ATAY383

Ok one day i was listening to music till the car died so i left it because i cant drive it. so i locked the doors with my alarm system and then the next day i clicked to unlock it and it didnt do anything so i unlocked it with my keys and usally the lights go one or makes that noise nothing and when u put the key into the ignition it usally has lights come on in the gauge cluster nothing went on it wont even turn its like there is no battery in the car but forgot to add i jumped my car and let it ran for like 20 minutes and then turned it off and then turned it on and it was ok so then i turned it off and then locked it with my alarm system and then next day it wouldnt do it and also we thought it was the battery so we put an optima in it and hooked it up and it would crank but not start even when we jumped it and thats the weird part. some advice would be helpful. thanks
ashton

ATAY383

Common guys I seriously need some help so please give me your input.

BigBlockCamaro

iTrader: (6)

Ashton.. If you can clear up the first post so we can understand it a bit better, that would help.

Sounds like your alarm is doing its job, if the system you have has a ignition killer built into it.. Ifs that the case I would call the company that made the alarm or the people that installed it and see what they can do

ATAY383

yea it does have ignition killer

BigBlockCamaro

iTrader: (6)

You ever get this worked out?

flawless35th

iTrader: (1)

i think vats is the problem it acts silly disable vats and just run your alarm....maybe

ATAY383

my friend said that the battery is at 9 something volts and should have more so we check the fuses first and they werent blown and then the battery and we put in a new battery did the same thing but with the new one the only way for it to start is jump start it and my friend thinks it could be a alternator or something electric.

TXB4Z

iTrader: (2)

I'm having a hard time trying to decipher what the **** you're talking about but I think you said you put a new battery in and the only way it will start is with a jump. Am I right?

If your car is running fine after the jump with your newest battery I would think you might have gotten a defective battery and would replace it again.

ATAY383

Ok ill start over with everything I was listing to music in my car one day and it ran down the battery and didnt jump start the car untill like a month later a guy was interested in buying it and then i went to get jumper cables and then jumped it and it took a while but got it but dumb me when i got it started i didnt left it run so i thought maybe put the key in it and it might start so i did and nothing worked at all so then i jumped start it again and it would crank and crank and crank and then finally started up and left it run for awhile and then turned it off and then started it again and it worked and then the next day i went to unlock the car with the keyless entry remote and then it wouldnt unlock so i had to do it with the key and i put the key in the ignition and not a thing it acted like there was no battery in the car so then i told my friend to get me a optima red top battery so we hooked it up and still the same thing nothing so we jumped start the battery and it would crank and crank and crank and crank put wont start so we put the old battery in it and jumped started it again and it worked but then next day it was the same thing it seemed like there was no battery in the car to me it seems like something is draining the battery so then its completely drained. so then i called my friend over and said check the fuses so we did and they are fine and then he said check the connection and we did and its fine and he told me that my alarm doesnt have a kill switch in it. so it couldnt be that. Just wondering do you guys think it could be the alternator draining when it sits for a long period of time when the car is turned off.

transambandit

iTrader: (6)

Dude paragraphs and complete sentances are your friends, it is very easy to tell if the alt is the culprit, just take it off and take it autozone or an alt specialists and they will test it for free, i had the exact same thing happen to a 90 mustang back in the day and it was the alt

Hatchetman337

iTrader: (3)

Sounds to me like the first battery is junk, though. Not sure about why the red top isn't working. Like TXB4Z said, maybe you got a bad optima or something.

dragonrage

Sounds like you've got a constant heavy drain (like something shorted out) on your battery to me. You'll need to start pulling fuses until you find the culprit. It will also be helpful to start by making sure your battery wires, alternator wires and ground wires are tight and clean.

ATAY383

we already did that stuff yesterday checked all the fuses and did a battery test and it was at 9.3 volts and my friend told me to check all of that and we did so he is thinking its the alternator but i will take it off and get it checked at advance auto parts. and ill tell you guys whats the culprit.

Hatchetman337

iTrader: (3)

The old battery was 9.3 volts of the optima? It should be ~12

mycamaroSS

iTrader: (4)

yea dude you need to figure out a way to unlock your car with the alarm system you have cause it's doing its job

Alex94TAGT

To be clear, you did an amperage drain test (ie, pulling the negative battery cable and hooking up a voltmeter in series with the cable and the battery)?

With the car off, you should get around 20mA (.02A) draw, or no greater than around 50mA (.05A). Be sure to give the retained accessory power (RAP) time to shut off (< 1min). If you're getting a higher amperage draw than the above, something is wrong, and that's when you start pulling fuses until the amperage draw lessens. When it does, you've found the problem circuit.

You've had nothing but problems with this car since you bought it, hunh? Hope you get things figured out -- be sure to post the results of the alternator test, and I wouldn't rule out a bad new battery.

dragonrage

Okay, guys, you honestly need to stop replying saying it's from the alarm doing its job. No alarm I know of is meant to drain your battery so that you need to jump it to get it to start, and then not go off when you enter the car. Lots of bad advice in this thread.

I would advise doing what Alex said.

ATAY383

yea alex is a smart man and im going to listen to him cause he has always helped me out

Alex94TAGT

I haven't helped you. I might be sending you on a wild goose chase again! If you want to be bored further:

My only other thought in regard to the alternator is the exciter wire which hooks on the back. That's what tells the alternator when to charge. On my car, the little female clip inside the connector snapped off, and thus killed my charging system. This would be apparent when your battery gauge needle is in the yellow, but still something to check (even if the alternator tests out fine).

I've heard of alarm systems discharging the battery over time, which is normal, but it certainly shouldn't happen overnight. I would expect that over a couple week's period, perhaps. When some batteries sit discharged for a long time (like your old battery), they can't be revived, which is presumably why they created deep-cycle batteries.

Next time the car sits for a long period of time, get a "battery tender" / trickle charger. They're far cheaper than replacing a battery.

ATAY383

Do to the facts that my 383 stroker is fubard and the tranny i bought a stock motor and tranny and we are gonna put it in. Like in 4 weeks so hopefully the problem goes away and we are gonna check everything out on it too. I will keep you guys in touch.