Conniejo

I have a similiar problem as this guy:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...ead-again.html


I just bought my car (2006 Lexus IS350) from my sister and she has had a battery drain/ dying problem. She took it to her local Lexus dealer in October (because its still in warranty, currently as well) they changed the battery. However, that did not fix the problem, the same thing kept happening.

We bought it from her in December and of course the problem continues...

I drive the lexus is350 short distances (anywhere from 2.4 to 5 miles each way). I Drive it about 4 times a week currently. I have had it for less than 3 months. First time it died for us was about a week ago, after sitting for 2-3 days in garage, it clicked, but no start.

We had it jumped and brought it to our local Lexus dealer. They checked it out and found no problems.
No charge Invoice states:
"Load tested battery, passes load and health test. No excessive draw from battery. Alternator operating as designed at this time. Charged for about 2hrs. Re-tested battery all ok at this time."

They said it has the problem, because I do not drive it enough for the battery to regain charge, since it takes about 25% battery life to start the car.

Therefore, they provided no "fix." However, they fully charged it and I took it home on Friday night on the 5th. I drove it to do some errands on Sunday the 7th. I go to start it a couple days latter on Monday or Tuesday, the 8th or 9th, and it does no start, battery died again!

We hooked up a trickle charger last night (the 9th) for a few hours. (first time using it, not sure if it was working or not). We didn't try starting it after disconnection trickle charger, we wanted to wait till morning. So morning comes (the 10th) and we try to start it and we dont even get the clicks and it does not start.



What is a practical solution? or a possible cause of this problem?



Please help!




please note: it is not the battery, my sister had lexus replace it on October. So it has been replaced and same problem happens...

giantdefy

iTrader: (1)

driving for less than 5 miles daily will kill the battery early. Do you also have any other accessories that are left on while parked?
Best way to test it yourself is to get a volt meter which is available at walmart for under $15. Battery should read 12.5 volts or more when the car is off, 13.5 to 14.5 when running.
The car should have started if you left the trickle charger on, not unless you plugged the leads on backwards.

Koz

The Stealer should be able see exactly how many amps/milli-amps are being drawn when the the car is not running. Also if the charging system is working properly. If all is well you can either us a trickle charger (Battery Tender) or you can replace the battery with a battery that provides more capacity (amp-hrs). Just make sure it will fit. I have a friend who had a IS that had to keep it on a Battery Tender because he didn't use the car that often.

Koz

Conniejo

Not that i know of. I have keyless entry, would having my key fob too close to the car (i.e. upstairs in my room above the garage) some how drain it too, because it keeps sending signals? or what?



Didn't they/ Wouldn't they have done that check at Lexus Dealership?


Any recommendations? Are there batteries designed for low mileage daily driving?

giantdefy

iTrader: (1)

Any recommendations? Are there batteries designed for low mileage daily driving?[/QUOTE]

Not a good idea to replace your OEM battery with a higher capacity battery. Your alternator is matched up to your battery rating, replacing it with a battery with a higher capacity would cause your alternator to work harder to keep it charged wearing out the alternator faster. Your short driving would kill the battery even faster. If you dont have any parasitic drains on the battery, trickle charging it at least once a week should do the trick. Driving your car for 5 minutes is bad on the battery, the oil, and the engine.

blkis_250

check the actual terminals at the top of the battery. my parents camry had a similar problem and it turns out the terminals were going bad. they had this weird purple/white foam forming at the base where it connects to the battery. i too took it to a dealer who changed the battery out which obviously didnt solve the problem but in the end it was when i took it to a good old mom and pop garage that my problem was fixed. hope this helps. you should put some gold ones on. they look pretty awesome.

IamIchiban

Your alternator is shot.

98023IS250

have a different dealer check it out....

it should not be drained even if you do not drive it for a week.

edgeucated

iTrader: (4)

he said he already checked his alternator. i would just go buy a voltage meter and check the car myself to determine the problem. something has to be draining your battery, driving your car for only 5 miles a day is bad for it but it wont kill the battery that quickly

2slow

iTrader: (5)

The problem COULD be the alternator, but you'll need to get voltage/amp readings. Like Koz said, the dealership should check if anything is drawing power from the battery when the car is off, or you can try doing it yourself.

This website will walk you through it. http://www.ehow.com/how_2249402_find...ery-drain.html

A car should have at least 12.45 volts, and at least 13.6-14Vs when running. If you get low readings check the alternation for loose wires, or corrosion.

njmurvin

Well, I am the guy from the referenced thread in your original post. I can tell you what seems to have solved the issue for us.

A brief history . . . I drove the car almost 2 yrs and nothing like this ever happened. We switched around cars and my wife started driving the IS. Within days, her battery died, we got it checked (no problems). Another week or so and it did it again. Another week, another dead battery.

The odd thing for us was that the car was always unlocked with a dead battery - even though she had locked it (or thought she had). Someone posted on my thread about the fact that - if you turn off the car while it's still in drive - the ignition will stay on. You can't lock the doors either. So, as a precaution, I "trained" her to always put it in park FIRST before turning off, always use the push button on the outside of the door to lock the car on exit, and always listen for the confirmation beep that it locked.

It has been months and it hasn't died since. I don't know if that's possible in your case. But, I thought I'd share what we discovered.

Conniejo

I don't think we have the problem of turning car off while not in park, however, I will make sure that we don't do that and ill make sure to always do the door button lock and listen to beep to make sure.

Also, we will be purchasing a voltage/amp reader and hopefully this will somehow discover the problem. I will post the results of it when we buy it and test it.

dembou

A year and five months ago I started a job that is exactly 4.5 miles from home (I just checked with google maps), I drive to work then back home with the radio on, and knock on wood, I have never had any battery draining issues, so I have to say from my experience that driving five miles IS NOT the reason the battery is loosing its charge.

If the old battery was changed by the dealer, then I guess they probably have tighten the terminals enough that you can't move them with only your hands, but if they are loose, that could be the problem.

Also check for corrosion on the terminals or the tip of the wires that go into them, if they have any, then change the terminals like blkis_250 suggested with gold ones, they cost like 3 bucks each, the wires should be free of corrosion before putting the terminals on. I Hope that helps.

92 SC400

Sounds like my cousin's wife's X5 before they fixed it...

Koz

Not a good idea to replace your OEM battery with a higher capacity battery. Your alternator is matched up to your battery rating, replacing it with a battery with a higher capacity would cause your alternator to work harder to keep it charged wearing out the alternator faster. Your short driving would kill the battery even faster. If you dont have any parasitic drains on the battery, trickle charging it at least once a week should do the trick. Driving your car for 5 minutes is bad on the battery, the oil, and the engine.[/QUOTE]

All 12v car batteries and charging systems operate basically the same. The capacity of the battery will not have any affect on the charging system. The capacity will only give you power for a longer time period. The problem is the physical size/design of the battery. Think of it like you are comparing a heavy duty D cell battery to an alkaline battery.

After verifying the charging system is working properly my recommendation would be to use a battery tender or try a yellow top Optima replacement or a Mega-Tron Plus Interstate.

http://www.interstatebatteries.com/c...nths+-+800+CCA

Koz