So, I have a 2005 maxima with approx 101K miles. Last year, I replaced the battery on my car. In the last month, my car stopped turning over, thinking it was the alternator this time, I took it to advance auto and they stated that alternator is fine, it's my battery. Thinking it was weird, I replaced my battery as it was still in the 1 year warranty. Now in the last two weeks, if I do not drive my car say for 2 days, it is completely drained and won't turn over.

Now I know it's not the battery, and I was told that my alternator is fine, so what else could it be. What can be draining the battery life so fast. My car is completely stock.

Thanks in advance. Also anyone know of any decent mechanics in Va Beach/Norfolk area?

 

Is the alternator belt tight?

 

Is there any corrosion on the positive battery terminal?

Also verify that the ground wire from the negative terminal is good all the way to the transmission. Take the battery and battery tray out and look at the terminal connector on the body and the transmission. Pull on them a little to see if they are starting to come loose.

 

Do you have an aftermarket sound system installed?

 

I checked the belts and hoses and everything looks tight and snug. I had to have it jumped again and took it again to autozone last night, they said battery/alternator are fine.

I don't have any aftermarket equipment on my car. Completely stock. I don't know what but something is draining the battery.

Any other suggestions? Do i take this to the dealer as my local pep boys and some auto shop don't do any electrical work.

thanks

 

If they say your batt is fine... are your lights coming on at all, and if they are, are they dim? Is it turning over?

 

well for the longest time i heard that lose battery terminals would drain your battery, and i never understood why since the terminal is still in contact. well turns out i had an episode where my car would be dead as a doornail every morning. i never thought to check my terminals being that they were on pretty good. I could sway them back and forth if i put pressure on it but they were pretty unmovable on their own... after my 3rd AAA jump. a very handy tow driver said your terminal is not tight enough. i was like yeah whatever they are on good enough to make contact 100% at all times and not move unless you forcefully move it. in any case, i had no reason not to try. i took the little spacer out so the terminal could close even more, and i cranked it down as tight as i could get it.

next morning, car was great and was there after... i was simply amazed. in all my other experiences even the smallest physical contact between metals is sufficient enough to keep a circuit healthy while not in use. and my terminal WAS tight, just not tight enough i guess.

 

No lights at all; nor does it turn over...Completely drained

Battery is only a few months old.. In fact, I had replaced the previous battery 1 yr ago and the car kept on dying so I ended up getting a warranty replacement for it. It was fine for a few months, however now it requires a jump each time.

 

I will try it again; probably will just take it the shop and have them check the terminals. Let's see. I hope you are right, it's getting really tiring getting it jumped each time.

 

oh don't take it to the shop for a terminal check. just undo them, take some sand paper and clean up the inside of the terminal harness. (don't sand up the battery terminal) if you have corrosion, use some coke or baking soda+water to get it off) just sand the terminal leads. get that oxide layer off if there is any.

next, take out the little spacer that lies between the terminal clamp, its there for an exact fit, but as the leads get old they don't fit right anymore and need that extra room to tighten for a secure fit.

next, tighten that bad boy on like you've never tighten it before. (please don't be lazy like 90% of us and use plyars... get your lazy *** to the work bench open up your deep socket ratchet set and fit it) if you try and tighten it as much as you need to tighten it with pliars you will strip it! and if you strip that, your in for a bad day when you need to change your battery or do any mods.

if this doesn't help you have another problem, but you will be one step closer to solving it.

 

That was exactly what it was...I cleaned out the terminals really nicely, made sure they were on snug and tight and now it seems like it's good to go.

Thank you so much for the help and the detailed instructions.

 

Some eye-opener. Thanks XXeggs.

 

Great!! Glad I could help.. The bettery thing was definitely a first for me too. something you would never think nor believe till it happens to you. I've seen junk cars work with bent coat hangers for leads yet anything but a snug fit on my max will drain its bettery.

 

This is incredible..its a good thing i read this. i would never think lol

My negative terminal has been cracked since DEC because it locked up and i had to hammer it off to replace the battery. I just hammered it back on and its been fine ever since. I know its still loose and is gonna fail on me any day now. Waiting to find someone parting out their max so i can swap out the entire cable.

 

Spoke too soon...

the issue persists...Had to have it jumped twice in the last two days now...Once the car is up and running, it runs perfectly...

I also took it to a shop and they told I have no draw on the system once the car is off...
everything checked out - battery, alternator, terminals, starter, voltage--- WTF can it be? I might have to take it the stealership this week. Can't keep doing this

 

Did you ever check the grounding point to the body of the car below the battery tray?

 

The next time the car doesn't start, have a volt meter handy and measure the battery voltage. I suspect it will a lot less than 12 volts since you say the lights don't come on, but normally it should read about 12.5 volts. Once you get the car running, measure the voltage again. It should read about 14.3 volts if the alternator is doing its job.

If the alternator is charging, then when you get home one evening and you won't be going any place for a full day, measure the battery voltage. Should be about 12.5 volts. Then disconnect the battery cable. A day (or 2) later when you need to drive the car, check the battery voltage again. It should read around 12.5 volts.

If the voltage has dropped below 12 volts, you have a bad battery. If it hasn't, you have some kind of battery drain going on.

 

Is it manual or auto..also does it try to turn over and fails or is there no sound at all. Thinking it may be a failing starter especially if its a stick.

Battery would have been dead by now if the alternator wasnt doing its job. The starter gets more than the usual juice to fire when you get a jump as compared to when you turn the key. That may explain why it always starts with a jump.

 

To check for parasitic drain, connect an amp meter in series with the negative battery terminal and ground cable connector. The meter should typically show 0.020 amps of current to maintain electronic memories. More than 0.035 amp is excessive battery drain. At that point start disconnecting things until you see a big drop in current. If you don't have an amp meter, use a 12v automotive light bulb and substitute for the amp meter. It will be a rough estimate, but the filament should not even glow if the draw is not excessive.

 

Do your electronics work when you turn the key? If nothing is working the you aren't getting at least 12V. If they do work and is still not turning over then I would look towards the starter or the ignition switch could be going as well. Usually things dont just fail suddenly one day, they gradually go out.

 

just an update...

took it to the dealer, they kept it for two days, did the diagnostics and it was just a bad battery...

I was able to get another factory replacement from advance. this is 3rd battery in 10 months.. hopefully it continues to work now.

 

My car did the same thing I need a new Neg cable .