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Battery won't hold charge

T

TheRock249

CEG'er
Joined
Nov 21, 2002
Messages
192
Location
Nashville, TN
Seems that i've been posting a lot of problems on here lately, sorry bout that, but anyway.....

Ive now began to have problems with the electrical system. About a week and a half ago, I left the car sitting outside for a couple days without driving it, and the car wouldn't start- the battery was dead. So, i get my roommate to jump it, figuring i just left a light on or something.

Fast forward to today. Same deal, i hadn't driven it in 2 days. Get in to start it, and the battery is dead again. I wouldnt think the battery would be bad yet, because its an optima red top and is only like 2 years old. My alternator was replaced more recently, maybe a year ago.

Only thing i can think of is that there is something slowing draining the battery while it sits. I relocated it to the trunk almost 2 years ago, and have never had any problems. I know for sure that i am not leaving any accessories on.

Also, from taking the car into the shop for brake light problems, they did the courtesy multipoint inspection and it said the battery was good, but im thinking they may have just assumed it was good since i wasnt having any problems with it and it was in the trunk.

Any ideas?
 
The battery probably has sulfated plates. Sulfated plates will allow a surface charge so that the battery voltage will drop quickly.

Most auto parts stores will check the battery for free.

To check the current draw, connect a multimeter set to amps between the negative battery cable and the negative battery post. If there is too much current draw, place the multimeter where you can see it and pull one fuse at a time until you find the problem.

Most new multimeters and engine analyzers come with a good set of instructions.
 
It's probable you've got a drain somewhere. A friend of mine had a trunk light that stayed on all the time in his Acura ... took many months to figure that one out. Removing the light solved the problem.
 
the battery is out of the car right now, getting charged and tested at the place i bought it. They said they'll test it after its fully charged to see if the battery will actually hold the charge. If not, i'm gonna need a new battery. If it does hold, then that means theres something draining the power, right?
 
ha thats funny I'm having the same problem but I think my problem is the alternator. Since its the original (160k)
 
well i figured it out...

The battery place tested my optima, and it was perfectly fine. So i do some more investigating on my car.

i start it up, and look around and think. Maybe i'll fold down the rear seats.

WELL LOOK at that! the trunk light is on! I dont even ever remember seeing a light in my trunk before! For some reason, the trunk light had started to work randomly. I thought the trunk light was among the things ford cut on the car to save costs, like back seat lights and a glove box light.

So, to fix the problem, i ripped that damn light out. That'll teach him.
 
Good work finding it, im wonder if there is a similar reason why the audi in my garage has been slowly draining power since mile 1
 
i used to think my trunk light was on all the time because at night i could see a small amount of light comming through the rear seats. so i pulled the seats down. it was my back up lights! when i went into reverse. lol i would only see the light when looking back while reversing
 
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