What would cause my battery to be dead after a few days.
10-20-2015, 11:30 AM
#1
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What would cause my battery to be dead after a few days. There is a serious drain on my battery after the car is off. This is on my 97 camaro. I've installed new battery, alternator and starter. Even upgraded the wires from battery to alt and starter. I even done the fuse test, by pulling each fuse to see if it has a effect. What else is there to do? Just getting ready to do my le2 swap. Any suggestions?
10-20-2015, 12:35 PM
#2
There is a serious drain on my battery after the car is off. This is on my 97 camaro. I've installed new battery, alternator and starter. Even upgraded the wires from battery to alt and starter. I even done the fuse test, by pulling each fuse to see if it has a effect. What else is there to do? Just getting ready to do my le2 swap. Any suggestions?
10-20-2015, 01:18 PM
#4
This might help: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...attery-drains/
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10-20-2015, 08:36 PM
#8
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I would need to look a the schematics to see the wiring, but if I recall, I think most of the power distribution is done through the block mounted on the passenger front fender. With the exception of the starter circuit. As pictured...
http://shbox.com/1/fusible.jpg
I'm hoping the leakage drain isn't over 10 amps as most general multimeters will not handle more than that for amperage, but using a multimeter(on the amps setting) you can put it in between distribution block and each wire that comes off the block. Just make sure the polarity is right with the multimeter....red lead to the distribution block as it is most positive point...black lead to the wire that came off the block. If you have a digital multimeter the polarity will not be as critical as with an old analog meter. The reading will just be negative instead of positive. You will want to note the readings and the drain on each circuit.
Thing is you need to know how to properly use a multimeter and also need to pay attention to the capabilities of the meter(ranges and such). Then...there is also the amount of current draw to consider...if it's more than the meter can handle, then you may destroy it. Car batteries can deliver tremendous amount of current that can easily destroy your average multimeter on the amps setting(or at a minimum blow the fuse in the meter).
A safer way to check the current draw of each distribution wire is with a DC amp clamp. However, most cheap amp clamps will not check DC amperage, only AC. I have a fluke amp clamp that will do it, but that thing cost me ~$300 back in early 2000s.
The other option is to pull each distribution wire one at a time until and see when the drain seems to stop. That would narrow it down to the circuit path, but no matter which method you use, you will then have to then find the device or short causing the issue.
The other piece of the puzzle that would be handy to know is the amp/hour rating of the battery. For example, say the rating is 40AHr. That means it can deliver 40 amps for 1 hour. That info might be hard to come by though....
But given how many hours it takes to drain the battery, you could use the Ahr rating to gauge the approximate average current leakage. That could help narrow down which circuit is the issue. Most likely, it will be the one with the highest reading....but it might not be if something for some reason cycles on then off...but not likely.
I'll try to take some readings off my Z28 to give you an idea of the max current pull I see on the circuits. That might give you a max value to look for when taking the current readings.
http://shbox.com/1/fusible.jpg
I'm hoping the leakage drain isn't over 10 amps as most general multimeters will not handle more than that for amperage, but using a multimeter(on the amps setting) you can put it in between distribution block and each wire that comes off the block. Just make sure the polarity is right with the multimeter....red lead to the distribution block as it is most positive point...black lead to the wire that came off the block. If you have a digital multimeter the polarity will not be as critical as with an old analog meter. The reading will just be negative instead of positive. You will want to note the readings and the drain on each circuit.
Thing is you need to know how to properly use a multimeter and also need to pay attention to the capabilities of the meter(ranges and such). Then...there is also the amount of current draw to consider...if it's more than the meter can handle, then you may destroy it. Car batteries can deliver tremendous amount of current that can easily destroy your average multimeter on the amps setting(or at a minimum blow the fuse in the meter).
A safer way to check the current draw of each distribution wire is with a DC amp clamp. However, most cheap amp clamps will not check DC amperage, only AC. I have a fluke amp clamp that will do it, but that thing cost me ~$300 back in early 2000s.
The other option is to pull each distribution wire one at a time until and see when the drain seems to stop. That would narrow it down to the circuit path, but no matter which method you use, you will then have to then find the device or short causing the issue.
The other piece of the puzzle that would be handy to know is the amp/hour rating of the battery. For example, say the rating is 40AHr. That means it can deliver 40 amps for 1 hour. That info might be hard to come by though....
But given how many hours it takes to drain the battery, you could use the Ahr rating to gauge the approximate average current leakage. That could help narrow down which circuit is the issue. Most likely, it will be the one with the highest reading....but it might not be if something for some reason cycles on then off...but not likely.
I'll try to take some readings off my Z28 to give you an idea of the max current pull I see on the circuits. That might give you a max value to look for when taking the current readings.
Last edited by ACE1252; 10-20-2015 at 08:44 PM.
10-21-2015, 08:19 AM
#9
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You can buy volt meters that have a link that is not fused. When I tested min I had a 20ma drain, which I think is normal for our cars if there is an alarm. Just remember there are relays which stay charged for 10 minutes after the doors are shut. While these relays are charged there will be about an 80ma to 100ma draw on the battery.
10-23-2015, 01:00 PM
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The radio was the first thing I disconnected, and it still drains the battery. I did notice the other day while driving the radio made that noise like it lost power for a second, and when I got home to let up the windows they didn't work. After I cut the car off and turned the switch forward the windows went to working. What could that be? I'm sure the radio is Installed correctly. What would make it momentarily lose power?