I am so unlucky in the way of owning a running vehicle that it's not even funny. The first day I got my 93 Nissan Altima the battery was dying. I changed the battery, connections are nice and tight, the battery was running 14 volts before I took it from Autozone. This morning I went out after changing the battery Yesterday, and the car would not start. I used my father's power tester, it was at .01 volts.
The alternator is cranking fine, I had it checked after I installed the battery. So...Advice? Who do I have to kill to have a working car? *cries*
2006-12-05 11:44:58 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
You need to hook an amp meter up to the charged battery. It will show the current that something is pulling. Then you pull fuses and disconnect stuff until the current stops to find what's drawing it.
2006-12-05 12:01:11 · answer #1 · answered by Nomadd 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like something drained the battery overnight.
Kinda like if you left the lights on.
Or if the trunk light was just always on because the switch was messed up.
Or who knows? Could be almost anything.
The fuse block is a great place to start, especially if you can use an ammeter as well as you use a voltmeter...
Some stuff is supposed to draw a tiny current all the time, like the car computer, radio, anything with settings. Just a milliamp or two.
Also some stuff is connected directly to the battery NOT through the fuse block... the alternator is one of those.
2006-12-05 21:19:45 · answer #2 · answered by Wolf Harper 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe you have a short and do not know it. Can you see if a light is staying on during the night? How do you know your alternator is working fine? You should jump your car or charge your battery and while your car is running disconnect the battery. If the car dies you have a bad alternator. If it keeps running you have a bad ground some where and that can cost some money to track down a bad ground. Do you live in the midwest? The cold and freezing is not good on batteries and cars. It is snow season
2006-12-05 19:51:54 · answer #3 · answered by ashlandtree 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You eithier have a bad alternator or a short. Check the alternator first. And it If it fine go to an electrical specialist shop and look for a short. Don't look me up and kill me if it cost's afew bucks, electrical problems are a pain in the butt.
2006-12-05 19:55:15 · answer #4 · answered by Marc h 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it could be just about anything, I had this problem a few years back and found a bad wiring job and it was just draining the power 24/7, the hard part is tracking down where it's draining the power from.
2006-12-05 20:25:39 · answer #5 · answered by Beezer 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bad battery cables or, alternator bad
2006-12-05 20:29:07 · answer #6 · answered by stealth5033 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check alternator one more time, if it works you have a short circuit in the system and that tottally sucks.
2006-12-05 19:57:45 · answer #7 · answered by spir_i_tual 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe you have a short somewhere is draining the battery
2006-12-05 19:48:38 · answer #8 · answered by assmouth p 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