2G Battery drain overnight

DsmMickey · Dec 17, 2015

I know there few thread about this but not too sure about it. Okay I'm going to tell you of what I did lately on my gst. My dsmlink showing 11.9 battery while engine running so I swap to 1g alternator and I rewired it. I also brought new battery redtop optima. Now my dsmlink graph showing battery 13.1 while engine running. (alternator is good) Im not sure if that battery volt is normal while engine running. Overnight my battery die, so I jump it and let it charge the battery and still die overnight on the next days. I must have a draw somewhere, where do u guy think I should take a look at?

Sorry if my sentence/grammer are horrible.

TallestHERETIC · Dec 17, 2015

I had this same problem. Get that alternator checked out. The voltage regulator caused all kinds of really inaccurate readings in mine. My battery also died overnight as well like this.

o0GuitarKid0o · Dec 17, 2015

I once spent five hours ripping out my command start, amp and subs and every relay I could pull out to have .. just wait for it....

My battery cables failed on me and it was a terrible day hah .
I guess 24yr old lead shouldn't be ignored

So I suggest you start with the easy stuff first and go to town by either pulling fuses and waiting to see if the battery drains,

Or grab a multi meter and see if there's any parasitic drain

Think back to when it started and what you changed good luck !

Edit: if you can wiggle the battery cables then it's loose

Lou98GSX · Dec 17, 2015

Try revving the engine to see if the voltage goes higher than 13.1 . If it does then your charging system should be ok . Now to check for a battery draw, its a little more complicated but look for the obvious . One thing my son always used to do was leave the map light on the rear view mirror .Another thing is do you have a different radio and was it wired properly.

ThunderChild · Dec 17, 2015

Get a meter with an amp clamp, put it around the positive cable and see if there's a draw. If so, start pulling fuses until the draw disappears. When it does, you know the system to look into.
Common areas I find are shorted lighting circuits or poor aftermarket wiring, such as decks, amps or remote start/security systems. Others could be relays that are fused and holding power on

91Bomb · Dec 18, 2015

I just had a battery drain problem too. Definitely get a multimeter and disconnect negative battery cable + put 1 lead on it and 1 lead on battery post. If you see more than 50 milliamp draw (i believe) there is a problem and you start by pulling 1 fuse at a time until the draw goes away and then you found your problem! In my case it was the alt and replacing it fixed everything.

There are excellent youtube videos on how to use multimeter and find a parasitic draw like I just described and it's quite easy. If you don't have a multimeter Sear's has a decent one for $10. (Personally I wouldn't waste my time with Harbor freight's cheapest meter because it was so inaccurate had to toss it out LOL

luv2rallye · Dec 18, 2015

http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/finding-a-short-partial-short-or-battery-drain.179481/#post-1496998

simplejoe · Dec 18, 2015

I had the same problem on my 2g. It ended up being a few wires up under the dash. I just used a multimeter to track it down. Start at the battery and work your way back. It's going to take a few hours to track down, so be patient.

Lou98GSX · Dec 18, 2015

Anything above 35 milliamps is considered a draw .

91Bomb · Dec 18, 2015

The draw I found on my car was 2-1/2 amps and when I disconnected the 80 amp alt fuse it went away. So I reconnected fuse and then removed wire directly at alternator and yep definitely had a shorting out alt.

DsmMickey · Dec 18, 2015

Hey guy im back, I didn't know you guys comment my thread. Well let me narrow it down, I got no radio so you can see wires around there. I also find positive wire in the radio area and rewired to my boost gauge and Wideband too. (not it doesn't stay on when key off) so I guess I got that rewire right. I do have new battery post cable and it tight. im pretty sure I rewired the alternator right because the engine run. if I rewired the alternator wrong, I guess it wouldn't run. My battery volt went up to 14.4 on near 3k rpm. My lamp shut off when door closed and trunk is completely closed. I haven't pull out fuse yet and find out which is drawing the battery because I never did that before but I will give it a shot....But let me eat some pizza first.

those log graph was running for few min.

91Bomb · Dec 18, 2015

If you can operate a multimeter then you can easily find the voltage draw by pulling 1 fuse at a time. Here's vid + there's many others on youtube too :thumb:

How To Perform a Parasitic Draw Test

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98eclipse2015 · Jan 12, 2016

I have the same prob I have to make sure I at least start and run my car everyday or I will come out to a dead batt but one day I thought it was dead and the cold is making it dead. As I got to charge it it was at like 90% so it's not dead I than used a multi meter and noticed it's only giving out 8 votes but as it warms up it slowly chreeps up to 12 v and is able to put back in my car and start it with no prob. Is this a battery prob even tho I just got it or the same prob everyone else is having? Its not a red top or yellow it's just a reg batt all the light are on in the dash just not bright and once you trying to start the car it doesn't make any noise like it's trying to crank over it's just silent turn the key nothing happens no sound no nothing and when I first walk up to my car and use my key fob to unlock and disarm my car it just goes off continuously and I am NOT able to turn it off with the key fob it turns off by itself (alarm)

98eclipse2015 · Jan 12, 2016

91Bomb said:
If you can operate a multimeter then you can easily find the voltage draw by pulling 1 fuse at a time. Here's vid + there's many others on youtube too

How To Perform a Parasitic Draw Test
You must be logged in to view this image or video.

