Battery discharging problem

[YeBoiSky]

So I’m not to sure why my Accord keeps loosing power it’s always had this problem if it sits without running for about a week or less. can’t be the battery cause I just replaced it I’m thinking it’s the alternator since it got soaked when my water pump blew but I also just replaced that 2 years ago. Anyone might know the problem?

[Dr_Snooz]

Is it a coupe? It's not uncommon for batteries to discharge after sitting for a week.

[YeBoiSky]

It’s a sedan model

[AWH]

You must have a parasitic draw. Lead acid batteries discharge about 1% a day. So it should normally take about 3 months to discharge a fully charged battery. Start pulling fuses when parked, until it stops discharging, now you have the cluster responsible, then start measuring to find the culprit.

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[Dr_Snooz]

Maybe until stone dead in a lab. In the real world here with several old cars that sit a lot, the battery will be too weak to start the car in about 5-6 days. A new battery will make it a week and a half, tops. I have about 7 solar battery tenders. They're cheaper than replacing sulfated batteries.

[ShiRen]

I thought for sure I would have to jump my car after this mini ice age, but 20 days later it fires up like it'd only sat for an hour. I wouldn't give your car any excuses for draining the battery.
Check and make sure nothing stupid is on like the trunk light, then get an ammeter and probe around. You check inline on a circuit for amps, so positive to positive. With the car off go from the battery to the positive on the fuse box, then go from the positive on the fuse box to the top of each fuse.
If you can't find anything then make sure you don't have a junk battery and that it is getting fully charged before sitting, a battery tender might help it desulfate.

[Oldblueaccord]

https://youtu.be/wN1ztHOTz5Q

[Dr_Snooz]

I thought for sure I would have to jump my car after this mini ice age, but 20 days later it fires up like it'd only sat for an hour. I wouldn't give your car any excuses for draining the battery.
Check and make sure nothing stupid is on like the trunk light, then get an ammeter and probe around. You check inline on a circuit for amps, so positive to positive. With the car off go from the battery to the positive on the fuse box, then go from the positive on the fuse box to the top of each fuse.
If you can't find anything then make sure you don't have a junk battery and that it is getting fully charged before sitting, a battery tender might help it desulfate.

So guys, this is a battle I fought and lost enough times to realize I can't win it. Keep in mind, I have 2 cars, 4 trucks, a lawn tractor (recently sold), a truck camper and a generator here at my property. All have 12v lead acid batteries and I've replaced way too many of them after they discharged a lot faster than I expected. I'm only one guy, so most of this stuff just sits and waits for me. My first 10 years here, I fought that battle to get 20 days out of my batteries. I'd spend 2 months of Saturdays not doing other more important stuff, chasing down phantom battery drains. My reward was constant dead batteries. Eventually I realized that I was wasting a lot of time and spending a fortune replacing batteries for amp draws that were all within the normal range. I decided that a solar battery tender for $15 was a lot cheaper than a new battery, so I keep tenders on everything and expect 5 days. I've also added a battery charger ($55), a desulfater I got on eBay ($25), a couple sets of jumper cables ($8-50) and a jump pack ($75) to my arsenal. Those have cured my unending battery travails. The desulfater alone has paid for itself 8x over by saving batteries I would have otherwise had to throw away. The jump pack keeps me going until I can desulfate. The jumper cables are backup insurance. It works much better than the old way.

Remember that if you discharge a battery down to 0V one time, it's done. It might have been a 10 day battery that you had, but you held out for 20, discharged it and now it's a 5-day battery. Leave a car out in our summer heat and you'll do well to get 5 days out of the battery. Thus, I only expect 5-days. Twenty-day batteries, 10-day batteries, 5-day batteries, they all need charging after 5 days. Too often, I've had 20 days turn into 3 months before I realized it and turned my 20 day batteries into bricks. I used to replace them, but at $100-150 each time, it's not practical. Now I just desulfate and keep running. After all, I only need or expect 5-days. Even if I buy a new 20-day battery, I want to charge it at 5 to keep it a 20-day battery. So all my cars have 5-day batteries now and all have solar tenders. The tender keeps the 5-day batteries charged and 20-day batteries from turning into 5-day batteries.

The OP can do what he wants, and he should at least check his resting amp draw to be sure it's in the normal range (it probably is), but I don't think anything beyond 5 days is a reasonable, or cost effective expectation.

