Hi all,

Having some electrical issues I'm hoping to get some advice on.
Let me start by saying that the car stayed at the mechanics for over a year because of problems with the brake lines. Basically they dragged their *** on fixing it and kept giving me a run around. That's an extremely short version of that story. But suffice to say, it sat since May of 2014 ... All through the winter ... And I didn't get it back until June of this year.

Now onto the issue(s): I have to start the car everyday, at worst every other day, in order for the battery to not die. That doesn't sound right. If I let it go more than two days the battery goes dead. That's not the total issue, however. When I use the window toggles to open the windows, the rpm's go down to the point that the car almost stalls (when I'm sitting at a light or in front of my house), also the dash goes somewhat dim at times during idle, and this morning it almost didn't start (I didn't start it since Tuesday evening) and when it did the gas gauge started at the bottom on reserve and slowly went up one bar at a time every 3 seconds until it hit full where it's supposed to be.
Now, keeping in mind the potentially bad battery can what I've described be put down as a bad battery or could it possibly be bad grounding wires? I've replaced the alternator so I know that's not it. The battery cables seem fine and the battery gauge reads a steady 13.9 volts when the car is running. But again, I have to basically start it every day to keep the battery fresh.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading

 

There are a multitude of potential issues and I'd first start with a "load test" of the battery, then a "parasitic draw" evaluation of the electrical.

Do a Google search for "parasitic draw", find a procedure you're comfortable with and do it.

Do you have an FSM? Don't ever assume that just because you've replaced something that it's NOT the problem.

If I had a parasitic draw on an early car in particular rather than removing fuses and going on and on I'd probably start at the battery junction block and eliminate all of the fusible links and then check by adding the links one at a time. I actually believe it could be much quicker.

If the car is garaged, roll the window down, with the keys in your pocket, doors closed, and in a dark garage look under and around everywhere. Listen closely also. Look under the rear bumper and sneak a peek under the hood through a wheel-house.

 

Thank you. The car is not garaged and wasn't garaged while at the mechanics. It just sat with the battery installed over winter in NJ. I'm going to have a load test done this weekend. If that's not the case I'll go through the fuses and see if there's anything I can see there. But I'm just wondering if a poor battery can do what I'm stating is going on.

 

Yep freezing a dead battery can kill them surprized it works that good.

 

Ok, so if it is the battery that'll cause my present issues?

 

Assuming the battery is good and fully charged, having it die every couple of days sounds like you have something on that shouldn't.

Check things like the underhood lights, interior lights etc to see if any of them are stuck on. I had a mechanic leave the hood up over a weekend and drained the battery, same with the interior lights. there's also the possibility something is draining the battery like a fan relay stuck on.

Here's an idea for a quick test. Charge up the battery fully then pull the negative battery cable and leave it set a couple of days. Hook the cable back up and see if it runs. If it runs, then the battery isn't the first thing I'd worry about unless it was an undersized battery for the car.

 

Yes do what WVZR-1 said and do a load test bet it fails if not then check the rest as offerd.

 

I'm doing the load test this weekend. After I find out what's up with that I'll start looking for anything drawing power. But I'm hoping it's just the battery.

Thanks, everyone!