How can I find out whats draining my car battery when I turn off my car?

Question

I have a 2004 Chevy Impala and when I try to start it the battery is going dead. It starts fine with a jump and will hold a charge while driving, but once I turn it off the battery is getting drained. I had a diagnostic on it and they couldn't find anything wrong, said the battery and alternator are fine.

Answer 1

Disconnect your negative battery connector during the night to see if the battery maintains the voltage. Buy a voltmeter and measure the voltage of the battery before disconnecting the negative connector and then verify the voltage during the morning before connecting it again. It should be the same voltage. This will tell if your battery is ok.

Check your alarm system, sound system, interior and trunk lights that may stay on during the night and may be draining your battery.
Check any recall from the manufacturer for this condition.

Answer 2

If the battery is discharging over a short space of time e.g. overnight then try disconnecting it for the night. If your car starts the next day then the battery is OK, if not the battery or battery terminals are defective. If the battery is OK then try the following: Place an ammeter in the battery circuit with the ignition off, any current drain will show up on the scale. The current drawn will be an indication of what it is that is draining your battery. Then try pulling fuses one at a time until the current drain stops and this will tell you which circuit has a problem, from there it's a matter of investigation to find the problem. If you don't have an ammeter then try pulling several fuses for the night until you have found the circuit that drains your battery. Most modern cars have some constant current draw even if it's just an alarm system or electronics but these shouldn't be enough to discharge a healthy battery over a short period. Quite often hidden lights can be the culprit remaining on when you think they are off e.g. boot, under-bonnet or glove-box. One thing to remember when dealing with a DC electrical system is that the condition of electrical connections can be very important, check for corrosion and tightness of battery, ground, and starter motor circuit terminals - it is possible for a jump start to provide enough extra power to overcome terminal resistance problems. Good luck

So many good answers and I'm so slow - must learn to type with more than one finger!

Answer 3

Heres what you need to do or have done. Start off with a current draw test. You'll need an amp meter. Pull the positive battery terminal off and hook it up in series . There should be no more than a 100 milliamp draw with all loads off. (ive seen aftermarket radios that pull 75 milliamps, and heard of a ceirtain mercedes that was fine but had so many computers it pulled 280milliamps and would die if left to sit for a week. the fix was a solar panel kit hidden in the grill to charge the battery)

If there is a draw, hook a test light up to the same place. It should glow to indicate the draw. Start pulling and replacing fuses one by one untill the test light shuts off. That fuse is going to indicate the circuit. Find out whats on the circuit (for instance the underhood or trunk light) and see if you can track down the problem. Chances are somethings on that isnt supposed to be.

Damn, there werent any answers when i started typing that.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, your problem is one that may take a while to diagnose. The only way to figure out the problem is by process of elimination. You have a short somewhere or perhaps a defective switch that allows power to drain from your battery. If you have added anything to the car in the past month or two, remove that to see if your problem resolves. If not, you must systematically rule out each of the electrical systems in your car. Get familiar with your fuse box, as removing the fuse works best for isolating each system. Read your owner’s-manual to determine if you need to avoid removing some fuses.

Before you start this process, spend some time looking for bare wires, melted or charred insulation on wires, loose ground connections, obvious burn marks where current jumped between a wire and the car chassis, and anything else that looks wrong. Try this with the car off, and then try again with the car running and all of the accessories running on high. Listen for a sizzling sound as you do this part. Watch your hair, loose clothing, fingers, etc., around the moving parts under the hood. While you do this, look at all of the exterior lights to see if any flicker, or appear dimmer or brighter than the others do. If you find one that appears odd, replace it and see if this resolves the problem. Check your fog lights too!

Remove one of the fuses listed below and leave it out overnight. Try to crank your car. If the car starts, you have found your problem. If the car fails to start, move to the next fuse on the list. Oh, and remember to reinstall the fuse you removed before moving to the next fuse. Remember to remove only one fuse per day, otherwise you may not give the problem time to drain your battery.

1.Interior lighting
2.Radio/Stereo
3.Amplifier if not on the same circuit as the stereo
4.Other entertainment type circuits
5.Heating
6.A/C if not on the same circuit as the heating
7.Cruise control
8.Instrument panel
9.Rear window defroster
10.Power windows
11.Power locks if not on the same circuit as the windows
12.Power doors, trunk release, or other fuses that operate electric motors
13.Headlight system
14.Fog light system
15.Horn
16.Power seats
17.Turn signal system
18.Emergency flasher system if not part of the turn signal system
19.Brake lights, tail lights, and other exterior lights
20.Any other electrical/electronic systems

Another thing to try is to contact your local dealership service department and see if anyone on their staff has a “knack” for finding problems. While talking to them ask if there are any known problems similar to yours.

Good luck!

Will D
Enterprise AL
http://www.notagz.com

Answer 5

you can do this yourself, you will need a multi meter.

Disconnect the negative side of the battery, turn on you meter put the red lead to the battery, the black to the cable end. meter should be set for reading mil amps.

you will read a voltage, it should be less than .05. if it more than that, next start unplugging the fuses, until you get a 0 or .05. look at what fuse you unplugged, now you know the offending circuit. a little more detective work you got it. Keep in touch, and let us know what you find. Good Luck Dave

to: jbpopem,
Same here when I started typing this answer your answer was not here, although you are dead wrong!

( JUST KIDDING ) You gave a Great answer, better than mine. Dave

Answer 6

tough one...you have an electrical short somewhere....finding it can take some investigative work. Is the battery drained after the car has been off 5-10 mins? If so, I would suggest that the battery is not holding a charge and needs to be replaced.

Answer 7

You've got a defective switch somewhere that is draining your battery. Some good places to check would be the trunk, under the hood, the door jambs... even the glove box.
Best way to find it is pull the car into a dark garage.
But even then that doesn't guarantee that a light will be "on". It could be a dead short to ground of the car body.
Happy hunting...

Answer 8

do this and let me know. raise the hood disconnect one of the battery cables. make sure that everything is cut off. the doors shut. if the hood has a light take it out. once you are positive everything is off. take the battery cable you took off and scrape it on the post of the battery the one you took it off of ok. if it sparks it means you have a dead short in it. and if that's the problem you have a major problem if not. then your voltage regulator is sticking open and it will cause the battery to drain back. hope its a minor problem. good luck

Answer 9

Disconnect the negative battery cable. Key off.
With a test light, attach a test light to the negative post.
Then probe the fuse box, or likely wires for a drain.
When the test light lights, you have found a live wire or circuit,
that maybe the potential drain.

Answer 10

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