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

[97gstnick]

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....

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179481​

 

[Wpgdsm]

Did you load test your battery? It is possible for you car to run and drive fine ,you can listen to your radio and then as soon as you shut it off it's dead. The battery will even show 12 volts on the gauge but if you throw a load tester on it and it pulls down farther than 9 or 10 volts and wont recover in a preset amount of time its no good. The same place that tests your alt can test your battery.

 

[STECARS]

Either way get a Redtop Optima .. I used to play music for over an hour with the car off... Running 2 12's and 2 800 watt amps ....never has a problem

 

[SlowdsmGST]

I just recently have had the same problem with mine. I haven't figured it out yet.

 

[-DSM2NR-]

Ok, here's the deal. My battery completly drains out 2 days after I completly recharge it. At first I thought the problem was caused by the amp and sub that the car had in it so I removed that (which didn't solve the problem ). I left the wires that were connected to the rear speakers and taped them up so they wouldn't have charge.

The car has a boost gauge, a/f gauge (disconnected), EGT gauge, Turbo timer, Greddy Profec-B EBC, and DSMlink which take up electricity.
I used DSMlink and it gave me the following code: 1500 General FR circuit malfunction

I probably should add the fact that the car had it's factory alternator replaced with an autozone one about 500miles ago since the factory one failed.


What might cause the battery to drain this fast? This is going on my nerves and making me mad as hell I can't even concentrate on other things because my car isn't running properly.
Somebody please help me out

 

[brandons95]

I had the same problem in my 95 tsi, my issue was my factory infiniti amp had a short in it so i took it out, the my passenger side power door lock had a short in it so i pulled the fuse and now seems to be ok.

 

[XMasta19]

Your battery might actually have a bad cell...thus you keep charging it, yet it's unable to sustain that full power for any real period of time. What kind of battery do you have, and have you tried replacing it yet?

 

[dsm023]

Or that alternator from autozone is NOT doing it's job! That is another possibility, I've had those autozone units fail from 500 miles to 6500 miles.

 

[XMasta19]

that's definitely a possibility as well...I just neglected to mention it in hopes of NAPA actually giving a decent part

 

[mopardwh]

Test the battery. If it's good, take off the alternator and test it. (Take them to a parts store). Also you can use a test light and start checking things to see if they are hot when the key is off. I would start with your stereo equipment.

 

[BlueTurboSpyder]

Either one could cause that problem. Before replacing your alternator, did you have to charge your battery a lot? If so and if your battery is a couple years old, I would replace it. Also if there is anyway you can monitor voltage while the car is running, that would help diagnose the problem. Good Luck!

 

[XMasta19]

Just go to the parts store...almost all of them do free testing. They will let you know if your battery/alternator are bad because they want your moneyz .

 

[ken06]

You probably have a bad battery cell, go to a battery store and have it tested

 

[TSITuner4Lyfe69]

Just go to the parts store...almost all of them do free testing. They will let you know if your battery/alternator are bad because they want your moneyz .

HAHA IM PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH THE AUTOZONE PROMISE "I PROMISE TO HELP YOU AFTER I TAKE YOUR MONEY"

 

[XMasta19]

You probably have a bad battery cell, go to a battery store and have it tested

Your battery might actually have a bad cell

@ NAPA

 

[-DSM2NR-]

The alternator was actually replaced by the previous owner. He also mentioned that the battery in the car is new. I guess my best bet is to take them both to autozone or whatever and have them checked out. I'm just affraid that they'll tell me that the battery or alternator are junk even though they might be in perfect working condition...........It's happened before.......People would say anything to get your money

 

[-DSM2NR-]

Might a blown alternator fuse be causing this problem? And if it's the alternator itself that's causing the problem how can it drain the battery without the car turned on?

 

[-DSM2NR-]

I might have found the problem.

I took a closer look at the fuses today and noticed that (for some reason) the previous owner attached a piece of wire connected to the fog light fuse hole onto a 15amp fuse which is then connected to the rear tail brake light fuse. I dont' even know why the previous owner did this. There aren't even any fog lights on the car due to the 2gb front bumper and headlight conversion

Here's a picture. I hope it makes more sense.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You can punch me for this but I've also noticed that I forgot to plug the MAF back into the intake after doing a shaftplay test on the turbo. I fixed this. I did drive the car with the MAF unhooked a couple of miles though




Do you guys think one of these two discoveries might be the reason my battery keeps draining?

 

[ken06]

Well the MAF won't be the problem, idk about the fuse, but give it a try. How long does it take for your battery to drain all the way now. When my battery went bad a month ago it started out dieing overnight then by two days later it would lose its charge after 15 minutes, kind of a downward spiral. Yeah push starting sucks. If I was you just go to a battery store and have them test it. If they say you have a bad battery you buy one and if your problem still persists get your money back. I wouldn't trust them on if your alternater was bad tho.

 

[girlieracr4g63]

Check your belt and pulley.


Wendy

 

[hybrid2012]

I'd bet it's the battery. I had the same thing happen to me where my battery died, I recharged it and it was dead two days later. Take your car to the nearest auto store and have them test the battery and alternator to be safe. They can't screw you over if you're standing right there while they're doing the test.

 

[natedogg814]

Like other peoplee said just have it tested at the parts store. I had a refurbed alernator from Advance Auto and that definitly was temporary, it didnt last long.

 

[-DSM2NR-]

Well, the wire and 15amp fuse isn't the problem. I had it removed and the battery drained out again. This time it didn't take even a whole day to drain out.
I probably should get the battery checked out.

What belt and pulley are you refering to Wendy? The car does make odd squeeking noises when it's started up but they gradually go away after 3mins or so.

 

[girlieracr4g63]

Well, the wire and 15amp fuse isn't the problem. I had it removed and the battery drained out again. This time it didn't take even a whole day to drain out.
I probably should get the battery checked out.

What belt and pulley are you refering to Wendy? The car does make odd squeeking noises when it's started up but they gradually go away after 3mins or so.

The alternator belt and harmonic balancer pulley. The OEM pulleys will seperate over time and the belts will wear out or stretch.



Wendy

 

[femmeDSM]

I found this Tech Article useful in diagnosing my power draw a few months ago...
http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54846

Perhaps it'll help in your situation (assuming you haven't already done this )

I think Wendy is on to something, though - check out your harmonic balancer/crank pulley. It may be the culprit.

 

[-DSM2NR-]

thanks, that's some good info

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