Hi all,
I try to start my car over the winter time, but the battery keeps going dead, as I only start it about every week or so. It is a brand new battery. What's the deal???
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Hi all,
I try to start my car over the winter time, but the battery keeps going dead, as I only start it about every week or so. It is a brand new battery. What's the deal???
I try to start my car over the winter time, but the battery keeps going dead, as I only start it about every week or so. It is a brand new battery. What's the deal???
David, did you check the electrolite level in the battery? How about the specific gravity? The battery connections? Perhaps a good investment would be a battery tender, about $50, but it will keep you battery in tip top shape. Hopefully, you do not have a short that is draining the battery. How cold is it where you are keeping the car? Lots of possibilities.
Hoss
Hoss
If the radio is wired hot it can draw down a battery over a short period of time.
***Before you proceed make sure that there are NO GAS FUMES***
Disconnect the negative battery terminal and remove all fuses. with the key switch in the OFF position , touch the negative cable back against the negative on the battery, if you observe a spark... even a small one, you may have a bad alt. or key switch .
With the key still in the OFF position,add one fuse back in line and switch the key to the ON position, recheck for spark as you touch the cable to the battery post....switching the key OFF prior to adding in an additional fuse then turn the key back ON again as you go (Keying Off and ON avoids possible finger tip burns if there is a short or heavy amp draw) If you do see a spark, the draw is in that circuit that you have added the fuse to.
***Before you proceed make sure that there are NO GAS FUMES***
Disconnect the negative battery terminal and remove all fuses. with the key switch in the OFF position , touch the negative cable back against the negative on the battery, if you observe a spark... even a small one, you may have a bad alt. or key switch .
With the key still in the OFF position,add one fuse back in line and switch the key to the ON position, recheck for spark as you touch the cable to the battery post....switching the key OFF prior to adding in an additional fuse then turn the key back ON again as you go (Keying Off and ON avoids possible finger tip burns if there is a short or heavy amp draw) If you do see a spark, the draw is in that circuit that you have added the fuse to.
Alternator or Generator? A generator has to be run for ~20 minutes at a good clip to recharge the juice used just to start the car. However, an alternator charges quite well at idle and has more Amps so shorter recharge cycle. Try Harbor Freight for a battery maintenance charger - I use them on marine batteries all winter (they stop charging automatically when battery is fully charged). They are less than $20. Item 42292-1VGA is $7.49 and 41288-3VGA is $16.99.
As you had mentioned a brand new battery, I'll assume that the electrolyte level are good and the contacts are clean.
Get a good voltmeter than measures down to tenths. Measure the charge when the battery won't start the car. Maybe it reads 10-11 volts. Put the battery on a charger over night. Check the measuremenet next day. Probably 12.8 to 13.2 or so. Leave the battery sit on your workbench for a week. Check it again. About the same? Probably No battery issues. 11 or so volts - bad battery. (you can also have a shop load test it). So that leaves a short in your car. That's probably not what you wanted to hear, but you already suspect that is the problem.
Put the fully charged battery back in the car. Pull one fuse circuit. Check the next day or two for a notable drop in voltage. If none, repeat with a different circuit until you find the one with the drop. That's the bad circuit. Alot easier at that point to track down the problem when you have isolated it to a single circuit.
Cold weather will significantly alter a battery's ability to start your car. The chemical reactions are greatly slowed with frigid temps. The battery has very poor recovery. That means, in my hairless monkey terms, that it will have good voltage initially, but will crank only a few times and then dog out on you. If you could measure amperage at that point, it would be very very low. The voltage will then be low also after cranking.
A healthy battery in all but the most inhuman conditions should retain its charge and be able to start your car for a whole lot longer than a week. Several weeks, even two months should not be an issue for a healthy battery.
Hope that helps. Electrical problems are exasperating. angela
Get a good voltmeter than measures down to tenths. Measure the charge when the battery won't start the car. Maybe it reads 10-11 volts. Put the battery on a charger over night. Check the measuremenet next day. Probably 12.8 to 13.2 or so. Leave the battery sit on your workbench for a week. Check it again. About the same? Probably No battery issues. 11 or so volts - bad battery. (you can also have a shop load test it). So that leaves a short in your car. That's probably not what you wanted to hear, but you already suspect that is the problem.
Put the fully charged battery back in the car. Pull one fuse circuit. Check the next day or two for a notable drop in voltage. If none, repeat with a different circuit until you find the one with the drop. That's the bad circuit. Alot easier at that point to track down the problem when you have isolated it to a single circuit.
Cold weather will significantly alter a battery's ability to start your car. The chemical reactions are greatly slowed with frigid temps. The battery has very poor recovery. That means, in my hairless monkey terms, that it will have good voltage initially, but will crank only a few times and then dog out on you. If you could measure amperage at that point, it would be very very low. The voltage will then be low also after cranking.
A healthy battery in all but the most inhuman conditions should retain its charge and be able to start your car for a whole lot longer than a week. Several weeks, even two months should not be an issue for a healthy battery.
Hope that helps. Electrical problems are exasperating. angela
You can also hook up a multi-meter inline with either the positive or negative side of your battery--
(disconnect the negative cable from the battery, clip the black wire from the multi meter to the negative cable, clip the red wire from the multi meter to the negative post on the battery, so that the current draw runs through the meter) [Note: Be sure any high-current draw devices are off, like the lights, starter, or AC compressor clutch, or else you can blow the fuse in your meter]
--to find out how much current is being drawn while the car is just sitting there. Except for the memory on the stereo, on these cars it should almost be zero.
Once you establish what your current draw actually is (and it should probably be under 30mA), then remove fuses until it drops to zero. Then you've isolated the circuit.
This is a half hour procedure, and it's exact.
(disconnect the negative cable from the battery, clip the black wire from the multi meter to the negative cable, clip the red wire from the multi meter to the negative post on the battery, so that the current draw runs through the meter) [Note: Be sure any high-current draw devices are off, like the lights, starter, or AC compressor clutch, or else you can blow the fuse in your meter]
--to find out how much current is being drawn while the car is just sitting there. Except for the memory on the stereo, on these cars it should almost be zero.
Once you establish what your current draw actually is (and it should probably be under 30mA), then remove fuses until it drops to zero. Then you've isolated the circuit.
This is a half hour procedure, and it's exact.
Nuts, that's a WAY better idea! I think I'll dig out a better meter next electrical issue I have. Thanks. angela
Winter Store your vehicles with a Battery Tender connected.
You can hook one up and leave it on all winter and your battery will last twice as long when stored untended.
That is, after you've concluded that the electrical system is OK and the Battery is OK.
Go to http://batterytender.com/faqs.php/#4 for details on how and why they work.
Greg B
You can hook one up and leave it on all winter and your battery will last twice as long when stored untended.
That is, after you've concluded that the electrical system is OK and the Battery is OK.
Go to http://batterytender.com/faqs.php/#4 for details on how and why they work.
Greg B
If you get a meter that will measure amps, aim high. Get one that will handle ~20 amps. Some meters will only handle current in the milliamp range. You shouldn't have near that current with everything off, but you never know - something is running the battery down. Too much current will make a smokin hole where your meter used to be. Also BE SURE to hook the amp meter in series in the circuit. Do not go from a 12 v. source to ground, again, all the electrons will go to ground through the meter and smoke it. Ask me how I know. Forgot to check the meter selection switch and poof.