battery drain
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
From: Houston Texas
battery drain
Is it possible that having the cigarette lighter out of the car could have drained the battery? I hadn't driven the car in 4 days. It was left in reverse and all circuits were apparently okay because it didn't beep or anything when I last left it. I had to use the key to pop the trunk, pull the string for the driver's side door, then pop the hood. After 20 minutes of charging, I was back in service. But I can't understand what caused the drain. I had unplugged the Valentine 1 from the cigarette lighter, so that was the only open circuit. Anybody else experience this?
Racer
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 368
Likes: 0
From: Fort Washington MD
Originally Posted by bagheera
Is it possible that having the cigarette lighter out of the car could have drained the battery? I hadn't driven the car in 4 days. It was left in reverse and all circuits were apparently okay because it didn't beep or anything when I last left it. I had to use the key to pop the trunk, pull the string for the driver's side door, then pop the hood. After 20 minutes of charging, I was back in service. But I can't understand what caused the drain. I had unplugged the Valentine 1 from the cigarette lighter, so that was the only open circuit. Anybody else experience this?
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 80
Likes: 0
From: Irvine CA
Originally Posted by bagheera
Is it possible that having the cigarette lighter out of the car could have drained the battery? I hadn't driven the car in 4 days. It was left in reverse and all circuits were apparently okay because it didn't beep or anything when I last left it. I had to use the key to pop the trunk, pull the string for the driver's side door, then pop the hood. After 20 minutes of charging, I was back in service. But I can't understand what caused the drain. I had unplugged the Valentine 1 from the cigarette lighter, so that was the only open circuit. Anybody else experience this?
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,074
Likes: 296
From: San Francisco CA
Originally Posted by Wedtwuk
Make sure that you have not inadvertently pressed the **** that dims the console lights. I did that when I first got mine. It leaves the lights on under the mirrors. I was not aware that I had even pressed it. Took a while to figure out why the lights weren't going out. Other than that I have not had any electrical issues to date.
1st Gear
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
From: middletown,n.j. usa
re: dead battery
had same problem..was away traveling, went to open door, battery completely dead. car was in reverse as well. got it jumped seemed fine..got home last night after 3 day trip, dead again..bot charger, hooked it up and started right up..was fine this morning..see what happens with it tomorrow.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 3,284
Likes: 3
From: Southwest Florida
There was an earlier thread about questionable Delco batteries. Some of them would discharge over a few days and be dead even if you diconnect them completely from the car! Seems like there might be a bad batch of batteries out there. It's also possible that certain events (driving) might cause some of the cells to short only at times, while other times they are fine. If you've replaced the battery and still have the problem, that's obviously not it... but if not, the battery could be the culprit.
Mike
Mike
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
From: Houston Texas
Wedtwuk, you maybe on to something. I had changed the auto dimming setting from the default of 0 seconds to 15 seconds. After getting out the car on Sunday, I watched to see if the lights under the mirror went out. After 5 minutes they were still burning. I changed it back to the default setting and they dimmed out within 10 seconds.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,130
Likes: 54
From: Granbury, Pecan Plantation TX
I had the same problem, posted a thread a few weeks ago.
The car sat for 4 days, everything shut down properly and in the garage would have noticed any lights on over the 4 days. Got the battery charged and took the car to the dealer. They tested the battery and checked for unusual drains on the electrical system.
No trouble found. In September I was in Nevada for 12 days and the car sat in the garage all that time with no problems. If you look at the NHTSA board they list a TSB 3139 for battery problems but can find no details and the dealer could not find it.
The car sat for 4 days, everything shut down properly and in the garage would have noticed any lights on over the 4 days. Got the battery charged and took the car to the dealer. They tested the battery and checked for unusual drains on the electrical system.
No trouble found. In September I was in Nevada for 12 days and the car sat in the garage all that time with no problems. If you look at the NHTSA board they list a TSB 3139 for battery problems but can find no details and the dealer could not find it.
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 4,010
Likes: 1
From: SE Idaho
St. Jude Contributor
Originally Posted by bagheera
Is it possible that having the cigarette lighter out of the car could have drained the battery? I hadn't driven the car in 4 days. It was left in reverse and all circuits were apparently okay because it didn't beep or anything when I last left it. I had to use the key to pop the trunk, pull the string for the driver's side door, then pop the hood. After 20 minutes of charging, I was back in service. But I can't understand what caused the drain. I had unplugged the Valentine 1 from the cigarette lighter, so that was the only open circuit. Anybody else experience this?
No, since there is no completed circuit to draw juice from the battery.
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 89
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles California
This is what I found in the manual:
Battery Run-Down Protection
Your vehicle has a feature to help prevent you from draining the battery in case the underhood lamp, vanity mirror lamps, cargo lamps, reading lamps, console or glove box lamps are accidentally left on. If you leave any of these lamps on, they will automatically time-out after about 20 minutes. To reset it, all of the above lamps must be turned off or the ignition key on.
Battery Run-Down Protection
Your vehicle has a feature to help prevent you from draining the battery in case the underhood lamp, vanity mirror lamps, cargo lamps, reading lamps, console or glove box lamps are accidentally left on. If you leave any of these lamps on, they will automatically time-out after about 20 minutes. To reset it, all of the above lamps must be turned off or the ignition key on.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 7,837
Likes: 107
From: Huntington Beach California
Originally Posted by Wedtwuk
Make sure that you have not inadvertently pressed the **** that dims the console lights. I did that when I first got mine. It leaves the lights on under the mirrors. I was not aware that I had even pressed it. Took a while to figure out why the lights weren't going out. Other than that I have not had any electrical issues to date.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 7,837
Likes: 107
From: Huntington Beach California
Originally Posted by bagheera
Is it possible that having the cigarette lighter out of the car could have drained the battery? I hadn't driven the car in 4 days. It was left in reverse and all circuits were apparently okay because it didn't beep or anything when I last left it. I had to use the key to pop the trunk, pull the string for the driver's side door, then pop the hood. After 20 minutes of charging, I was back in service. But I can't understand what caused the drain. I had unplugged the Valentine 1 from the cigarette lighter, so that was the only open circuit. Anybody else experience this?
Pro
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 524
Likes: 0
From: Clovis California
I have a radar detector plugged into the cigarette lighter and a Treo plugged into the aux plug in the compartment. Both are live at all times and I have not had any battery drain.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,571
Likes: 1
From: suburban Philadelphia PA
Originally Posted by DCBE
... look at the NHTSA board they list a TSB 3139 for battery problems ...
Team Owner
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 82,175
Likes: 1,319
From: McKinney TX
St. Jude Donor '21-'22-'23-'24
Originally Posted by TedG
I have an A4, I let the car sit for 2 weeks. The battery cranked like it had never sat. So it surely isn't the computer draining the bat.
Will this be one of the last drives of the C6 before spring?
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 4,977
Likes: 10
From: Reno NV
Originally Posted by RedC6Coupe
Did you finally get to drive it today, Ted?
Will this be one of the last drives of the C6 before spring?
Will this be one of the last drives of the C6 before spring?