Battery Problems

[04MonteSS]

I know this isnt the place to go, but everything else is Mustang and I am Chevy. My problem is that my battery is just draining nonstop, i didnt drive it for like two days and it was just dead. Took it to my mechanic, and he couldnt figure out what was wrong with it. I do have two 12" MTX subs with an Infinity 611A 761 watt mono amp. But the thing is, my mechanic said that it isnt the system that is causing the battery to drain. Does anyone know what might be causing the problem? Thanks much, and sorry for this not being in the right forum.

[Brent]

Bad battery?

[04MonteSS]

I brought it in on January to Pepboys so they can charge it, which is when it died on me the 1st time, and they told me that everything was good with it.
The paper said " Beginning: 11.20v 52 CCA Ending: 12.86v 801 CCA Battery Condition: Good Battery, Battery meets industry performance standards"

[Seph]

It's been pretty gay whatever it is. I think it's a -Chevy- thing :P

I also would be pretty grateful if anyone could help fix this problem.

Otherwise as soon as he gets a job he's going to charge the battery, trade in his car, and let some other person deal with it and then return it to the dealership :P

[PureVenom]

Quote: Originally Posted by Seph It's been pretty gay whatever it is. I think it's a -Chevy- thing :P I also would be pretty grateful if anyone could help fix this problem. Otherwise as soon as he gets a job he's going to charge the battery, trade in his car, and let some other person deal with it and then return it to the dealership :P

well, I will agree that it is a chevy thing. I have a 99 lumina in my driveway that is doing the same thing. We just replaced the battery and alternator in January-ish when it happened the first time. We figured the alt just died, so we replaced it. Now, about 2 months later, the car sat over a weekend and it is now dead again. We do not have and sound stuff in the car.

I would like to fix it if anyone chimes in on what it might be...otherwise, I am going to let the POS sit until the woman is ready to get into something else...get it running long enough to trade it in and be done with it. Fucking chevies....

[Herbstang]

If the charging and battery check out, then you need to check the vehicle for a battery draw. You will need a digital multi-meter than can handle at least 20 amps of current. Did you add anything electronic to the car recently?
You can't completely check the alt. and battery with just a meter, but you can do a few things. First, check the cables and connections Most vehicles could stand to have their battery and cables cleaned with a brass brush or emery cloth. Secondly, set your meter to a 12 volt DC scale and place the black probe on the negative battery post and the red one to the positive post. You should get a reading of 12 volts or higher. If you don't your battery needs a charge or needs replacing. If that checks, then start the engine while still leaving the meter probes connected. Get someone to watch the meter display while you start the motor. Hopefully your meter will be good enough to react quickly and show you the battery voltage during cranking. It may take a few starts to get an average reading. The voltage shouldn't drop below 9.5 volts during crank. This test isn't always accurate as the quality of the test equipment isn't ideally suited for this test. After the vehicle is running the voltage should read around 14.4 volts. If it does, turn on some accessories like the headlights, wipers and rear deffogger etc.. The voltage reading may drop a bit but shouldn't go below 12.5 volts. If neither of these last two readings are good then your alt. isn't charging the battery properly.
Ask your mechanic if he did a full charging and starting test. There is specific equipment that can thoroughly test both your battery and alt. under proper loads. Ask him if your battery passed a load test. If all this checks out OK, then you'll have to test the battery for a draw.

[PureVenom]

My problem is specifically a draw somewhere and it can kiss my ass since I have no idea how or where to check for one. The battery is fine if the car is driven everyday...once it sits for a couple of days, the battery is dead. I can't do any of the tests you mention because the batter reads dead. I can jump it and get it running to check the alt readings and such, but I am 99.9% sure it is a draw somewhere...

Unfortunately, I don't have the proper tool (read explosives) to properly fix the issue. Told her she should have never bough a chevy.

[04MonteSS]

Quote: Originally Posted by Herbstang If the charging and battery check out, then you need to check the vehicle for a battery draw. You will need a digital multi-meter than can handle at least 20 amps of current. Did you add anything electronic to the car recently?

My mechanic did do the amp test on it, and I was there when he was testing it out. He was pointing out that the battery was charging and putting out enough power since it does have to deal with a computer. And that only added electronics I have added was the sound system

[Herbstang]

Well that was my best shot good Luck with the problem

[04MonteSS]

Lol thanks anyways man

[Herbstang]

Here's something else

The best way to isolate a current draw problem, is to use an ammeter that will handle a 10 amp draw. Remove each fuse that always gets 12 volts, and put the meter probes across the terminals where the fuse was. Any current draw shown is what that circuit is drawing with the car shut off. (If connecting the meter probes causes an interior light to come on, wait until it automatically shuts off, before assessing current draw).

If you don't have an ammeter, your only option to isolate the circuit, is to use trial and error:
1) do a test to prove you have no problem with fuse removed? If so, you can focus on this circuit, and skip to the next paragraph.
2) if the problem happens with fuse removed, remove all the fuses that get 12 volts with the key out of the ignition, and do another test with them all removed.
3) assuming that the problem doesn't happen in step 2, add one fuse back at a time, to see which one triggers the problem. Then focus on that circuit.

[Seph]

Good idea on removing the fuse to see if it still drains it, we'll try that