Battery Draining
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Heel & Toe
Joined: Nov 2005
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Battery Draining
I have a new battery that was going dead every 24 hours and had the dealer work on it, they said that the battery acid had gotten on the harness and after days finally said it was fixed. Now it is drianing down after 48 hours any ideas on what is going on?
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From: "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and
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You could place a DVOM on the battery and start pulling fuses, one at a time. When you find the fuse that stops the drain - you've at least narrowed it down to the circuit and everything that's on that circuit. You might check obvious things like a glove box light that stays lit, the underhood light, do you have an accessory plugged in that stays energized with the ignition off, etc. Do you have the courtesy lamps on? How about the reading lights on the bottom of the mirror?
Another easy way is park the car in a dark garage and see if you can spot any light coming from anywhere.
Is the "new" battery good - it might have a bad cell. Take a known good battery and see if the same thing happens.
Beyond that - I'm fresh out of ideas.....
Another easy way is park the car in a dark garage and see if you can spot any light coming from anywhere.
Is the "new" battery good - it might have a bad cell. Take a known good battery and see if the same thing happens.
Beyond that - I'm fresh out of ideas.....
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From: Redsox, Pats, Celts & Bruins !!! Redsox Nation !!!
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12
I hope you cleaned up that acid?
The drain could be a result of the acid on the wires, Page Bill Curlee and see what he thinks
The drain could be a result of the acid on the wires, Page Bill Curlee and see what he thinks
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Joined: Jul 2005
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From: The Beautiful Greater Bay Area California
Originally Posted by blacksedan87
You could place a DVOM on the battery and start pulling fuses, one at a time. When you find the fuse that stops the drain - you've at least narrowed it down to the circuit and everything that's on that circuit. You might check obvious things like a glove box light that stays lit, the underhood light, do you have an accessory plugged in that stays energized with the ignition off, etc. Do you have the courtesy lamps on? How about the reading lights on the bottom of the mirror?
Another easy way is park the car in a dark garage and see if you can spot any light coming from anywhere.
Is the "new" battery good - it might have a bad cell. Take a known good battery and see if the same thing happens.
Beyond that - I'm fresh out of ideas.....
Another easy way is park the car in a dark garage and see if you can spot any light coming from anywhere.
Is the "new" battery good - it might have a bad cell. Take a known good battery and see if the same thing happens.
Beyond that - I'm fresh out of ideas.....
Excellent advice from Rands. 
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
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From: Redsox, Pats, Celts & Bruins !!! Redsox Nation !!!
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12
All our cars have RAP and run down protection. The any light would be shut off after about 12 mins. From what I understand. So if you left the interior lights on, they should go out, yes?
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Joined: Aug 2003
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From: "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-‘18-'19
NCM Sinkhole Donor
If you leave the door, hood or trunk open, Rich, they will eventually go out. But if the switch is bad or if you've manually turned on the interior lights, or a mirror mounted map light - I don't think they go out. Same holds true with the glove box. Of course this doesn't account for malfunctions and the light is on and won't go out. Might have to pull the bulb. I also read here of someone with a failed power antenna that stayed on constantly and eventually drained the battery.
It's the simple stuff that we sometime overlook - and I am offering a suggestion. Might be something more complicated, but I hope not.
It's the simple stuff that we sometime overlook - and I am offering a suggestion. Might be something more complicated, but I hope not.
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