I'll have to try this

o0GuitarKid0o · Jan 12, 2016

It's possible the battery froze how's the cells distilled water level?
Does your battery leak like my mopar did(pic below)?

My battery tray was full of acid , i just ended up buying a 960cca battery car started minus 30 not plugged in great buy hah

Your battery has warranty so bring it back and get them to put a load on it and then get them to test it

Ps if you have the original battery terminals replace them ! I lost 500 cca from my original terminals so I got some new gold ones

Ashten Alexander · Jan 12, 2016

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I'm having a similar issue and I'm about to create a new thread on it , but long story short it seems to be a relay connected to the computer. when i plug it in the battery volts start dropping faster than a sac of potatoes to about 6 volts . when i unplug that one relay it goes back up to around 12v . It was the 20amp motor fuse under the hood ( its blue) and the relay under the radio ( passenger side ) Relay number E8T1017Y11 . I'ts two relays that have the same numbers on them. One just has two red wires and a blue wire going to it .and the other has a black, black white, and orange white wire going to it. The one with the red wires going to it is the one causing my drain and I'm trying to figure out where to go from there . If you find anything please share .

DsmMickey · Jan 16, 2016

Thank all of you. I finally found my issue of what draining my battery. I look up my dsmlink and it show code "Generator FR terminal circuit malfunction". I rewired the Alternator wrong so I rewired it right and doesn't kill my battery overnight now.

98eclipse2015 · Jan 29, 2016

ok i went and got a alternator from the junk yard ( pick n pull) I have installed it and the numbers I'm getting from my meter when the car is off is 12.69v or so and with the car on it getting about 14.15v are so and with both reading they jumped around a little are these good numbers? I have seen a vid that said a good reading with the car off is 12.6v and with the car on about 14.2v so I'm not to sure about my numbers for when the car is on. I may have to go do another reading just to make sure.

98eclipse2015 · Jan 29, 2016

91Bomb said:
I just had a battery drain problem too. Definitely get a multimeter and disconnect negative battery cable + put 1 lead on it and 1 lead on battery post. If you see more than 50 milliamp draw (i believe) there is a problem and you start by pulling 1 fuse at a time until the draw goes away and then you found your problem! In my case it was the alt and replacing it fixed everything.

There are excellent youtube videos on how to use multimeter and find a parasitic draw like I just described and it's quite easy. If you don't have a multimeter Sear's has a decent one for $10. (Personally I wouldn't waste my time with Harbor freight's cheapest meter because it was so inaccurate had to toss it out

i got one :/

ThunderChild · Jan 29, 2016

@98eclipse2015

Those are great #'s, nothing to be worried about.

98eclipse2015 · Jan 29, 2016

tametalon92 said:
@98eclipse2015

Those are great #'s, nothing to be worried about.

I did another reading about 20 mins after my first one and now my readings are 12.65 and with the car running im getting about 13.6 to 13.7 to me thats seems like a huge voltage drop from my first reading

ThunderChild · Jan 29, 2016

If the readings are steadily going down and continue to, there is a problem.

If this is at idle, those are still good #'s. If u get below 13v or it won't go close to/just over 14 while above 1500 rpm, then you have a problem. 12.6-12.7v is a full charged battery at rest

98eclipse2015 · Jan 29, 2016

tametalon92 said:
If the readings are steadily going down and continue to, there is a problem.

If this is at idle, those are still good #'s. If u get below 13v or it won't go close to/just over 14 while above 1500 rpm, then you have a problem. 12.6-12.7v is a full charged battery at rest

alright so im still good than as long as it dont get below the 13v mark right? and yes my numbers are when the car is at idle

91Bomb · Jan 29, 2016

You always need to check battery voltage 2 ways, with engine running + engine not running. When checking with it off and after car's been sitting overnight you're hoping to see 12.2-12.6 v but seeing 12.0v is not that uncommon and voltmeters do vary especially between budget ones. When checking with engine running I believe you should see approx 13.5-14.5v range.

91Bomb · Jan 29, 2016

98eclipse2015 said:
I have the same prob I have to make sure I at least start and run my car everyday or I will come out to a dead batt but one day I thought it was dead and the cold is making it dead. As I got to charge it it was at like 90% so it's not dead I than used a multi meter and noticed it's only giving out 8 votes but as it warms up it slowly chreeps up to 12 v and is able to put back in my car and start it with no prob. Is this a battery prob even tho I just got it or the same prob everyone else is having? Its not a red top or yellow it's just a reg batt all the light are on in the dash just not bright and once you trying to start the car it doesn't make any noise like it's trying to crank over it's just silent turn the key nothing happens no sound no nothing and when I first walk up to my car and use my key fob to unlock and disarm my car it just goes off continuously and I am NOT able to turn it off with the key fob it turns off by itself (alarm)

Clean battery terminals +connectors.

Batteries come with a month/year date stamp or sticker so check that. If you're having problems with one that's 4 yrs old or more then good chance you need a new battery. Getting 4-5 years battery life is considered normal even though they can last over 6 years depending on many factors.

Of course there are various ways to check a battery using a multimeter, hydrometer, load test, etc.

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