I havent been able to really use my car all that much, and it sits in my driveway. Well after about 2 weeks, the battery is unable to start the car. This is a brand NEW Optima Battery so i dont think its a battery issue. What could be draining the system ??

-matt

 

check the obvious like your interior lights dome map light is a very common culprit. Car alarm. Parasitic drain through extra wiring (like amplifiers etc.).

 

Factory alarm, no lights were left on, no system.

-matt

 

Start your car and see if your heater works on all speeds. May be just a fluke, but my battery died last year overnight and nothing was left on. I believe that the resistor card for the fan and heater which is located over by the passenger area shorted out and drained my battery. When the card shorts out, the fan will only blow on the highest setting and won't work on others. Once I replaced that resistor card, everything was fine and I had no issues with the battery dieing.

 

Nah all my fan speed work fine.

 

well if your battery works then...fuel pump?

 

he isn't have a starting problem. something is draining his battery that is all.

did you verify that the battery does indeed have 12.5 ish volts. I dont think a gel cell can go bad. i've seen battery normal ones brand new have bad cells.

what wiring have you done to the car. best way to do now is perform a parasic draw test. wire up a amp meter in series with the battery post and cable and then disconnect it making the meter be your connection from battery to cable and then lock your car withing 1-5 mins the car should be in sleep mode and you should have just a very very small milli-amp draw if its not start pulling fuses.

common issues like trunk or glove box switch being bad and leaving the light on all the time should be the problem if your wiring is completely stock. if you have EU or something then more then likely something is touching something

 

I have been trying to find the source of key off battery drain on my 96 Maxima. I found a 120 milli-amp draw when in sleep mode. Battery is dead in 3 to 4 days. I traced it to the fuse 40 circuit but have not started to disconnect the various components on that circuit.

 

I do have an EU and all my gauges but they are all on switched sources. I dont get how they can be drawing anything.

-matt

 

the battery of my car drained on the night, after many tries, i discover that when i disconnected my battery and recconect, i heard a sound like something switching, i follow the sound and go to the relays zone and see that the one of them activate alone when the battery is connected, i remove these relay (was the relay of claxon) and my problem was resolve.

Check for the switches and relays and see if something is activate or hot.

 

Still having this problem. I would like to try and trace it down...any tips ??

I leave my car for a week, and its dead

-matt

 

put an ammeter on the positive side of the battery terminal.. and turn the car off and watch for drain...

 

Is your trunk light on at all times?
I went through a similar problem with my first 97 Maxima and it turned out to be the trunk light switch causing the problem. The light switch had become dislodged from the mount and was draining the battery even if I removed the bulb (not sure why, but it did). If I recall correctly, the switch is on the drivers side hinge pretty far back. Maybe far fetched but worth a shot.

 

I have a '95 Maxima and I have just learned to accept the problem. I have my car always hooked up to a battery manager at home, otherwise after 3 or 4 days the battery will be drained. I have several components hooked up, and I have had a few people look at it, and have spent money trying to fix the problem...but no one has been able to trace the source of it. Fortunately since January of last year I moved into my own place which has a garage and I am able to keep my car "plugged in" at all times. I only drive my Maxima on maybe once or twice a week, it is possible that other people might have the same problem...but don't realize it, because they drive their car everyday. If you find out what it is...let me kno!!!

 

Any more specific on the location of that ??


How long usually would it take to drain ??

The bulb does stay on, but I removed the bulb.

What else do I need to do ?? Thats probably my problem

-matt

 

bump this up...

 

Having that bulb on for a couple of weeks would most likely be more than long enough to drain your battery. Removing the bulb or fixing trunk switch should definitely fix your problem.

 

Post #7 pretty much covers the next step