I have a 91 Saturn SL1 that has a parasitic drain and I need help finding it.?

Question

I have replaced multiple baterries, the alternator is testing ok, but something is draining the battery, where should I start?

Answer 1

this can be difficult, you need to hook a test light in series with the positive battery cable, one end to the batt. the other to the cable. light on means you have an unacceptable draw. if the light is on start pulling fuses 1 at a time, if the light goes out you have found the circuit that the draw is in. if the light stays lit, return the fuse and move to the next. remember that the interior lights will be on while the door is open so you must pull that fuse or defeat the door switch to test accurately. if the draw does not go away while pulling fuses, disconnect the alternator. if that gets rid of it change the alternator, if not, you have a problem a good electrical man needs to check.

Answer 2

Try disconnecting your battery when you know its charged. If it still is dead after a couple of days, you have a bad battery. Buy a new one.
If it is still charged, your car is discharging the battery. If that is the case, you'll need a volt ohm meter that can read 12 volt DC amperes (Radio Shack sells them quite cheaply) and a lot of patience. Disconnect the "hot" cable (as opposed to the "ground" cable from the battery. Connect the meter between the "hot" side of the battery (probably the positive post) and the "hot" cable to the car so you can see how many amperes the car is pulling from the battery (it probably will not be more than one or two amps). DO NOT TRY TO START THE CAR WHEN THE METER IS CONNECTED IN THIS FASHION! DAMAGE TO THE METER OR THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IS POSSIBLE. Once you determine that the car is pulling the battery down, you have to check all of the electrical systems, one at a time, to determine which one is pulling any electricity. A good place to start is at the fuse panel. Removing the fuses one at a time will indicate if any of those systems are the problem. Remove and replace the fuses one at a time. Typical problems are electrical systems that you don't usually see such as a glove box light, a trunk light, an under the hood light, etc.. If this doesn't locate the problem, you had better get a mechanic to look at it.

Answer 3

The most common mistake I see is people leave their cell phone "chargers" or power supply plugged into the cigarette lighter hole or in the dash. This small thingy will drain the battery to almost nothing in just two days.

Next, make sure all of the lights go out and the radio clock goes off when you shut the door or within a few minutes after closing the doors. An interior lamp or radio will drain the battery over night in many cases.

When these simple steps fail; don't mess with it and take it to a shop that only does electrical work on cars. They will find it faster than anyone else and fix it right the first time.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

pull 1 battery cable off the battery. doesnt matter which. hook a test light between the cable and battery. in a properly operating system the test light should glow bright for a few seconds after hookup, till the computer and radio memory recharge, then dim down but not go out. anything that draws power will make the test light glow bright so make sure there is no under hood light (remove bulb), doors shut, key completely removed. if you have to work with the door open, make sure the dome light switch is pushed in or disabled. start removing fuses till the light goes dim. start with the rear defrost. sometime those switches stick.