1994 Q45 PARASITIC BATTERY DRAIN

[NOR*CAL 916]

hello there im having problems with my battery being drained overnight. I have an idea what the problem is but first i need to know what the OEM parasitic amperage drain is. Does anybody know what that number is? Thanks in advance!

[96Qowner]

It's pretty high:

zerothread?id=202345

[Q45tech]

Everything off, doors closed, hood alarm switch depresses it should step down to ~~<50 milliamperes [1/20 th of an ampere] after 30 seconds.

The 94-96 might draw a bit more [due to body control module memories but less than 80 MA .................even this should allow a good new charged batterry to last 3 weeks depending on ambient temp.

0.08 x 24 hours= ~ 2 ampere hours per day x 21 days = ~~ 42 amp/hours

[qsiguy]

My testing which is shown in the above thread 96Qowner posted indicated about 63mA. I need to recheck mine, it sits quite a bit lately and will go dead. I have a feeling it's the turbo's scavenge oil pump timer I installed.

[goody90q45]

I'm in the same situation now with a 2nd Q that I don't drive much. Would putting the battery, still installed in the car, on a 24/7 trickle charge solve the problem?

[qship96]

Yes, search for a product called "battery tender", small inexpensive self regulating trickle charger used by many with classic garage queen vehicles.

[Q45tech]

An inexpensive solar panel on sunroof should be able to supply 5 watts in full sunlight.http://www.batterystuff.com/solar-chargers/

[qsiguy]

Or just disconnect the battery. Of coarse it will still self discharge over a long enough period of time.

[vluzhko]

HelloJust got battery totally drained in a single night.Found this fantastic topic and hope somebody will help me.

Just yesterday I started the car and had to get out of garage to take something. Everything was OK. Car worked as expected.In the evening I put it back into garage. Everything is turned off.

Today in the morning - silent. It looks like somebody have stolen the battery. No even sign of electricity in my car.

I disconnected NEG and connected small 12V lamp - nothing. Means it is totally discharged.

How come????

And... another problem it is staying now in garage with front inside and I cannot move shift from P position just to boost it.Does anybody know how to move shift to Drive?

Thanks

[Q45tech]

Explained in detail in your owners manual......................remove cover and insert tool screwdriver to release lock.

Why not just buy a new battery of oem specifications and swap if your battery is older than 2.5-3.0 years.

Without a fully charged battery useless to start troubleshooting.

[qsiguy]

Very likely a door wasn't completely shut or a dome light was left on. If the door is ajar, all the interior lights will kill a battery quickly.

[StillaYankee]

I had this same problem a while back & made the dumb move of bringing it to Infiniti of Tampa. 1 week later they said they couldn't find anything wrong! I got it back, drove home to Land O' Lakes & next morning my battery was dead. After jumping & charging I drove for a while & when I turned the car off I realized there was a buzzing noise coming from under the hood. Following the sound & not being a mechanic, I traced it to a black box on the passenger side that has a breaker or 2 in the box but it was buzzing & rattling like crazy. I knocked on the box a couple of times & the buzzing stopped, along with the battery drain. I have to do this every once in a while & I noticed this also happens when the ABS/Slip lights stay on as well, but Infiniti charged me $800+ to replace some parts along with an oil change & then overfilled the oil by a quart! Amazing. Now my car is dying (94 Q45a, sounds like a bearing) & I'm looking to sell it for parts.

[JeffTepper]

The malfunctioning relay for the ABS can result in an overnight battery drain. And smacking it hard with your hand will "fix" it temporarily.

[vluzhko]

Just tried to start it with jump from my another car. Did not help. It canbarely light some dashboard lights like arrows. no start.

After that I opened hood fusebox and found 120A fuse blown.What is that?If I replace the fuce will it start or it will blow again?

[Q45tech]

A blown 120 amp fuse PROVES you installed the jumper cables wrong - REVERSED.

Hopefully that 120 amp fuse blew before you destroyed the entire electronics system by your improper jump.

[maxnix]

Ooops!

[vluzhko]

I'm sure I connected properly. Red to + and Blue to - on both. Live car was running when I connected and then I tried to start dead car.But lookingatthe post above and number of posts of those guys I'm realy doubt that I connected properly...hope car is ok.Now I got new fuse + bat. charger and charging it now in garage. It is totally dead. Will try when it is ready.
Modified by vluzhko at 9:15 PM 4/7/2008