Battery drain problems

[Nism0240SE]

Ok guys heres the deal, I bought my 93 240 for 2,400 and it had a few miles but it ran great, well since I put the new stereo in the battery has been draining. Well a temporary fix was to pull the audio fuse which I did. But now even with the Audio fuse pulled the battery still drains ( brand new battery). My mom took the car for a weekend and left the trunk open because instead of pushing down on the trunk lever she pulled up and that stupid light drained the battery. But after running the car for about an hour the battery should have charged, and I doubt its the altenator because the car runs fine after its started even with a low battery. If any of you guys have had the same problem or one like it let me know of some solutions

Thanks, Mike

[yellow_jacket]

To check for a drain, disconnect the negative battery terminal. Then take a test light and attach one end to the negative post of the battery and the other end to the negative battery cable. The light should NOT light up. If it does you have a drain somewhere. As for your alternator, autozone will check them for free.

[topless@vabeach]

just a quick mention on Auto Zone testing the alt. Remember you have to pull the alt out of the car for them to test it.Do not show up at the front door asking for them to test it. You wouldnt believe the number of people who ask us to test it and expect us to pull it out of their car.

[ricebike]

hmm, i thought they had 2 types of testers, one that's portable & tests the starting system & battery as well... the other is on the "bench" w/ all kinds of adaptor plugs for domestics & imports...

I used to work for peps & had experience w/ both... since some would test ok for the part, but when in the car, it may fail d/t a wiring problem.

[Nism0240SE]

Well I think its the new stereo I put in, well best buy put it in and when i pull the audio fuse it doesn't drain so im taking it to them and letting them see what they can do and well I doubt its the alternator, but i'll have Auto-zone check it out if its not something with the stereo.

Thanks for all your help guysMike

[tapdeznutz]

another way to check alternator is with are run pull the negative battery terminal off and if it stays running then your alt is charging properly.

jay

[Nism0240SE]

I thought it was if you pulled the positive, adn the car stayed running then the alternator was good

[C-Kwik]

Did the problems start after your mom drained the battery?

[Nism0240SE]

YUp and last night i used a battery charger to charge the battery instead of running the car and it did nadda so I think the battery is pretty much shot but its almost new so I have no idea whats goin on with it

[yellow_jacket]

NEVER EVER EVER pull either of the battery cables off with the car running! It is a great way to fry electronics in your car(especially the ecu)

[Nism0240SE]

Glad I've never tried it, besided i never wanted to touch the damn battery when the car was on anyway.

[C-Kwik]

YUp and last night i used a battery charger to charge the battery instead of running the car and it did nadda so I think the battery is pretty much shot but its almost new so I have no idea whats goin on with it

If it was drained a lot, then, I'd suspect the battery is dead. Sometimes, batteries can't retain a charge after being discharged too much.

[JJ240]

to my knowlege you cant shock yourself on a car battery. The voltage is too high or low...one of the two i dont remember which

[Nism0240SE]

I think the battery is just dead so I'm going to get a new one and see if that solves it and if it doesn't well then htere goes 60 bucks

[JJ240]

borrow a battery from another car or just return that one if it doesnt solve the problem

[nlzmo400r]

mike, ill come over and we'll throw my battery in that biotch and that should solve it, if that doesnt then it aint ur battery, but we'll check, it shouldnt take long for us to figure it out, o yea, i love ur membership profile, hilarioius, later man

Rob

[silviaNE]

Get a multi meter and a buddy. Put the multi meter on volts (duhh) and attach the probes to battery (red probe to positive black probe to negative duhh again) then start car check voltage at idle it should be around 12 volts, then have friend slowly rev the engine. As the rpms go up the voltage should rise. IF this does not happen, then there is a wiring fault or the altenator is at fault. Always check the wiring first. THis is just a response to anyone who wants to check thier charging system.

[nlzmo400r]

well im the buddy, and ive got a volt meter among others, so theres ur deadly combo, lets do it

[silviaNE]

I like buddy with that go geter spirit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nlzmo400r]

well what else am i here for ya know, and btw, we fixed it, and then had another project of removing the entire front bumper because of a stuck turn signal (****ty body shop, long story)