something draining battery overnight

[A18A]

i done a search on this, didnt find much other than suggestions that it was a amp (which i dont have)

anyways recently i bought a new battery for my car, so i know it's good, but something keeps draining it over night, not sure what it is, no lights left on or anything else wired up, i thought it was the alarm, so i disconnected that for a couple nights, and it still went flat, so i know it's not that. there is enough juice left in the battery to crank the car though, just not much..

when i disconnected the battery, when touching the cables with the battery terminals, there is a little spark, which indicates something must be left on, but i have no idea what it could be?!?!?!?

i'm gonna charge the battery then leave it disconnected till i figure out the problem

please help!!1!

[azazel_18_2]

Welcome to my world of batteries being eaten. I never have found my problem but mine drains after about 3 days of not being used. There is a trick I was told but have not tried yet. Someone told me to pull one fuse and let the car sit. If the battery goes dead then your problem is on another circuit and if it doesn't go dead that is your circuit. Try and try until you find out what circuit then track down your problem. Pretty staright foward but I have been driving it ever day now so no problem. Let us know what you find out.

[Pico]

found this on the web, it might help you out
Battery Drain (http://cartalk.com/board/showflat.php?Number=278694)

[A18A]

hmm ill check my alternator belt for slippage, ill also check my cables though im pretty sure they're good.. thanks, i will also try the fuse pulling idea

[w261w261]

The one time I had that problem, the trunk light was not going off. I'd start there first, then proceed with the "remove the fuses" approach.

[russiankid]

The one time I had that problem, the trunk light was not going off. I'd start there first, then proceed with the "remove the fuses" approach.
I was thinking of the trunk light too.

[A18A]

i thought it was the trunk light 3, that was actually the 1st thing i checked, but nah it wasnt that, im gonna try short the fuses with a light that way if it the light lights up, i know that its that item using the power (as shown in picopops post :))

[89T]

charge the battery take it down to az and have them check it.

have you checked the water in the batt?

one bad cell will cause discharge.

have you checked for current draw with an ohm meter?

i belive you set the ohm meter to 20vdc. red lead will move to the hole marked with like (10amp max).

remove the + batt cable.
the red lead on the ohm meter will go to the batt.
the black lead will go to the cable.
read the meter it will tell yo how much current is being drawn from the batt.

it is normal to have a really-really low draw for clock,radio memory,ecu.

hope this helps.

[Kevii]

It could be the alternator. My alternator was draining my battery before. Why dont you try disconnecting the alternator and check if the battery is still being drained? The way i did it before was just to disconnect the black wire and reconnect it when i drove lol. Then i got a new alternator

[A18A]

hmm possibly, the car still runs without the battery connected though.. im gonna go and try that light idea first

[Kevii]

Well the car doesnt start without the battery connected right ? I meant to start the car lol. Just when you park it unplug it lol i did that

[A18A]

ah i get ya, i should try that..

i done my lighht test, nothing triggered with the car off, except the ecu fuse, which i think is normal for it to make something click when you connect it??

[A18A]

it started today with the battery being disconnected over night, so the battery is good (like i said)... how should i do this fuse pulling thing?

[Pico]

Did you install a radio?
if so maybe that causing the drain, pull the fuse to that and see what happens

[A18A]

all i have is the stock radio & stock harness, dont see how that could drain it?

[russiankid]

Try thinking of what doesn't get turned off with the key out of the ignition. I know the cig lighter doesn't get turned off.

[A18A]

didnt know the ciggy lighter had constant power, i'll have to check that since i routed the wires to the lights since the dash lights didnt work, and dunno what i did with the old wires..

though if it shorted wouldnt it just blow a fuse? if not it would drain the battery pretty damn fast wouldnt it? ill check it anyways

[Oldblueaccord]

Using a regular ohm meter wont show you amp draw only volts. Hook it up in line with the + side of the battery or use a test light ,12 v light bulb. Start unpluging things and see if the voltage goes down. A draw like your having in 12 hours is alot really so it should not be to hard to find. I have had a starter draw down my battery overnight on a car. It had a 5 amp draw. Alt is another that can do it. Small light and such dont really pull much amps. Headlight motors would be another. Make sure the not trying to open or close and are stuck. Just pull fuses and try to isolate the area that its happening in.
My car would go 2 weeks and still start. SInce then I noticed the key light would stay on all the time which I unhooked so I think it could go more then that.


wp

[Oldblueaccord]

http://www.schumacherproducts.com/applications/?id=0014

this one seems to explain it. There is a way to check actually amp draw with an ohm meter and a resistor.


wp

[A18A]

thanks, i really should get me those meters

[A18A]

my gauges no longer work now =/ all fuses are good too wonder if its related

[AccordB20A]

you broke your car???? man i thought i had wiring issues, when i toot my horn my central locking actuator in the left rear door moves up and down

[BITESIZE]

you broke your car???? man i thought i had wiring issues, when i toot my horn my central locking actuator in the left rear door moves up and down

I bet that's pretty annoying!:Owned:

[A18A]

yewah ill figure it out another day lol

[A18A]

well me battery still went flat, must be the alternator.. would i have to get a whole alternator or something? also my gauges still dont go :(

[AccordB20A]

what part of your gauges dont go?

[89T]

do you have an aftermarket stereo? or stock?

did you install anything before you started having the problem?

[carotman]

Use an amp meter to test how much of a draw you have.

That's the best solution. The only thing that should have a draw is the ECU/Clock fuse.

[89T]

what i am getting at is if there is a aftermarket stereo they may have shorted the insterment cluster lights. or wired the stereo wrong. i have seen people use the dimmer and dash light wires for a ground. (those wires show a ground when the lights are off.)

i also agree with corotman on the ohm meter senerio.

[A18A]

what part of your gauges dont go?
the tach & some of those lights, a couple of the red lights go though

[Steve_Si]

Check the RCD behind the interior fuse box. It's made of unobtainium, should be easy to spot.

[A18A]

RCD? unobatainium?

[A18A]

well the battery hasnt gone flat lately, and half the dashboard accessories dont go, nor do the wipers or turn signals, but the battery doesnt go flat :) must be some dodgy wiring in the dash somewhere

[-$MOKIN-]

does your ac fan come onwhen its not supposed to. mine did it for a couple weeks. had a broke line to my ac controller

[A18A]

nope , havnt got any A/C or heater controls in that car

[bubba g]

Like carrotman said, Use an ampmeter then start pulling fuses till it goes away. Don't forget to disconnect the alternator while you are doing the test. I have seen alternators drain batteries when they get an internal short.

[carotman]

Do you have a capacitor? My battery would go dead because I installed a capacitor for my amps.

[A18A]

nope, havnt installed anything electrical that would drain the battery (except the alarm) but even with it unplugged it still drained. i cant remember which dash harness i was using, but i might of been using a cut up one in there (half assed start for climate control conversion), cant really think of anything else it would be. though it isnt really a problem anymore now that i got another car that actually saved the battery :)