battery losing charge when off
 

once again i went to go start my car and the battery didnt have enough charge in it. Why is it losing power when the car is off?

Re: battery losing charge when off
 

All batteries lose amperage when they get cold..... your battery is probably bad and just cant output enough when the engine and battery cool off. We sell 300% more batteries as soon as the weather turns cold up in tahoe.

Re: battery losing charge when off
 

I've gotten my battery tested multiple times. and it was fine.... i wonder if i unhooked the + off the battery it may be fine. I wonder why my brother's battery isnt getting affected and his is foaming with acid ( i dont care about his honda :P)

Re: battery losing charge when off
 

They tested mine good too. I bought a new one (this was last year) and my problems went away.

Re: battery losing charge when off
 

There is something slowly drawing power. Mine has been doing this for a while too. If I don't use it for a few days the battery dies.
You can hook up a multimeter to the battery in series and one by one remove and replace fuses until you find which circuit is drawing power with the engine/ignition off. This will narrow down where the problem is.

Re: battery losing charge when off
 

+1 on that.

You may also consider than each time you fully discharge a car battery, it is thought they lose 20% of their life. Depending on how many times this has happened, you may want to check it again and maybe get it replaced under warranty.

Re: battery losing charge when off
 

I noticed that my heated mirrors button was on and i cant remember the last time i turned em on was but i wonder if they stay on when the car is off. i'll find out now if my battery dies or not.

Re: battery losing charge when off
 

Here's what I would recommend to eliminate the possibility of a short somewhere in the system. Get yourself a test light. The kind that has an aligator clip on one and and looks kind of like a pen. Cost about $5 at WalMart. When you touch one side to the + and the other to - on battery, it lights. This will only light is there is current draw. Take off the negative battery terminal, and with everything off, including doors closed, touch one end to the battery cable and the other to the battery post. If something is drawing juice, it will light.

If it doesn't light, then it appears to be either the battery or the charging system. If it does light, then you need to find the circuit that is drawing current. To do this, hook the battery back up. Locate the fuse box, and take your test light and hook up the ground (alligator clip end) to the chassis. Touch a known + source (Pos batt) with the other end to make sure you have a good ground (it should light). Then, pull the fuses one at a time. With the fuse out, touch both sides of the socket. If the test light lights, then something is drawing from that circuit. Keep in mind that with the door open, the circuit for the interior lights will show a draw (it is trying to power the lights).

I have used this method to narrow the search many times with cars. Hope this helps.

Brian

Re: battery losing charge when off
 

I found what was killing my battery in the Claret and I can't believe it took so long to find, almost a year.
It was the trunk light.
Sunday night I folded the seat down to put a pair of skis in the trunk. I got in and started the car, put it in reverse and lo and behold when I looked behind me to back up I saw that the trunk light was still on. The bulb had some how lasted a year and the heat had melted the bulb cover to the point that it crumbled when I touched it. For now I disconnected the wiring connector until it warms up enough to check what the problem is.

Many months ago I solved the problem in the Ebony by replacing the seat belt module.

Re: battery losing charge when off
 

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For information on how to diagnose a parasitic drain on your electrical system, check HERE and HERE


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Re: battery losing charge when off
 

I had a similar problem with my abs and alternator before. Had a drain in the abs unit... had to unplug it and then replace it. Try unplugging it and see if there's still a drain.

The Alternator can be burned up as well somewhere and drain the battery. I gave someone with a dead battery a boost a few times and it burned up the brain of my alternator, had it rebuilt and it was fine afterwords.

Re: battery losing charge when off
 

I just went through this myself. After doing the fuse pulling routine it turned out to be the battery.:) It looked like it was fully charged but as soon as a load was put on it it didn't have the onions.Kind of like our president:rolleyes:

Re: battery losing charge when off
 

I have been fighting an electrical gremlin like this myself.

I replaced the battery with a new 800 cold cranking amp NAPA battery last month. I replaced the relay behind the gauge panel last summer, which helped a great deal, since then, as well.

The car has been starting much better with the new battery, but slowly the dead-battery syndrome has been returning.

It has been below 30 degrees for a couple weeks straight, and sometimes much colder, so that could be something.

The car sometimes takes 1-3 seconds to engage the starter when the key is turned to start. Other times it fires right up. Only a couple of occaisions with the new battery have not started at all, and the battery charger has shown a low battery charge condition.

I am beginning to really suspect the alternator, and the baked, undersized wires to the alternator.

I want to do svxcess's alternator wiring mod, and if the alternator does test as bad, I'd like to get the upgraded alternator, as well...

I have not done a lot of soldering or wiring in a car other than maybe some speaker wires... I kind of wish there were an assembled install kit for svxcess's upgrade.

But if all else fails, perhaps I will just have to bite the bullet and track down all the pieces and put them together. I kind of need the car to get to work, as my wife is driving the Legacy this winter, but work is also the reason I don't have a lot of free time to chase little parts to assemble that wiring modification.

I think first step is going to be testing the alternator output to see what the story is there, first...

but I would appreciate feedback from experience if there is anything I am overlooking on this, or what to expect.

Speaking of which, it is time to go disconnect the battery charger again...

Re: battery losing charge when off
 

I just went through this with rvnmaniac's SVX.
The battery was two years old and tested fine by two different testers.
When it started it started like a champion!
It has been very cold here, mostly below 30°f.
If the car sat more than 12 hours the battery MIGHT be stone dead!:eek:

Long story short, the limit switch on the drivers seat down function had gone bad, and the seat sometimes was trying to power down all the time.
Silently.
Oh, and just for safety sake remove the power connectors to your sun visors!!!!!!
They can fray and break over time, shorting out your car, and burning it to the ground!:(
You don't need the make up lights anyway.

Re: battery losing charge when off
 

+1 on the visor wires, I have only seen 1 that wasn't twisted out of working condition, what were they thinking with that setup, why doesn't it blow a fuse instead of burning down the car? I put my makeup on in the dark so its OK, Cheers............G