replaced car battery 3 times.. what could be wrong?

Question

I replaced my 5 yr old battery about two months ago. The new one worked fine for about three weeks, then when I left it overnight at my friends house it died. I jumped it and it worked fine for a few more weeks, but then it began to die again once I left it for more than a couple of hours. I figured I had a parasitic draw, so I took the car in to get my system checked out. The shop ran all the tests, found no draw, but concluded that the battery was defective. So I got another battery and again it worked fine without incident for several weeks. Yet last weekend I left it overnight again and it died.either the shop didnt find the real cause or there has been something I have not been paying attention to. I have checked all around to see if I could be leaving something on and have found nothing. What are some common devices in cars that ignored can kill the batt? Could there be any other reasons why it dies? Im almost pos im not leaving something on but mayb im missing something.

Answer 1

ALTERNATOR!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 2

You need to take it to another shop and tell them this story. The first guys blew it and don't deserve the business. A new battery will last a night Most interior lights go off after 10 minutes as a safety for the battery you would have to leave the headlights on or something like that. Sounds like it may be a faulty regulator that isn't showing all the time. The alternator is cheap enough just replace it and make sure the regulator is in the alternator

Answer 3

If you have access to a multimeter try this. Measure the voltage on the battery with the engine off. It should be 12V, start the engine and measure the voltage again, this time it should be about 13.6V Turn the engine and key off. Disconnect the ground from the battery and put the leads to the multimeter in series with the battery and the negative cable. Look at the current draw, it should be in the low milliamps. If you are drawing an amp or so start pulling fuses and notice which one will lower the current draw when pulled. I once had a relay stick that was located behind the glove box and it gave the same symptoms, took it to an auto electric shop and they found it in about 10 secs. Good luck

Answer 4

How to find your problem? Get a multitester and disconnect your negative batt cable. With your tester reading amps-Connect your tester between the cable and the neg batt terminal and it will show your draw.(probably 5-10 amps) Get an owners manual that tells the different accessories on each fuse terminal. Disconnect 1 fuse at a time until you have no reading of the amp draw. That is the circuit the problem is on- so isolate the items to pinpoint the problem. I had a radio that decided to have an internal problem that caused me this same thing- I upgraded to an aftermarket cd radio and the culprit was eliminated. Hope this helps- good luck.

Answer 5

Did you buy the cheapest battery. If so it may have been perfectly fine but you car is drawing more amps than it can provide so it's being burnt out. I had this problem, got a better battery and never had to worry with it again.

Answer 6

Could be a weak alternator or loose alternator belt. Make sure the belt is tight and try this check..... start your car, remove the positive terminal, if the car dies, then the alternator is bad... if the car stays running then it is good.

Answer 7

Sounds like a bad alternator to me.

Answer 8

prolly your alternator....will make your battery go dead everytime...had the same problem, fixed the alternator and it worked just fine...you can have your alternator tested at most big auto part stores...good luck

Answer 9

Check that your boot light or similar is not staying on,or a loose alternator belt.

Answer 10

new alternator