Battery keeps dieing!

[codyPKA]

I've been having this problem ever since taking the Cobra out of storage this past. To start off with, the battery was totally dead because the car hadn't been started since October. So I charged it up for a few hours up to 50% and it started no problem. I drove maybe 5 miles and returned home. The next day, battery dead again! OK, i thought its no big deal, probably just didn't drive it enough for battery to fully recharge itself. Drove the car about 30 miles after charging it again, and then drove it again the next couple of days and experienced no problems. Then today comes, after sitting untouched since Sunday, the battery is completely dead again. Now I'm pissed, i thought I had it straightened out. :mj:

I figured I would ask for advise here before going out and getting a new battery. Could it be anything else? One weird thing I dont understand, is no matter how long I charge the battery for, it won't go above 50% charged. I dunno what that means

 

[RDJ]

Go buy a new battery.

 

[CzchMex]

Your battery created what's called "memory" or crystals within the cells. Only a battery conditioner can get rid of them but it's not guaranteed.

Go get a new battery of if this one is under warranty you should be set

 

[mr.speaker]

That's what usually happens when you let a battery go completely dead , it's never the same.

I don't know what type of charger you have but you could bring it to autozone and let them charge it over night . Either way, you'll probably need a battery.

 

[RDJ]

That's what usually happens when you let a battery go completely dead , it's never the same.

I don't know what type of charger you have but you could bring it to autozone and let them charge it over night . Either way, you'll probably need a battery.

he needs a new battery. absolutely no reason to waste time trying to charge it.

 

[MLS]

Is it a gel or standard battery?

 

[codyPKA]

unfortunately I need to bump this old thread of mine. A couple weeks ago I went out and got a new battery. I installed it and it started up right away. It started up no problems whatsoever until today. I go to drive the car and it is completely 100% dead again. I had just driven the car monday, and this isn't even close to the longest it had sat idle since installing the new battery.

What now? Alternator?

 

[Hockeyman48]

Check alternator output,but you may have a drain on battery when sitting if your alternator proves good.

 

[RDJ]

did you have the altenator checked when you bought the new battery? How much driving do you do at night? or running the AC? it def sounds lke you have either a bad altenator or a short in your electrical someplace.

unfortunately I need to bump this old thread of mine. A couple weeks ago I went out and got a new battery. I installed it and it started up right away. It started up no problems whatsoever until today. I go to drive the car and it is completely 100% dead again. I had just driven the car monday, and this isn't even close to the longest it had sat idle since installing the new battery.

What now? Alternator?

 

[codyPKA]

did you have the altenator checked when you bought the new battery? How much driving do you do at night? or running the AC? it def sounds lke you have either a bad altenator or a short in your electrical someplace.

no i didnt get the alternator checked out. I guess thats my next move. I do very little night driving. I haven't used the A/C yet this year cause it isn't working right now, not that its been hot enough to need it yet anyway

 

[RDJ]

no i didnt get the alternator checked out. I guess thats my next move. I do very little night driving. I haven't used the A/C yet this year cause it isn't working right now, not that its been hot enough to need it yet anyway

well def. have it checked. My bet is you have a short somewhere or an alarm that sucks the life out of a battery. you need to charge the battery back up to full and then get the alternator checked out then work on finding the problem if it turns out the alt is good.

 

[shurur]

It's probably the alternator as stated above.

Another thing though could be electrical work you had just before putting the car in to storage.

Example: I had a speedcal installed because I had new gears put in.
The cigar lighter on the 2001 and earlier is constant 12V and the speedcal was draining the battery on me. I rewired my speedcal to switch power (www.miracerros.com) and all was well.

 

[SNK_RATH]

well def. have it checked. My bet is you have a short somewhere or an alarm that sucks the life out of a battery. you need to charge the battery back up to full and then get the alternator checked out then work on finding the problem if it turns out the alt is good.

Any easy ways to check for a short in the security system ? Thanks

 

[RDJ]

Any easy ways to check for a short in the some system ? Thanks

Not that I know of. It is why electrical problems cost so damn much to get them tracked by a professional

 

[SNK_RATH]

Not that I know of. It is why electrical problems cost so damn much to get them tracked by a professional

Thanks ,I guess I'll bend over and take it to a professional ......:shrug:

 

[Oceanside78]

Since everyone helps me a lot here, allow me to help with the alarm

I was an installer for a few years and if I were you'd I'd do this.

