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battery drain!!! why? [Merged 5-7] draining dying

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97gstnick

15+ Year Contributor
412
2
Mar 21, 2004
Peoria, Arizona
this has me boggled. i am not good at electronics at all... maybe someone has some good info... my stock radio seems to stay on, like the left door speaker..(really quiet) drains my battery in like 6 hours. i pulled power from the stock amp and it doesnt drain anymore. how is radio staying on? its stock! also this might be it... this seemed to start happening after my retractable antenna broke. pretty much stuck in the up position... i pulled the b!tch out but still cannot connect amp or it will die....
 
-DSM2NR- said:
thanks, that's some good info:thumb:

I'll take the battery to autozone or wherever and get it checked. Do these battry checks cost anything?

No, they don't, and you can usually watch them do it, so they can't try to screw around w/ you and take your money ;)

After this many charges and drains, your battery MIGHT just be bad now. Just because it shows 12+ volts doesn't mean it has the amperage behind it to be of any use.

In my personal experience (based on many cars and many more bad batteries ;) ), once a battery is completely drained more than a couple times, it's usually just best to replace it. Unfortunately I can't back that statement up with any scientific data, but in all my years of working around cars, and all my years of working with DSMs specifically, almost every time I've had a battery drain down to ~0v, that battery had to be tossed within a few months. But who knows....maybe that's just my bad luck. ;)

That said, go ahead and have AutoZone (or wherever) test and charge it for you. I'd recommend having them slow charge it, rather than quick-charge it. The battery is more likely to hold the charge (if it can) with a slow charge. It will probably take most of the day for this, so be prepared to leave your battery there and come back for it before closing time :)
 
I got a pretty sweet battery charger already so I can recharge it myself ROFL

I'll use the thread that you mentioned before to test if there's any short by using my hand dandy fuse light (I already checked all my fuses and they all work correctly).

I guess I'll have to get myself a multimeter as well to check the alternator. I believe it's causing the problem...........we'll see.
 
Well...........I found the problem. I checked for shorts and I found two. One is related To the Headlamp and the other one is IGN SW. Moteur.
Neither the Headlamp fuse nor the Ignition fuse are blown though

Now, the question is.........how do I fix these and will it be a pain in the ass?
 
I have been having problems with low voltage while driving and a battery that is constantly draining, I have had the alternator checked at multiple locations they have said it is good, so Im fairly certain it is not that. So I did some research and found this post
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1496998#post1496998

following the steps with a test light I have found that with all doors/hatch SHUT I have a large draw on the battery, so I started with the easiest fuse and puled the "Room" fuse, and that was the one. So now Im wondering what all is on this circuit, I have the dome lights off all the time, I know there is the small light by the hatch, but Im not sure what else to look for. If anyone knows of a schematic for this circuit or has any ideas of where else to check that would be great.
 
K after reading some more I found some things that might also run off that fuse, such as power locks, radio, dome lights and so on. So I pulled the radio, unhooked the door switches. I have my keyless entry all disconnected so the locks shouldnt be an issue. But there is still what seems to be a large drain on the battery, one that only goes away when the "room" fuse is pulled out.

Does anyone know if the side mirror adjusters are on that fuse, because they havent worked in a long time.
 
Get a Haynes or Chiltons manual or visit a library that has the Mitchels auto manuals to look it up for your year dsm. I only have the 2g manual or I would help you. Thanx for doing a search and finding my article - you're one of the very few who has taken the time (BTW I just updated it).
 
I have a Chiltons manual and I cant seem to find the circuits I am looking for. If anyone has or knows of where to find a diagram of circuits online that would be helpful, the libraries near me dont have those manuals. I know the leak is in the circuit that is on the "room" fuse so if anyone has any ideas they would be greatly appreciated.
 
Remember to make sure the battery terminals arent corroded, one time mine did this and even though they didnt look THAT bad, i cleaned them up and it solved the problem. This probably wont help you but i almost replaced some stuff when a friend warned me of this, and it solved the problem.
 
I've been trying to figure out the source of an electrical drain. I had the viper alarm disabled and I put in a new battery. After driving from LA to San Jose (300+ mi.) I left the car in the garage to see how long it'd take to die. On the 6th night, I played about 4 songs on the CD player and left the light that goes on when the door is left open on for about 5 - 6 hours. The next morning (7th day) the car was dead.

Should the battery have lasted longer or am I still looking @ a drain?
 
Ok I have a 96 GSX. Shortly after I got it I Have found that if I dont drive it for 24 hours or more the battery goes dead. I know the battery is ok though because I removed it for 2 weeks while out of town and it still had plenty of juice when I got back and put it in the car. The only aftermarket stuff that was in the car since this problrm started was a kenwood stereo and the fuel pump rewire mod. Everything else electrical is stock. I cannot find any burnt or frayed wires and everything works correctly in the car. The only questionable item that I can find is the alternator. It only puts out a max voltage of 13.4 and drops to arround 12 when the headlights are on and I hit the brakes. Again though it is a drain on the battery that I am concerned about. If I drive it daily I have no problems.
 
Well if the fuel pump was staying on youd probably hear it, is your radio wired right by that I mean does it shut off with key or do you have to shut it off manually. I had a dvd player installed awhile back and it was wired to work with the key off but even though I would shut it off and it would go to stand by mode it would drain my battery in two days.
 
I just finished troubleshooting a similar problem for a customer, contour, v6. Her problem ended up being a bad altenator. Yours sound like a bad amp, with an internal short to ground. Get a volt meter set it to (mah). With the key off. Remove the positve battery cable and attach the black lead of the tester to it. Now connect the red (pos) test lead to the battery positive terminal. With the car off, it should be about 1.a or .001mah . If its higher than 1.a . one by one remove your fuses , links , and relays. while checking the meter for a good drop.
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