Rust Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 My loyale has battery drain when parked. I have experimented w/ many different batteries, and a faulty battery is not the problem. I have inspected all cables and they seem ok. I am thinking that perhaps the starter has some internal short that is causing a drain, or a bad ignition unit. It is a very slow drain, but if it sits for more than 3 days the volts drop to below 12. Any other ideas where the grounding could be comming from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 (edited) ***Jump down to item 3 for the best and proper way to figure this out. it literally takes like 3 minutes to diagnose for sure and get an actual value and then in less than 10 minutes you could pull all the fuses and know which fuse the drain is on at least. so in the time it took you to post this you could have it narrowed down significantly. make sure the battery terminals are tight, clean, and don't have too much resistance and alteranator connections are good and clean too. the alternator plug could be corroded, brittle, and nasty. with some hard to find drains it's best to test and narrow it down verses guessing. (if you read between the lines - i've wasted a LOT of time trying to guess at drains before LOL). 1. are there any systems currently not working correct, or not stock? ***non-stock stereo or other installed device or an inoperational OEM part. 2. ghetto test is to simply disconnect what you feel are the offending items - either via fuses/fusible links or disconnect the item if accessible. see if the battery dies over a couple days...that gets old really quick though if it's something you need and have to plug/unplug every time you use the car. 3. the proper test is to disconnect the + battery cable from the battery and simply put a voltmeter set to "milliamps" between the positive battery cable and the positive battery post. be sure to not use anything or allow any lights or anything to turn on while it's connected or you'll blow a fuse in the voltmeter. I. note the amount of draw (and let us know). this will confirm that you actually have too much draw II. start pulling fuses until the draw reduces to a normal range (usually under 50 milliamps) III. once you narrow that down you see what items are all powered by that fuse and disconnect them one by one IV. you can atlernately also just disconnect a suspected offending item and actually watch the draw decrease on the voltmeter. but again guessing gets tiresome. Edited November 21, 2013 by grossgary 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robm Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 It could be a bad diode in the alternator. Measure the voltage on the battery when running, using the AC setting on you rmeter. If there is any more than a few millivolts, you have a bad alternator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Almost always the stereo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 The trouble can't be with the starter since it is not connected to the battery until the solenoid is closed. Usually this kind of trouble is located in the engine compartment area but it could be with the passenger compartment also. By using a current meter and disconnecting things like Grossgary stated it will lead you to the trouble area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rust Posted November 22, 2013 Author Share Posted November 22, 2013 Thanxs for the tips. Will try some of them this weekend. If I can't track down the leak,I may just install a battery kill switch.....hopefuly that will not be needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Disconnecting the main alternator connection may be a good place to start the hunt. Just remember, the main lead is always hot to the battery and will short if touches ground. It is best to remove the battery ground lead first before working on that lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rust Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 Well after multiple attempts of pulling fuses I can not find the drain. Perhaps my dwell/volt meter is not sensitive enough to pick up the drain, it is a very slow drain. Since the car does not get daily use, I am thinking my easiest solution would be to just put in a battery kill switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 If the meter will measure current up to a couple of amps that should be fine. If it doesn't measure current then you will need to get one. I suggest you get a meter if you don't have one that will work. They aren't that expensive really to get one that will work for you. Getting one that can handle 10 amps of current would be good. Sears should have something. When doing current tests the meter needs to be in series with the power supply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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