Grab a multi-meter (not a power probe or test light as those do not have neutral tips. Crawl under dash and pull apart. Find the inhibition harness and look for wires that go to it. Two will lead to the starter wire, if the alarm has starter kill, and will be cut in half with the alarms wires connected, 1 to each side, completing the circuit. You'll have two more wires, one accessory (ACC) and another which is constant (+12v). They should be yellow for constant and red for ACC (if it's a viper, I don't know other color codes for diff. alarms but can easily be googled) they should not be on the same wire (some installers are lazy and by doing this will drain your battery) check that ACC is only getting power when key is in ON position.

Also check the alarm horn. For some reason some installers attach the voltage side to parking lights instead of the designated area. Just make sure it's connected to a wire in the brain box.

Try to find the install manual online for your alarm. Find all the wires that either say 'switched power' or ACC power and ensure they are not getting voltage with the key off.

Also, do you have audio in the car? An improper install of a deck or amp will cause this as well. Sounds like if you do have a current draw, its small since it will start after sitting just overnight.

Keep us updated. Hope this helps

 

[codyPKA]

unfortunately I have to bump this thread AGAIN, cause I'm still having problems. 2 months ago I replaced the battery and alternator 2 months ago, neither of which helped my problem. Since then I badly broke one of my thumbs, so the car has been sitting in my driveway untouched cause I cant work of the car with one hand, not to mention, I really wouldnt be able to drive it anyway. Finally now i'm starting to get some use back in my other hand, so its time to try and get this PITA running again.

The only thing I can think of at this point is that there is some short or bad wire somewhere that it causing the battery to die when left idle for a few days. How on earth do I go about diagnosing this? Any sort of tool I can buy (or rent) that can help me?

Or could It possibly be something else that I'm not thinking of?

 

[bergz22]

You need to do a parasitic current draw test. You will either need a multimeter - digital or an amp clamp that can read dc current draw. If you have either of these let me know and I can walk you through it. Not hard to do.

 

[RDJ]

how long do you let it sit without driving it? My 95 had a similar issue and while I never tracked it down (put it in the shop for a complete restoration), I was convinced it was the alarms on it that were doing the damage. as long as I drove it every couple of weeks I was fine. if I let it sit for a month I was screwed and had to jump start it. A battery will only take so much of that before it goes south for good.

did you ever get a pro to take a look at it for you?

unfortunately I have to bump this thread AGAIN, cause I'm still having problems. 2 months ago I replaced the battery and alternator 2 months ago, neither of which helped my problem. Since then I badly broke one of my thumbs, so the car has been sitting in my driveway untouched cause I cant work of the car with one hand, not to mention, I really wouldnt be able to drive it anyway. Finally now i'm starting to get some use back in my other hand, so its time to try and get this PITA running again.

The only thing I can think of at this point is that there is some short or bad wire somewhere that it causing the battery to die when left idle for a few days. How on earth do I go about diagnosing this? Any sort of tool I can buy (or rent) that can help me?

Or could It possibly be something else that I'm not thinking of?

 

[codyPKA]

You need to do a parasitic current draw test. You will either need a multimeter - digital or an amp clamp that can read dc current draw. If you have either of these let me know and I can walk you through it. Not hard to do.

I don't. would it be something like this?
Actron/Digital AutoAnalyzer multimeter measures AC/DC voltage, current and resistance, tests diodes and batteries, fuses, switches, solenoids and relays (CP7665) | Multimeter | AutoZone.com

how long do you let it sit without driving it? My 95 had a similar issue and while I never tracked it down (put it in the shop for a complete restoration), I was convinced it was the alarms on it that were doing the damage. as long as I drove it every couple of weeks I was fine. if I let it sit for a month I was screwed and had to jump start it. A battery will only take so much of that before it goes south for good.

did you ever get a pro to take a look at it for you?

It doesn't take long for it to die. It sometimes takes as little as 2 days, although sometimes it will last as much as 5-6 days

No professionals have looked at it. I'd like to hopefully fix it myself and avoid potentially brutal diagnostic charges