constant battery drain

[SaleenGT2001]

i have been dealing with this for the past year and a half and cant figure it out. my car has a brand new optima red top in it and i still cant keep it charged. i normally drive the car about once every 2 weeks. the battery will die completely in about 8 days without driving. i am at the point now taht i remove the battery cable every time i park it. this is very annoying and i need some help trying to figure out what i can do to fix it.

 

[the98stang]

Test the altenator

 

[SaleenGT2001]

it is working properly. this drain is when the car sits for about a week or more

 

[the98stang]

Do you have an alarm or sound system? That could drain the battery real quick. Do you have under drive pulleys?

 

[281CI96Coupe]

I remember reading a thread about stuff being blown in the sound system or anything that electrical, its a btch but you gotta trace it.

 

[BlackGT4.6]

my mach 460 amps drain mine I pull the fuse and its ok still annoying though.

 

[SaleenGT2001]

i have an alarm, an amp in the trunk and the 460 system.

i dont have UD pulleys

 

[smokin00GT]

My husband has a 98 with the red top battery. His car does the same thing. He is now on his 3rd red top battery in a year and a half. Autozone checked it each time before issuing him a replacement and found it to be bad every time. I don't know why.....he has no under drive pulleys, no sterio, and no aftermarket amps.

 

[the98stang]

I think it's because you have a sound system. you just have to start it up every week and let the alt charge the battery.

 

[apraizr]

LOL !!! I researched the crap out of this topic for my car. It is definantly the alarm and stereo to blame. I drive my car only when the sun is blazing which doesn't happen to much in Seattle. My battery lasts 9 days. On the 7th day, it hesitates, but fires up... on the 9th day it's done. I had a red top Optima and after 2 complete drains the battery was toast. I didn't know this at the time and stuck a trickle charger on it. It would never charge the battery. I kept on returning and buying a new charger... but each time the battery wouldn't charge. I called Optima. The red tops cannot handle more than 2 complete drains or they won't hold a complete charge. They advised and I moved over to the yellow top which can sustain multiple drains and still hold a complete charge and it can sit alot longer than the red top. I bought a BatteryMinder Plus that is made for the Optima battery. http://www.thebatteryminder.com/a_add/pdf/Optimize_Your_Optima_Batteries.pdf

http://www.thebatteryminder.com/agmoptimabatteryminderplus-p-62.html

It sucked to dial in the stereo and clock everytime !!

 

[bakos24]

I have the same problem, Mine dies with in a week of sitting. After a 3-4 days sitting it will hesitate starting up. No aftermarket alarm or stereo here.

I was given this site a while ago, Have not tried it yet though.

http://www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Parasitic-Battery-Drain

 

[triggz]

Huh. Strange, same problem here with an optima redtop. I completely rewired all of my aftermarket stuff and I havent had a drain though since, it used to barely last 2 days.

Get an ammeter and see what kind of current draw you have.

 

[Wolvrin704]

I used to have the same problem with my F150 with 4.6, last year she sat during the summer and I drove the Saturn. If it sat for more than a couple of days it drained the battery. After going through everything under the sun I came back to the alternator and that was what it eneded up being. So far this summer the truck has sat for 2-3 weeks at a time with absolutely no drain. Last year I had to unplug the battery to keep it from draining.

 

[saleen137]

For a moment I thought I was the only one with this freakin problem. My battery is now toast and it wont hold the charge. My Saleen sits in the garage for sometime but every 3-4 days if I don't start the car I would need to charge the battery. But now the battery wont even hold the charge and the car wont start. I've never figured out the problem but I as well have a stereo system and a alarm.

 

[DTNODYA]

My car does the same thing ... I finally got pissed and creative .. I fabbed up a little bracket and mounted a switch so I can just turn the battery 'off'. The switch also twists off, like you turn it off, push down, turn a little more and it slips out. It's kinda like an extra security device so to speak plus I don't have to keep getting new batteries!!

I have an alarm but I don't have my subs anymore ... My battery drained when it was stock, had subs, had alarm .... too much of a PITA for me to trace down.

FWIW, I know of a few people that had the drain ... Some of them traced it back to where the latch is on the door (or something like that) .. the thing that controls when the dome light turns on when the door is opened. It was sticking open or something...

 

[goshia]

i have been dealing with this for the past year and a half and cant figure it out. my car has a brand new optima red top in it and i still cant keep it charged. i normally drive the car about once every 2 weeks. the battery will die completely in about 8 days without driving. i am at the point now taht i remove the battery cable every time i park it. this is very annoying and i need some help trying to figure out what i can do to fix it.

What mod's do you have? Have you added a ozogen sensor?, smaller pulleyS?

 

[SaleenGT2001]

no smaller pulleys, just a small amp (rockford 400) and an alarm that isnt armed unless i'mnot at home

 

[97speedster]

i have an alarm, an amp in the trunk and the 460 system.

i dont have UD pulleys

Correct me if I am wrong but all Saleens come equipped with under drive pulleys.

 

[SaleenGT2001]

its a clone

UD puleys will throw off the boost when you get a s/c so you must go back to stock even if you have them on already

 

[RandyStinchcomb]

have you looked to see if your dome lite is staying on?