transfrmr

Allright, I realise that the description of this problem will be rather vague, but i thank you in advance for reading and offering any similar experiences/knowledge on the matter.

After having the car for three weeks, I have found what could be an annoying problem. The car didn't start tonight, the battery was dead.

The battery is less than a year old, the alternator is also new and was installed a few weeks ago. When the car is running, the charging system functions correctly. When I park the car and turn it off, however the battery drains slowly.

I timed the current loss tonight, with the motor off and the car "parked" and got these results:

2:30AM 12.64VDC
3:00AM 12.56VDC
3:30AM 12.47VDC

I turned off the "parking" switch in the fusepanel (a long shot of course) and it continued to drop anyways. At least I can eliminate that system (lol).

My next step is to start pulling fuses and taking readings. It seems like it'll be a long process, But I figure it'll be the fastest way. Once i find which fuse the short/ground is linked to (when the battery stops draining when I pull a particular fuse), I'll have to check all the wiring associated with it I guess.

It seems odd that the current is draining so slowly though. I suppose I'll also disconnect the battery and see if it can hold a charge on it's own.

If anyone has a better way to proceed, I'd be glad to hear about it!

avalon42

iTrader: (2)

Do you have an aftermarket radio/alarm? If so, that maybe the source of the slow drain (if hooked up incorrectly). If your car is completely stock, and you are very sure that the alternator is trustworthy, I would check the electrical schematics in the Haynes manual to distinguish where the drain is occuring. With the Maxima and its plethora of electrical parts, this could take some time...

-A

transfrmr

Yes, indeed, the car is bone stock.

However, I think I have it figured out. I park in an indoor heated garage, and had no problems starting the car this morning, but tonigt after wok it wouldn't start again. Same story, the battery was dead.

This is the first really cold weather we've had since I got the car (-20 yesterday and today), so Since it drains outside in the extreme cold, but can hold a charge in a heated garage I'm pretty sure it's the battery that is to blame.

I'm going to replace it this week with an optima yellow-top, and keep a spare battery in the trunk to boost with should something happen in the meantime.

It was so cold tonight that when i opened the hood to boost the car, the windshield washed T connection snapped right off. That'll be all fixed up tomorrow though, then I can worry about the battery.

I was planning to get an Optima yellow anyways because I'm planning a stereo install, so this just bumps the purchase up a little sooner. It's a lot better than hunting down a short !

blackmaxima88

another suggestion I've had luck with, before you blame the battery, is to check for a current drain. start with the car off and disconnect the negative terminal. connect a 12-volt test light or DC voltmeter (cheap but indespensible tools) between the battery and the cable. if you get a light or a reading, you have something drawing battery power while the car sleeps at night. this can be narrowed down by pulling fuses one by one until the light goes out. common culprits are trunk lights, glove box lights, radio memory, etc.

it may also be a good idea to test the battery. I've had luck with some batteries and no luck with others. when I bought my maxima in march of 2002, it came with a brand new everstart (walmart) battery. it didn't last very long. by september it would just lose its charge from just sitting. that may be caused by the alternator dying, however, and deeply discharging it. anyway...make sure it's charged up full, then load test it. it must be able to supply at least the specified cold-cranking amperage (I think 650 CCAs for these cars) for about 7-10 seconds. if you don't have this equipment, most auto parts stores do this for free. however, if the battery is that new, it's hard to envision that being the problem.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

Dan
-----
1989 Nissan Sentra, killed 8/23/01
I thought I heard it scream before it crashed and died
It remains in Sentra Heaven.
SHIFT_eternity

spacey64

[QUOTE]Originally posted by blackmaxima88
[B]another suggestion I've had luck with, before you blame the battery, is to check for a current drain. start with the car off and disconnect the negative terminal. connect a 12-volt test light or DC voltmeter (cheap but indespensible tools) between the battery and the cable. if you get a light or a reading, you have something drawing battery power while the car sleeps at night. this can be narrowed down by pulling fuses one by one until the light goes out. common culprits are trunk lights, glove box lights, radio memory, etc.

it may also be a good idea to test the battery. I've had luck with some batteries and no luck with others. when I bought my maxima in march of 2002, it came with a brand new everstart (walmart) battery. it didn't last very long. by september it would just lose its charge from just sitting. that may be caused by the alternator dying, however, and deeply discharging it. anyway...make sure it's charged up full, then load test it. it must be able to supply at least the specified cold-cranking amperage (I think 650 CCAs for these cars) for about 7-10 seconds. if you don't have this equipment, most auto parts stores do this for free. however, if the battery is that new, it's hard to envision that being the problem.

actaully belive it or not when i bought my die hard in november, the counterperson at strauss auto showed me the computer read out. our cars are only required by factory to need 350 CCA's. i honestly dont think any one has a baterry in there max less than 550, because that is te lowest i was able to go in price and quality for out car 750 is good with a high output alternator.. i figured that would be for major sound systems. hell my sony xplod head unit at half power. u can see the drain in the lights/amneter everytime the bass hits...lol..jus food for thought

~mike

jayfresh

like they said brotha...check for other sources thats causes ya power to drain...no doubt...its best to be sure its the battery or else the same problem can happen....

but I can agree with ya on one thing...IF it is the battery...then it must be some POS cheapie....cop yaself the Optima...i rock a RedTop one in my ride....the difference between the RedTop and the Yellow is quite simple: the Yellow has less cranking amps, but more reserve capicity....the Red has more cranking amps, but less reserve capicity (just 16 minute difference).

good luck
peace

transfrmr

Well,

I got a new battery just because I would have been stupid not to. One of my co-workers also works at a batteyr warehouse and got me a 1000 Cranking amps (750 Cold cranking amps) battery for only 25$ canadian. The old battery really wasn't holding a charge, but I think I may still have a shorting problem.

I disconnected the battery terminal and used a Digital Volt Meter to test the amperage flowing through with the car off. I had been told that a certain draw in the miliamperes is normal (radio, computer etc.) But there was too much.

The car was pulling .854 with the volt meter set to the 2A range. A bit of math gives me 1.7 amperes of power beign drained.

I did notice that the number dropped slowly but steadily, by the time I had to go and disconnected it it was down to .800 amperes still in the 2A range of the tester.

I picked up a test light today(had one somewhere but couldn't find it), so I'm going to run through the fuses with that. I've already tried switching the parking switch in the fusepanel to "off", but it didn't change the draw.

I figure the first step will be to hook up the ammeter with aligator clips and see how low the current draw goes if I leave it hooked up for a while, then onto the test light and pulling all the fuses again.

With the new battery though, it's not enough of a draw to kill it, especially not in 5 hours of cold as happened with the last. But I still have to find where the drain is coming from.

transfrmr

What I posted above was what I got yesterday when i tested amperage draw with power off.

Today, I did the same test, and got much different/better results.

Today, when i hooked up the voltmeter, I had to dial down to the 200ma range, and it read a draw of 34.2 ma. Much more acceptable. I then switched off the parking switch and it dropped to 21.3ma. From what I've been told, it's probable that the leftover 21 ma is being drawn by the car's computer, but I can't be sure.

I'm hoping that this won't turn out to be an intermitent short problem, but I'll be testing it regularily to make sure.

If anyone could tell me whether that extra 21ma is normal or not, it would get me on the right track I guess.

Thanks again!