on the charger over night and this morning I disconnected the charger and when I went to start the car, all the lights came on as normal but when I went to start the car the car went 100% dead. No lights, nothing. The key wouldn't even come out. I tested voltage at the battery and it read zero. The battery is a 9 month old optima red top 35. I got one of my marine batteries out to attempt to jump start the car and I was welcomed with a huge spark followed by an audible click from somewhere. The car came back to life and started normally.
Any ideas why the battery read zero volts but came back? Is there internal protection on the battery that shuts it down? Also any ideas where to check for a parasitic draw? I found some people saying the factory amplifier for the radio can cause this scenario.
2006 Impala SS
Thanks.
Any ideas why the battery read zero volts but came back? Is there internal protection on the battery that shuts it down? Also any ideas where to check for a parasitic draw? I found some people saying the factory amplifier for the radio can cause this scenario.
2006 Impala SS
Thanks.
Last edited by RKO; Jan 25, 2016 at 11:13 AM.
Are you for sure there's a parasitic draw besides the normal draw? Unhook your negative cable from the battery and hook a voltmeter inline. Measure how many amps it's drawing a couple minutes after everything has shut down. It should be very minimal.
Just curious, when you read "0 volts", were you testing the battery terminals directly? Or were you on the studs or clamps? Because your issue sounds exactly like a bad connection. Sometimes it's surprising how 12 volts won't go across what looks like a very good solid connection.
I personally can't think of a reason you'd have a battery read from 0v to suddenly having energy.
I personally can't think of a reason you'd have a battery read from 0v to suddenly having energy.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 99
Likes: 0
From: Buffalo, NY
I was measuring across the terminals; however I cannot recall if I was touching the test leads to the terminals themselves or to the battery clamps. I just now removed and cleaned the terminals, clamps and ground connections.
It is drawing 1.7 amps with everything off. The problem appears to defiantly be radio related as I pulled the 20a fuse out and draw dropped to less than 0.25 amps and voltage from across the terminals jumped from 12.5 to 12.7 volts. When I put the fuse back in, everything stayed the same until I turned the radio on and off. Once I did that with everything off again, the draw at 1.7 amps and voltage across terminals held at 12.5 for over 20 minutes.
It is drawing 1.7 amps with everything off. The problem appears to defiantly be radio related as I pulled the 20a fuse out and draw dropped to less than 0.25 amps and voltage from across the terminals jumped from 12.5 to 12.7 volts. When I put the fuse back in, everything stayed the same until I turned the radio on and off. Once I did that with everything off again, the draw at 1.7 amps and voltage across terminals held at 12.5 for over 20 minutes.
If you were measuring across the terminals and you got 0 volts the battery is bad, has nothing to do with a parasitic draw, ive seen upwards of 1.5 amps on my battery with the car off and the alarm armed. Likely what your seeing is things turning on when you open your door, parasitic draw spikes when you do that and then it drops down over time. Replace the battery, youll be fine, optima's have a **** reputation these days for doing this.
That battery is still under a full warranty, bring it in and have it tested or if you ordered online start the claim process. Mine is 5 years old and shows no signs of losing power, but they don't have the best rep anymore.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 611
Likes: 0
From: hagerstown,md
yea i got 3 of them from amazon and all still going strong one 3 1/2 years old,thought they had good rep as to why i bought them,lolreplace battery evry 4 years whether it needs it or not im on open road at wee hours of night ,dont like surprises
