QUICK Dead Battery.. ???
 

Heh.. When I leave my key in ON position.. for less than 5 minutes.. .

MY BATTERY GOES DEAD THAT FAST.. !!!

Is that normal, since I run with my lights on all the time? :confused:

Thanks, Jim :D

P.S. Happened when cop stopped me once.. Plus many times when working on car, and needing in Neutral (like to move car, or working on shift linkage).. like YESTERDAY.. ThOT I had something in tire (Low?).. so put in Neutral.. pushed back.. left in ON for 3-5 minutes... DEAD!!! :eek:

Re: QUICK Dead Battery.. ???
 

no that isn't normal. you should be able to leave the car on even with the headlights for at least 5 minutes.
what condition is your battery and charging system?

Re: QUICK Dead Battery.. ???
 

No, not normal. I run with my lights all the time, too. You've got a weak battery, failing alternator, or both. Or maybe some wonky circuit that's drawing abnormally.

dcb

Re: QUICK Dead Battery.. ???
 

WELL.. . the alternator was replaced (about 4 mos ago) .. after battery went dead resulting from 5-7 min stop, when COP stopped me, left key ON! Battery was checked (and found GrEaT!) about two weeks ago.. I took it out .. and to Pep Boys! [After similar incident.. battery GOT dead from similar situation.]

I know where the starter circuit is! .. .Where is the WoNkY CiRcUiT? :confused:

Thanks, Jim :D

P.S. Battery is $180 Interstate!

Re: QUICK Dead Battery.. ???
 

Are you sure the battery is dead or is it that the starter won't turn the engine to try to start it?

Keith:cool:

Re: QUICK Dead Battery.. ???
 

When this happens.. Then, the dash lights go out when trying to start! But, you may be at least partially right.. . The solenoid/starter may have been shorting..or sucking way too much juice when malfunctioning.. ??

After replacing starter two nights ago.. starts great..

A week or so ago.. I took battery out.. to Pep Boys (where I bot it) .. they said it was GOOD.. ?? Today, I went to Autozone.. They used a meter on the in-car battery.. They said it is DeAd! .. ??? [CHarging OK]

Of course, I'm not anxious to turn key ON for 5 minutes (without starting).. . to ChEcK!?

Thanks, Jim :D

Re: QUICK Dead Battery.. ???
 

Battery chargers are actually very reasonable to purchase Jim. JK!! Being drawn down to DEAD isn't good for the battery as I recall, possibly causing complete failure. Battery going dead in such a short period of time says almost direct short to ground. Should be relatively easy to find with an ohm-meter. Disconnect battery and read across the battery cables, pulling fuses to spot the culprit.

Glenn

Re: QUICK Dead Battery.. ???
 

you should take your battery to a shop that has the appropriate means of testing it and doesn't have an interest in it either way. pep boys wants the battery to be good so they don't have to warranty it and autozone wants it to be bad so they can sell you their battery. the only proper way to test a battery is with a carbon pile tester. those little handheld electronic testers are useless and often don't give the same results twice in a row on the same battery. they infer the amount of power the battery can put out by drawing a small load watching the drop in voltage and extrapolating that info into larger numbers that batteries are rated in. a carbon pile tester will actually draw however many amps is necessary to do a truly functional test of both the battery output and alternator max charge rate. most shops have these and typically won't charge you to test your battery/alternator.

Re: QUICK Dead Battery.. ???
 

I haven't checked the battery again.. or had an "opportunity" to drain the battery dead by leaving key on ON.. but, I can say.. without question.. the start mechanism is substantially improved! It never delays kicking in the solenoid, which it did at times (0.5 to 1.5 sec delay to do anything) before..

I'm thinking somehow the starter might have been causing the drain when left in the ON position.. ?? What circuit is turned on by the ON key position that could drain the battery so fast? Could it be the starter itself? Could the positive lead to the starter short somehow to the ground.. because of starter malfunction (short).. ?? :confused:

Help? Someone understand the ON position circuits that are initiated by ON .. that could short?

Thanks, Jim :D

P. S. My solenoid was obviously the culprit, at least! I got an entire rebuilt starter cuz it was only $10 more ($80 instead of $70) than a solenoid.. .

Re: QUICK Dead Battery.. ???
 

Not done intentionally, BUT I could not remove you ignition key when I arrived for a doctor appointment . It stayed in "acc " position for 2 hours I did turn off the radio and headlights. Car started fine .