I have a question and wanted to see if anyone ran into this problem before because I am at a loss for what could be wrong. My battery is about a year and half old and if my car is not started in about 1 and half weeks to 2 weeks the battery dies. My car is not daily driven so this happens often.
I know the battery is not bad and is definitely able to hold a charge because if I unhook the battery and then connect it when I want to start the car it is fine. I had the battery disconnected and tried to start it a month and half in between starts and it was fine - no problems so I know it isn't a bad battery.
I thought I may have had a bad shock sensor because I would see the sensor light lit every time I entered the car. I replaced the sensor and it is still dying.
Something is drawing power and I can't figure out what it is. My neons in the trunk and under the dash are all off when they are supposed to be.
I can't figure it out and it is driving me nuts. I bought a trickle charger to keep the battery fresh but I shouldn't have to do this. Is there anyway to test the electrical system to find out what my be the cause?
Electrical problems like this can be very hard to track down. I once had a similar problem and what I did was removed fuses one at a time until the problem went away (this can take a long time). In my case, it was a power seat with a short.
Originally posted by bk94si Electrical problems like this can be very hard to track down. I once had a similar problem and what I did was removed fuses one at a time until the problem went away (this can take a long time). In my case, it was a power seat with a short.
i had the same problem, it was my deck that kept messing up, had to re-wire everything
So you guys just pulled a few fuses at a time and waited to see if it killed your battery? If your battery still died then you just replaced them and took out a few more and continued the process until the problem was found?
It's going to take a year to find out the problem this way
Originally posted by Mark94 So you guys just pulled a few fuses at a time and waited to see if it killed your battery? If your battery still died then you just replaced them and took out a few more and continued the process until the problem was found?
It's going to take a year to find out the problem this way
Thanks guys, I guess I'll start pulling tonight.
Mark
well the way i knew it was my deck was because it was shorting out that whole week before this started happening...
pulling fuses sounds like it wouldnt be to hard to find the problem, i would check normal things, like, the lighting fuses first
Get a miulti meter, set it to AMPS.
Disconnect the positive side of the battery.
Attach one lead of the meter to the positive battery post.
Attach the other lead to the positive battery cable.
Your reading should be around 20ma or less.
If its more, start pulling fuese, checking the meter each time.
When you see the meter take a big drop, thats the problem circuit and you can trouble shoot futher from there.
Remember, when you have the meter hooked up, make sure the key is off, and dont turn on anything, no lights, no radio, no neos etc. MY meter could only handle about 10 amps before it would blow up and melt.
The other thing to do is load test the battery to see what condition it's in. A battery can be down to 10% (max amp-hours when fully charged) of its new capacity and still start the car just fine. Two weeks is a long time to go without starting your car. Measure the load to see if it's unusual, then load test the battery. BTW, the shock sensor LED (on the sensor) should go off when you enter the car, that means it's working. If you leave your alarm armed for two weeks straight that is quite a load (just the alarm LED.)
I'll probably head out this weekend to get a multi meter. Any idea how much they go for Absolut?
Once I find out what the problem circuit is then I'll address the battery. I'll bring it into Sears and have them test it (still under warranty) because it has been drained and recharged MANY times.
Get a miulti meter, set it to AMPS.
Disconnect the positive side of the battery.
Attach one lead of the meter to the positive battery post.
Attach the other lead to the positive battery cable.
Your reading should be around 20ma or less.
If its more, start pulling fuese, checking the meter each time.
When you see the meter take a big drop, thats the problem circuit and you can trouble shoot futher from there.
I had the same problem and there is a easier way to fix this wothout getting a multimeter, all you have to do is dosconnect the positive battery cable and touch it back to the battery if there is a big spark than you know there is somthing that is pulling extra power out of you battery. so then you go and pull out one fuse at a time when you pull out the fuse that is pulling your battery down you will have no spark anymore from the positive battery cable then you know what your problem is i fixed mine like this it was running down every day after letting it sit and everything was fine(battery,alternator and components), hope this helps. MY problem ended up bieng my interior lights because i got hit in my drivers side door in a wreck and it messed up the wiring(short).
I took my Gf's from her job, retails for over $500
Absolut, thanks again for the diagram, but my HD was reformatted over the weekend, you still have the pics? I opened up a whole new can of worms over the weekend, and now I will probably need to rewire all my lights.
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1994 Prelude Si (Sitting in Garage)
2004 WRX Wagon (Pounding the snow)
Mark, it's gonna take awhile. I am currently blowing out the fuse to my parking lights, and I used a multimeter to help diagnose the problem. I spent over 5 hours, and I've come to the realization that I will need to rewire my lights one at a time.
I stuck the positive lead of my multimeter to the fuse block, and the negative lead up to the positive lead of each of the lights, and it completed the circuit, which is So I definitely have a short.
I'm just trying to help brainstorm
Just have patience.
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1994 Prelude Si (Sitting in Garage)
2004 WRX Wagon (Pounding the snow)
Originally posted by jpprelude I took my Gf's from her job, retails for over $500
Absolut, thanks again for the diagram, but my HD was reformatted over the weekend, you still have the pics? I opened up a whole new can of worms over the weekend, and now I will probably need to rewire all my lights.
Yea, just IM me when you see me online, dont have pics here @ work.
Seriously though, a good multimeter is a very worthwhile investment. I use mine all the time, and i allways need it when I can't find it. Maybe I should buy another one ;-). Unless you know what you need and got special needs, I wouldnt go over $100 for a good all around multimeter for DIY use. Just make sure you get the usefull stuff (shortcircuit check aka diode check ;P, DC amp, AC amp, DC volt, AC volt)... It's well worth paying $110 for a good meter you never need to replace imo .
my battery kept dieing ......i have no clue still why
i disconnected my amp and alarm, and i havent lost power yet. Today i will reconnect my alarm and see if I lose power again
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-Mike-
88 RX-7 GXL SOLD - 88 RX-7 Turbo II
90 240sx SE SOLD - 89 RX-7 GXL
94 SiVTEC -SOLD! - 92 Toyota Pick-Up (Unintentional Drift ride)
RIP Jonathan "Jape" King
I bought mine a RadioShack a few years ago, mine was around $80, but I got a really good one, I do alot of electronics work.
Try radio shack, you should be able to get a basic meter for about $30.
Usually, the more you spend, the better the meter.
Good Luck.
Is this the more the better?=].
I've had the same problem for sometime as well. Just got my alternator and battery tested and both came out fine. A lot of good procedures to find which circuit is the culprit here. I nominate for FAQ.
i am having the same problem...mine started when i was installing my jdm side mirrors...i blew the mirror fuse and pulled out that fuse and put another one in from another source and then that one would blow...i did this for about 5-6 fuses...after i was done i bought all new fuses for the ones that i blew but now my battery keeps dying after about a day or so...i have a multi so i guess i will have to go that route
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