[girard.k]

Can anyone give me possibilities as to why this would happen? The battery is fairly new, and I might think that its a parasitic draw...But any suggestions would be helpful! btw this only recently started happening to my car, and I have not done any recent electronic modifications.

[konafocuswrc]

what was the last mod u did before you see battery dying??

i m reading your signature and looks to me either amp or neon..
if u just installed amp, check where you hooked amp turn on wire to..

[Spinal]

i had it happend to my car during the winter, it was weird because the first winter it was fine, second it died like 6 times, and this year it was fine lol. i took it to ford thinking it was a bad battery but they said it was okay, i doubt there is any draw because i have a 600w system in my car and unless its on there is no draw other than the clock and LED for my alarm.

my only answer is check to see if the battery is bad, go to like canadian tire it partsource and check it out. or maybe the alternator isn't charging it enough fully - thats a reason i got as well since i told them i made fairly short trips to school (about 8km each way) but then i thought to myself that with sitting in traffic and such the 20minute run-time of the car should be enough to charge the battery.

[girard.k]

Spinal,Apr 18 2010, 09:29 PM Wrote:i had it happend to my car during the winter, it was weird because the first winter it was fine, second it died like 6 times, and this year it was fine lol. i took it to ford thinking it was a bad battery but they said it was okay, i doubt there is any draw because i have a 600w system in my car and unless its on there is no draw other than the clock and LED for my alarm.

my only answer is check to see if the battery is bad, go to like canadian tire it partsource and check it out. or maybe the alternator isn't charging it enough fully - thats a reason i got as well since i told them i made fairly short trips to school (about 8km each way) but then i thought to myself that with sitting in traffic and such the 20minute run-time of the car should be enough to charge the battery.
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yeah my drive is really short, and i replaced the alternator like a year and a half ago. I think its the battery! I literally have done nothing to my car since I moved to Thunder Bay, which is like a year now. I'm gonna bring my battery into crappy tire when my exams are done.

[girard.k]

Now, when i got home from school, i decided to bust out the OBD and the multimeter to test my battery. I took the focus for a ride for about 10 mins...when i parked it it was full...12.6V. Then when i went into the cockpit to use the OBD i turned my car to the on position...looked for codes, then tried to start, and it wouldn't! But the battery still had 11.5 Volts!!

Is it amps that i should be testing or something?
Its starting to piss me off that I can just jump it and it will work.

Meanwhile when i turned off my car this morning after i had it jumped and drove it for like 10 mins, it started immediately after i turned it off. It has to be the battery losing its charge...

[OAC_Sparky]

How many volts do you get while the engine is running?

Your battery isn't producing enough current to crank the starter, it's either because you alternator isn't putting out enough to store a proper charge in your battery, or your battery has a bad cell.

If the battery is getting >13.5V while the engine is running, then the alternator putting out sufficient voltage to charge. Check your battery terminals for corrosion, check to see if you have any dry cells.

Making only short trips isn't really good for a battery, especially in a cold place like Thunder Bay. It doesn't get a chance to fully recover from the last start. A partially discharged battery makes it more prone to freezing -- and once it's frozen applying a charge to it can pooch it for good.

[j3rt]

I had a similar problem with my battery. Voltage was fine when shutoff, running was a bit higher, so I knew the Alt was ok.
There was no cranking amps. Turns out there was a short on the rear defroster wiring that I believe zapped my battery.
It was the original battery, so I replaced it.

[mo_focus]

as others have stated, test your amp and battery and if none of that works then just unplug the amp and see if thats the problem.

Just remove the main wire for the amp and see if that fixes things. if that is not the answer then you might have to remove each fuse and test to see if that is the problem and try narrow it down to a specific area and then you can work from there.

[Mystake]

mo_focus,Apr 19 2010, 10:48 AM Wrote:as others have stated, test your amp and battery and if none of that works then just unplug the amp and see if thats the problem.

Just remove the main wire for the amp and see if that fixes things. if that is not the answer then you might have to remove each fuse and test to see if that is the problem and try narrow it down to a specific area and then you can work from there.
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make sure you disconnect the amp at the battery level so that you don't have a live wire sitting in your car.


also, Canadian Tire's have battery testers. You can get it checked there. I have a similar problem with my Jeep. I can't get it started just by cranking it over. Dump a bit o' quick start and BAM it goes. Then, it'll go all day... until the next morning.

Just outta curiosity, auto or stick? <that's just for me.

[girard.k]

Mystake,Apr 19 2010, 11:22 AM Wrote:

mo_focus,Apr 19 2010, 10:48 AM Wrote:as others have stated, test your amp and battery and if none of that works then just unplug the amp and see if thats the problem.

Just remove the main wire for the amp and see if that fixes things. if that is not the answer then you might have to remove each fuse and test to see if that is the problem and try narrow it down to a specific area and then you can work from there.
[right][snapback]305415[/snapback][/right]

make sure you disconnect the amp at the battery level so that you don't have a live wire sitting in your car.


also, Canadian Tire's have battery testers. You can get it checked there. I have a similar problem with my Jeep. I can't get it started just by cranking it over. Dump a bit o' quick start and BAM it goes. Then, it'll go all day... until the next morning.

Just outta curiosity, auto or stick? <that's just for me.
[right][snapback]305419[/snapback][/right]

its not the battery, I'm unplugging all my accessories and going to check if it kills the battery again...crappy tire tested it under load, its all good

and it's stick

[OAC_Sparky]

If the battery is good the next thing you need to do is check the terminals at the battery, the fusebox and the starter. If these all look ok the next thing you do is disconnect the positive terminal (car off key out) and you put an ammeter in between the battery and the cable. If something is draining your battery overnight it really has to be drawing more than 5A.

If it is then you can start pulling fuses to isolate the drain.

[Mystake]

girard.k,Apr 19 2010, 05:40 PM Wrote:

Mystake,Apr 19 2010, 11:22 AM Wrote:

mo_focus,Apr 19 2010, 10:48 AM Wrote:as others have stated, test your amp and battery and if none of that works then just unplug the amp and see if thats the problem.

Just remove the main wire for the amp and see if that fixes things. if that is not the answer then you might have to remove each fuse and test to see if that is the problem and try narrow it down to a specific area and then you can work from there.
[right][snapback]305415[/snapback][/right]

make sure you disconnect the amp at the battery level so that you don't have a live wire sitting in your car.


also, Canadian Tire's have battery testers. You can get it checked there. I have a similar problem with my Jeep. I can't get it started just by cranking it over. Dump a bit o' quick start and BAM it goes. Then, it'll go all day... until the next morning.

Just outta curiosity, auto or stick? <that's just for me.
[right][snapback]305419[/snapback][/right]

its not the battery, I'm unplugging all my accessories and going to check if it kills the battery again...crappy tire tested it under load, its all good

and it's stick
[right][snapback]305447[/snapback][/right]

disconnect the battery overnight. then, in the morning, reconnect it and start it up.

That'll tell you for SURE if there's a drain on the battery or not.



edit: don't ask me if it resets the pcm or whatever. I don't know. It did on my old truck. Don't quote me.

[Spinal]

Mystake,Apr 19 2010, 06:44 PM Wrote:edit: don't ask me if it resets the pcm or whatever.

FYI yes it does.

[Mystake]

Spinal,Apr 19 2010, 10:22 PM Wrote:

Mystake,Apr 19 2010, 06:44 PM Wrote:edit: don't ask me if it resets the pcm or whatever.

FYI yes it does.
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Figured. Just didn't wanna take any responsibility for anything "oh you didn't say my PCM would be reset!"

[paolo]

do u have a stereo / amp?