When i bought my car, 1994 corvette, the owner put a brand new Napa battery into the car, i drove it home and 3 days later, the battery was dead! I went and switched the old battery for a new one and 4 days later...THE BATTERY IS DEAD AGAIN!!! I highly doubt it is the alternator since i let the car run for 45 mins the day after i got the new battery.

ok so, i worked on the car's interior for about 4 hours with the light dimmer turned all the way up to illuminate the interior and i checked the turn signals/fog lights for about a minute and flipped the headlights open 4-5 times with the car off but that shouldn't run out a new battery should it? Here are some of my concerns:
1) If i turn the key to ignition, the radio display comes on but wont shut off until i open the passenger door, not the drivers door.
2) If i turn the key to ignition, the green a/c light starts blinking even when i hit OFF, is that normal?
3)When i tried turning the car on yesterday, the instrument cluster would light up and the digital display indicated 11.1 volts. Today nothing except check engine light on the DIC display lit up and the a/c started blowing!?!?!
4) I went to disconnect the negative battery cable and as soon as it disconnected, the headlight motor started spinning (did not open the headlight, just started pumping).
5) the radio antenna will not extend and i have read this is somehow related to draining the battery?

I'm taking the car to my mechanic this wednesday after I go get a new battery. but until then what should i try? Will a battery draw test work with a dying battery?

 

I saw your post and wanted to respond since I had many of the issues you mention happen to me with my 94 and my experience with them. If anyone has different info, I am sure they will chime in. I drove my car home from the dealer and the battery died.

1) I am not too sure if this is a door switch issue, but I have seen the same thing happen on my car.

2) When the battery power is pulled in my car, it resets the hvac system and the next time power is applied to the car it comes on like you stated, so I assume it is normal.

3) The A/C light blinking usually means there is an issue with the system (maybe low freon) there is a way to pull error codes directly on the hvac system, it may be in one of the sticky tech links.

4) The sound you are hearing from the headlight is because your bushings are worn out. The motor runs for a set period of time before it shuts off if the bushing are worn. It is a relatively painless hour per headlight to fix. I followed a youtube video on how to do it. This is also probably the root cause of your battery dying. Since the headlight motor doesn't turn off and can keep running. My thread when I did the repair:http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-g...ht-motors.html

5) I can't help with this one, someone else will most likely be able to jump in.

I kept my car on a battery tender until I got the headlights fixed to prevent the battery from being drawn down. Good luck with the car, hopefully this was a little helpful.

 

Here is the tech tip about the HVAC, took me a minute to track it down.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/techti...=193&TopicID=2

 

On the passenger door there is a push in switch that controls the courtesy lights when you open the door, This also shuts off the radio when you open the door. Replace the switch.

I would disconnect the battery and put a volt meter between the battery and the negative cable. Then have someone start and pull fuses one at a time until you find which system is drawing the battery down.

 

That headlight motor has got me interested?!?! Why would it be running all the time??? The gear/bushing have to be changed and the gear slips a bit for about 5 secs and did it again when i disconnected the battery but how would it be running all the time??? Wouldnt i hear it?

 

Hey john, yes the courtesy lights dont come on when I open the drivers door and the radio doesnt turn off either! What kind of "switch" is it? Where can I get a new one? Also, can I still do the volt meter test with a dying battery? Thanks!

 

If you find the problem or not, A good idea is to get a Battery Disconnect Switch, if you don't already have one.
They sell them at any auto parts store.

http://www.ecklerscorvette.com/batte...side-post.html

 

With all accessories/lights Off, if you see a batt drain of >50mA there is a problem somewhere.

Since you can only access the main fuse panel with passenger door open, before pulling fuses to find the problem area you will need to hold the door open sw closed long enough for all the interior lights to go Off.

Here is a You-Tube vid ( ) on how to search for a batt drain issue.

 

Hi Mahdi, Have you read the battery voltage on the terminals when the engine is running yet? If it is not reading 13 to 14 volts when running, you are not recharging from the alternator. That can be as simple as a wire off from the alternator, to a bad alternator.
It seems to me that a bunch of electrical devices all starting to display odd behavior at the same time, probably means that your battery has gone from new to dead both times. If any micro-processor is receiving low voltage, it can/will do some crazy stuff! My guess, based on info so far, is a bad alternator. Best of luck! John

Mahdi, I just re-read your first post, when you're getting the new battery, ask them to check your alternator. They typically do this for free.

 

You have a parasitic draw, as John Marker and 65Z01 are pointing to. I'd start with disconnecting the power plug to the antenna motor since you're having a problem with it and it can continue to draw power until the battery's dead. If you have a factory service manual, there are detailed instructions on how to trace the draw to a particular circuit with a voltmeter.

 

The door switch is called the door ajar switch and you can get it new from:

scott@keenparts.com

 

Ok so I may have withheld some vital information....After I bought the car I noticed that the previous owner had installed a 1984-87 style headlight motor on the drivers side In the past couple of days I turned the headlights on and back off an only one headlight closed. The Rightside Headlight I know needs a new gear/bushings and the left side old motor gets stuck in the up position...The Left side headlight motor has been stuck in the up position for the last 3 days! When I touched the negative side cable to the battery this morning I heard a "click" sound from the leftside and then the right side motor started spinning. I disconnected it and kept trying it until I noticed that everytime I connect the negative cable to the battery, the Headlights try to move! Is that normal when connecting the battery to the car or could this be whats draining my battery?!?!? One way or another I'm taking the car to my mechanic tomorrow!

Would anyone possibly be willing to try this on their car??? Disconnecting the battery and reconnecting it to see if the headlights do anything?? Thanks!

 

Sorry, I don't know anything about the headlight motors so I can't be any help there. Maybe one of the motors is trying to close and since it's stuck, it's drawing power and draining the battery.

 

No movement whatsoever after resetting battery power source... does not wiggle, jiggle, or dance, either.

Besides a few solenoid clicks... just sits there quiet and silent.

 

The older style headlight motor is a three wire motor the newer is only two. The older style used 3 relays to control the rotation of the motors, the newer modules. The older motor has 2 sets of contacts internal to the motor one of which opens when the door is open, which is why it will "stick" open. If you manually start to close it it should finish the close cycle.. I would suggest a replacement with a newer motor.. I know on my 84 the doors are powered closed all the time when you turn the ignition off, relying on the internal contacts to cut off power, I believe that the newer ones are the same using the modules..