2007-02-22 14:12:31 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Depending on the type of car you have, there are problems of this sort in various makes and models, each with their own causes and solutions. As a generic diagnosis, disconnect the battery and put a test light between the battery's neg terminal and its cable. If the car is drawing enough power to drain the battery, the test light will glow bright. Pull out the dome light fuse and keep it out. One by one, pull the fuses until the test light goes out. That is the circuit that is causing the drain. Look up that fuse in your owner's manual and see what it powers. You may find that your glove box light is staying on, or there's an internal problem with the radio. The fuse will tell you where the problem lies. If the fuses don't shut the light off, disconnect the alternator. At times, a diode goes bad and can drain a battery pretty quick. Do not disconnect the battery with the engine running, the resulting voltage spike from the alternator can fry all your electronics.
I hope this helps.
2007-02-22 14:50:08 · answer #1 · answered by shopteacher 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best thing for you to do is doing the process of elemination if you have the mechanical know-how and knowledge of charging systems. Just be careful at all times when working around a battery. First check ALL cables and connections, are you sure that it isnt the alternator??, did you take it and have it checked on a machine ???,( autozone and advance will do this for free) removing the battery cables while the engine is running IS NOT the way to check for a bad alternator, its actually quite dangerous and you could damage a good alternator if there is actually nothing wrong with it. So if you havn't already, have it checked by someone with the proper testing facility and erase all doubt that it is bad. then the last thing , the battery itself. have it load tested. If all of this checks out, the only other thing is that you have a short in your system or something is drawing on your battery while the engine isnt running. If that turns out to be the case, you are gonna have to roll up your shirt sleeves and start tracing wires.
2007-02-22 14:47:12 · answer #2 · answered by bobby 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Could be one or more dead cells in the battery, a crack, or what is sometimes called a "high potential leak", where the charge actually leaks out through the case of the battery. Take it to a parts store and have them put a load test on it.
2007-02-22 14:21:03 · answer #3 · answered by Michael B 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Are you sure it isnt the alternator.... here is a quick test... start the car, with it running remove the positive battery terminal, if the car dies the alternator is bad, if it keeps running then it is good. If it is good make sure the fan belt is nice and tight.
2007-02-22 14:24:08 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
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2017-03-04 23:45:19 · answer #5 · answered by Justin 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check your battery cables, then buy a new battery.
2007-02-22 14:22:54 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