[ShiRen]

That's understandable when you have that many vehicles (I'm not much better at 5), if they all have the same issue then yeah, keep them on a tender. Fuck my lawn tractor though, there is no reason that stupid thing should be able to drain a battery, but its kept in a garage that previously had no electricity, and I think its just a battery that got ran down too low. You should take the time to fix one of your vehicles though... don't get stuck with a daily with a dead battery... or a car with a dead battery blocking your daily, which is why I now own a jump pack. I know "electrical gremlins" will make some peoples head spin, but an old car that is straight DC and no canbus is the easiest thing to learn and get comfortable with, you fuel injected guys just have to look at it like the ecu is removed first if you're having trouble.

Also a resistive battery checker is a good tool to have too, if its charged and desulfated then go buy a new battery, then you can easily watch it if it is going to drain, just don't kill your new battery unless you've got a warranty.

[Oldblueaccord]

So guys, this is a battle I fought and lost enough times to realize I can't win it. Keep in mind, I have 2 cars, 4 trucks, a lawn tractor (recently sold), a truck camper and a generator here at my property. All have 12v lead acid batteries and I've replaced way too many of them after they discharged a lot faster than I expected. I'm only one guy, so most of this stuff just sits and waits for me. My first 10 years here, I fought that battle to get 20 days out of my batteries. I'd spend 2 months of Saturdays not doing other more important stuff, chasing down phantom battery drains. My reward was constant dead batteries. Eventually I realized that I was wasting a lot of time and spending a fortune replacing batteries for amp draws that were all within the normal range. I decided that a solar battery tender for $15 was a lot cheaper than a new battery, so I keep tenders on everything and expect 5 days. I've also added a battery charger ($55), a desulfater I got on eBay ($25), a couple sets of jumper cables ($8-50) and a jump pack ($75) to my arsenal. Those have cured my unending battery travails. The desulfater alone has paid for itself 8x over by saving batteries I would have otherwise had to throw away. The jump pack keeps me going until I can desulfate. The jumper cables are backup insurance. It works much better than the old way.

Remember that if you discharge a battery down to 0V one time, it's done. It might have been a 10 day battery that you had, but you held out for 20, discharged it and now it's a 5-day battery. Leave a car out in our summer heat and you'll do well to get 5 days out of the battery. Thus, I only expect 5-days. Twenty-day batteries, 10-day batteries, 5-day batteries, they all need charging after 5 days. Too often, I've had 20 days turn into 3 months before I realized it and turned my 20 day batteries into bricks. I used to replace them, but at $100-150 each time, it's not practical. Now I just desulfate and keep running. After all, I only need or expect 5-days. Even if I buy a new 20-day battery, I want to charge it at 5 to keep it a 20-day battery. So all my cars have 5-day batteries now and all have solar tenders. The tender keeps the 5-day batteries charged and 20-day batteries from turning into 5-day batteries.

The OP can do what he wants, and he should at least check his resting amp draw to be sure it's in the normal range (it probably is), but I don't think anything beyond 5 days is a reasonable, or cost effective expectation.

Im terrible with not using battery tenders.. I keep saying im going to invest them but I havent yet. Couple of my Optima Yellows I got 9 years on. I would think with some maintenance they could have gone farther.

[Oldblueaccord]

https://youtu.be/j5INdMbzq-8


My battery reading was 12.08 VDC I think in the video I said it wrong once and correctly twice.

[Oldblueaccord]

Replaced that baby at the tune of 265$!!! :sad2:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzH740hiOgI&t=48s

[Dr_Snooz]

I will verify that you can drive tens of thousands of miles without a hold-down and be okay in these cars LOL. It's an easy problem to ignore if funds are tight. Still, you should have a hold-down and you can buy them from O'Reilly for pretty cheap and they work well. That's what I'm rocking on mine now.

[Oldblueaccord]

I will verify that you can drive tens of thousands of miles without a hold-down and be okay in these cars LOL. It's an easy problem to ignore if funds are tight. Still, you should have a hold-down and you can buy them from O'Reilly for pretty cheap and they work well. That's what I'm rocking on mine now.

Yeah I put the one I made in and left the stock one under the hood jammed against the open light. I didnt notice until I got to work and my hood was up on one side.

I notice that when the car idles there is less of a dip with a good battery. That reman alternator I have doesnt put off squat at low RPMS.

[AWH]

Reman alternators are ALWAYS problematic. Often even right out of the store. Fail 9 out of 10 within a year. Best get lifetime warranty if possible.

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[Dr_Snooz]

Second that. When I buy them, I pull them out of the box and ask the staff to test them before I leave the store. I went through 4 at Napa the last time before finding a good one.