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HELP! my battery keeps dying overnight

Old 09-21-08, 05:07 AM
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cts206
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Default HELP! my battery keeps dying overnight

can anybody help me with this problem. my battery keeps draining completely dead overnight. i thought it was my battery so i bought a optima bluetop, didnt solve the problem. i know its not the alternator because it reads 14v at idle and 17v wen i rev it. i checked all the lights to see if any of them stay on, even the trunk. i cleaned the battery contacts and the ground behind the battery.

im stuck! can figure this one out. im thinking theres a short somewhere, but since i didnt change anything or do any modifications. i was wondering if there was some common shorts or if anybody had this problem. any ideas will help, thanks

Last edited by cts206; 09-21-08 at 05:22 AM.
Old 09-21-08, 07:48 AM
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trancuongv
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check your drivers side wheel well to see if you tire ate up some of the wiring harness that is located there. having a car that is too lowered will make the wiring harness get ate up. you have to relocate the wiring harness.
Old 09-21-08, 07:57 AM
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rwdanthony
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hmm drive with your headlights at night, when you press the gas do they get brighter? or how about if you let off do they go dimmer? if thats the case yoru voltage regulator is bad. but that shouldnt affect you on holding a charge... if your dying everynight. there has to be something consuming up the power.
Old 09-21-08, 09:35 AM
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Kohinoor
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off topic, but are those wise sport super wade wheels?
Old 09-21-08, 12:40 PM
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SolTrain99
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take a multimeter and turn on the car while the multimeter is connected. As you crank it if it drops below 9. Its a bad battery.
Old 09-21-08, 01:16 PM
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skousenjr
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i have a short in one of the motors of my passenger seat it drains it over time, unplug it and its fine, that's mine, but finding yours will be some work.
Old 09-21-08, 08:05 PM
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cts206
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i had the problem with the wiring harness over the driver side wheel well. my car was soo low it ate everything up. i fixed everything and lined the plastic inner wheel well with a layer of sheet metal, and wrapped the wiring harness really good to make sure it wouldnt come apart.

my lights stay consistant when im driving and idling, i know what youre talking about wen it gets dimmer because i had the problem wen my alternator went out.

yes those are wise sports wheels the wheels make the car, in my opinion. thanks for noticing kohinoor. i havent seen anybody on here that has em yet, i might be wrong tho.

the battery is brand new. before buying it i had two batteries from my other cars, both got drained so i kno its not the battery. but i'll check it with a multimeter tonight. thanks for the input soltrain.

skousen, how did you narrow it down to your passenger seat? was there a process you used? i was thinking about using a voltmeter and testing each fuse and see if theres power going through while the car was off. i'll fill u guys in with the results. anymore ideas???
Old 09-21-08, 08:19 PM
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Skitso-3
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My gs is having that prob. I was told that the alternator isn't giving a charge back to the battery. My mechanic told me 2 go 2 a electrical shop
Old 09-21-08, 11:03 PM
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cts206
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it gives it a charge because i started the car the other day with barely any juice and i drove around for about 20 mins. when i got home i checked the battery with a battery tester and it showed it was charged back to 12.68v with 800cca
Old 09-21-08, 11:10 PM
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LXLUTHR
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parasitic load test, something is staying on that shouldn't or something
Old 09-22-08, 12:11 AM
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C-Thrilla
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Did you recently install a new stereo or subs in the trunk or something of that nature? Did this short just come out of no where on day?

Also nice wheels!
Old 09-22-08, 12:20 AM
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yes, just have to go through 1 by 1 on the fuse see whats draining power, like i said i isolated it to the seats, then with passenger unplugged it stops so its there, how to fix it im not worried but like i said mines slow, if i drive it every day its fine, if i sit for like 3 days+ its dead again
Old 09-22-08, 07:17 PM
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cts206
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ok i went through all the fuses by the driver side kick panel. the only ones that show theres power going through is STOP and ECU-B. what does the stop fuse control? ima unplug my passenger seat just to see if that might work. this shiet is pissin me off. im about ready to sell the car.
Old 09-22-08, 10:06 PM
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SpinAll4
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If you buy one of the cheap DMM's from home depot, you can set it to the amperage setting (dc), disconnect the + battery post, and clip your DMM in line with the + battery post and + battery cable (use cheap aligator clips). a normal car should read .07 amps or less (dependig on how much stuff you have that draws with the car off). If yours is going dead overnight, it should be way more than this (maybe 1.5 amps or so).

You then start unplugging fuses one by one until the power draw goes down below .07-.05, and you know which circuit is giving you problems. From there, post what circuit it is or looking in you owners manual to see whats on said circuit.
Old 09-23-08, 01:46 AM
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cts206
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thats what i was trying to do all day today. i dont think i was using the multimeter right. also i didnt know how much amps the car was suppose to be using. thanks for the info im going to try again tmrw.

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