Battery drain problem 1994 Toyota Tercel?

Question

Although both the battery and Alternator are fine (got them checked at Auto Zone), the battery still drains out even though it is charged for 15-20 mins. Any help is appreciated...

Also, this car makes more than normal engine noise when it runs (has 149k miles) although it does not have running problems. I guess engine is not tuned properly...any ideas on this as well???

Answer 1

it sounds like a bad battery , altough you had it check it is very possible that it has lost the ability to hold a charge , you get it tested when the charge is high it will pass the check test , but under a constant load the battery drains ........other possibilities is the battery cables are worn or corroded this will cause the battery to drain but not recharge , clean the battery cables at they spot where the mount to the battery terminals ....

Answer 2

The procedure is the same regardless of vehicle. If you have already had the alternator, starter and battery tested and they are, in fact, good, the next step is to check for excessive paracitic drain.
1. Disconnect the positive battery cable at the battery.
2. Connect in series (between the end of the cable and the positive post of the battery) an AMMETER, not a voltmeter. Use the 10amp scale and note the reading. The amperage spec is probably n.t.e. 0.1amp but you should verify that.
3. If you have in excessive of 0.1amp draw on the battery with all switches off and all doors/hoods closed you probalby have unwated drain and must isolate the offending circuit.
4. With the ammeter still hooked in series, start disconnecting circuits while watching for a decrease in amperage draw. The easiest way is to remove fuses one at a time. Usually it's a single circuit that's the problem and when it is disconnected the amperage will drop significantly. For example if the parasitic drain is 0.5amps and I remove a fuse and the draw drops to 0.1amps, that's the circuit. Then you must isolate which component of that circut is causing the drain. If removing fuses doesn't isolate the drain, disconnect components which are wired directly into the electrical system without a fuse. And don't forget the alternator. If you disconnect the alternator/regulator and the drain drops to <0.1amp, it's an internal problem with the alternator.
5. It's not as difficult as it sounds. But remember use an ammeter not a voltmeter. The latter will lead you astray. Finally parasitic drain is present in most vehciles these days due to solid state components. It's a matter of reducing it to a minimum.

Answer 3

It sounds like you have a parasitic voltage drain on your car. Did you recently have a new stereo put in your car or other accessory?
The only way I know of to find these problems is to take a volt meter. Unhook the positive battery terminal. put voltmeter or multimeter leads between the 2. One end on the cable the other end on the battery positive terminal. Read what the voltage is, and start pulling fuses one at a time. If the voltage reading is close to what normal battery voltage is then pull one fuse and see if the voltage drops considerably. If not replace the fuse and pull another one. Continue with this method till you see a considerable drop in voltage, What ever that fuse operates is what's draining your battery. What ever it is may be faulty or wired wrong.
You need to describe you running problem...Like what your hearing or what the car is doing to help us figure out what your talking about with the more than normal engine noise for us to give you any info as to what might be the problem since none of us are there to hear what your hearing.
Good luck and add a little detail to the running problem.We'll see if we can help.

Answer 4

1994 Toyota Tercel

Answer 5

I just went through this problem myself. The problem IS your alternator. When Auto Zone tests your alternator they do not have the equiptment necessary to check all of the componants, and if you are having intermittent alternator failure... they are clueless. For a 13yo car with 149K on the engine, its about time for an alternator. I suggest replacing that asap, its only going to get worse!

*NOTE: Heres a good way to tell if its your battery or alternator: While the car is running, disconnect the Positive (RED) battery cable. If the car keeps running, your alternator is fine. If the car dies your alternator is shot. Good luck!

Answer 6

I had that same problem with my last car. I got the battery replaced, and paid $600 for a new alternator, and it was still happening. My car was making a burning smell, and then it would overheat. I took it in again and my fan was not turning on properly to cool down my engine. That was in turn, draining the battery somehow (or so they said), because the car was working harder to cool it down.

I'm not sure if that ever fixed the problem, because I had the fan replaced, and the wiring fixed, but about a week later, my car overheated and the battery died again. I ended up getting a new car that same week!!!

Hopefully this helps...

Answer 7

A new Tercel didn't go for much more than $7000 back in 94. Don't buy it! Edit: I just looked it up, a 1994 Tercel only sold for $8958 new!

Answer 8

need to ahve the battery checked again because it sounds like your getting a dead cell in your battery. To test to see if the battery is going bad, have a friend put his battery in your car and see if it drains it, if not the battery isa bad. If it does maybe you ahve a short in your electronic system. well with that many miles it normal but have the wheel bearings checked out on it to make sure.

Answer 9

I would replace the alternator it may be a bad diode to one of the fields. auto zone can only check if it is charging. A bad diode allows the battery to drain when the engine is off.This also causes the alternator to be quite noisy when it is operating.

Answer 10

Your battery wont last long if it keeps losing it's charge. There must be a dead short somewhere. Either a ground wire has come loose or there is a bare wire touching somewhere. You will have to get some sort of test light and check out all circuits.