Bought a new battery 3 months ago for my 95 coupe. The old one was due as it was 5 years old. Installed the battery and the car started as allways. Since the weather is bad I have not driven the car in 3 months (kept in the garage and covered). I start the car every 2 or 3 weeks and have had no issues. Two days ago I went out to start the car after not starting it in 3 weeks an the battery was low, I suspected from the cold weather. I put a charger on overnight. Went out the next AM and the battery was completely dead. I put the charger on and 2 hours later I got into the car and there was a loud clicking noise under the dash. I have heard this before about a year ago when I was charging the battery. I disconnected the charger and the ticking is still there. What could this be and is this the source of my battery drain.

 

Not sure about the ticking, I suspect the battery may be dead. If you are going to park a car for more than a week or so put a battery tender on it. Just starting the car and letting it idle for a few minutes will not charge up the battery and is bad for the car in general.

 

Ticking is from a relay (s)..have heard it before. Try charging the battery again, but prior check the battery connections for looseness.

I future, if your going to leave the car undriven for several weeks & not use a battery charger during that time period, disconnect the neg bat. terminal & position it so it doesn't contact any part of the car. If you use this method...you will hear some clicking from various relays when you connect the battery.

 

Thanks for the advice. I am sure you are correct. I will pay closer attention to those preventative measures. Sometimes it is difficult to cover all bases when adverse weather runs for months at a time. Again, thanks for the help and advice.

 

I have typed this many many many times. Let me give you a short course on the care and feeding of lead acid (car) batteries. First, car batteries self discharge, up to 1% each day even disconnected. Leaving them sit disconnected is NOT a good idea! As they discharge lead sulfate collects on their plates. At first lead sulfate is soft and upon charging it converts back to lead and sulfuric acid. But...left sitting for long periods (4+ wks) it becomes hard and it will not convert and lead sulfate is a good insulator. A sulfated battery becomes effectively a much smaller battery in amp-hour capacity and a fully sulphated battery is a door stop. Starting and running your engine will charge the battery but not very much and it is a waste of time, mainly because you don't run the engine long enough! Also, your alternator was not intended to charge dead batteries, its a good way to shorten the life of your alternator. If you don't use your car often, then buy a trickle charger or a battery tender (trade name), and leave them connected to your battery during the long periods when you aren't using the car. This will keep your battery charged and it will have a normal lifetime. Letting it sit for long periods will provide you with a short lifetime.....you have already experienced that!

The clicking you hear is the theft deterrent relay due to low battery voltage.

 

This post should be the fall/winter storage sticky.

I can't believe how owners that store their cars for extended periods of time, have no clue when it comes to preparing other than buying a cover.

Not that all car owners are car guys.......

Oh shxt, not looking for a fight, just making gest of a typical and oh-so common post for the spring time.