[Spinal]

hey guys, so some of you may know from before (last year-ish) the batt in my car kept dieing when it got cold, well i replaced it with a Motomaster Eliminator the dry-cell ones like the optima. needless to say i go out last night and after noticing hard starts during the day while i was at work i decided to check it out, and it turned over once then died.

does anyone have any ideas what could be wrong? i highly doubt its the battery again but it does come with a 10yr warranty so i'll take it to canadian tire on friday (my day off) and go from there. but what else could be drawing power?

the only thing thats really changed and after it started happening was the addition of a capacitor for my sound system, but thats supposed to hold charge not drain it.

any ideas?

[hardk0re]

do you have a voltage meter in your car? Does it stay at 14-15V when your driving? Perhaps somehow your alternator is not providing enough charge to charge up your battery?

I had this issue with one of my old cars, was not outputing enough voltage.

[konafocuswrc]

capacitor for sound system, how did you hook it up?
is it constant on? or ran wires from remote turn on as trigger?
or does it have auto shut off?

[Spinal]

it says 15v when charging

i had geek squad install the cap, my car only dies when its cold, so i don't think the cap is the problem.

[konafocuswrc]

you are seeing 15v??that is overcharging..14.4~14.6v highest.

[Spinal]

yea but who knows how accurate the gauge is, my cap says around 14.4-14.5 when my cars on.

[euro_zx5]

Cap meters don't give an accurate reading i've been told. Only a proper meter will give you an accurate measurement.

[OAC_Sparky]

(11-24-2011, 08:20 AM)euro_zx5 Wrote: Cap meters don't give an accurate reading i've been told. Only a proper meter will give you an accurate measurement.

This.

The best way to isolate a possible battery drain is to take a multimeter with an ammeter function; undo your positive battery cable and put the ammeter between the battery and the positive lead.

Make sure the multimeter's internal fuse is rated 5A or better.

If you get a reading of anything more than .5A with the car off, doors shut, and everything off; you have some sort of parasitic power drain.

If you do you will need to start pulling fuses. Pull a fuse, look for a drop. If you get a big drop, the fuse you pulled will tell you what system is causing the drain (ie, cigarette lighter, etc)

The reason your car is more susceptible to parasitic losses in cold weather is because your engine takes more effort to turn over when cold (cold oil), and the current-producing ability and charge rate of any battery is diminished in cold.

Never underestimate the load of a GPS plugged into your socket. The draw more than you think and it doesn't stop drawing when you car is off if it's plugged into your lighter socket. As another has already said, you shouldn't have your cap on an unswitched circuit. It should only be powered when the ignition is on.

Also, any audio amps with a trigger-wire setup, can fail. I had an Alpine head unit many moons ago drawing 7A with the power off; the trigger circuit had failed and the unit was still powering the internal amp even thought the head unit appeared powered off. It would kill the battery overnight; took me a while to find that current leak.

[arpaul15]

(11-23-2011, 01:22 PM)konafocuswrc Wrote: you are seeing 15v??that is overcharging..14.4~14.6v highest.

Yup, 15v is a little too high. 13.8-14.6 are the limits. Over charging will definitely boost your battery aging process. Its the current that will kill it. The same way some trickle chargers that put out high current and kill the battery quick.

And the best method to find any power leak would be to follow Sparky.
Electric problems are such a pain! im having one too!

[2009SEL]

I'm taking a shot here.
Voltage regulator???
The alternator, my understanding, is that it puts out
around 14 volts and it is up to the voltage regulator
to adjust it accordingly.
Do Focii have internal or external voltage regulators?
Either way, could it be an volt. red. intermittent problem?
Good luck.
2009...

[OAC_Sparky]

This is a general guide to non-technical troubleshooting; based on symptom:

Generally speaking:
-If the car is running fine with all the accessories and stereo and lights running, the alternator is likely fine.
-If after running the car for a while and the battery starts the car OK, the alternator/voltage regulator is likely OK.
-If you run the car for a while with the headlights on and all is OK, and you shut the car off and the headlights dim appreciably (a lot) it points to a charging problem (battery/votage regulator/battery connection)
-If you run the car for a while with the headlights on and all is OK, and you shut the car off and the headlights dim only a bit (not a lot) the charging system is probably normal; BUT when you go leave the car overnight and the battery is low when you go to start the car you either have a battery problem or a voltage leak somewhere (see my post above).

Also: look at your dome light when you crank the car ie turn it on. If it fades (goes dim) as you're cranking it's a low battery. If it doesn't dim a lot but the starter cranks slow you may be looking at a starter/starter wiring/starter solenoid problem.

[Spinal]

(11-25-2011, 03:00 PM)OAC_Sparky Wrote: BUT when you go leave the car overnight and the battery is low when you go to start the car you either have a battery problem or a voltage leak somewhere (see my post above).

Also: look at your dome light when you crank the car ie turn it on. If it fades (goes dim) as you're cranking it's a low battery. If it doesn't dim a lot but the starter cranks slow you may be looking at a starter/starter wiring/starter solenoid problem.

leaving the car overnight is fine, if i leave it sit for a day or two then it dies, and i checked the dome light its fine. this is really puzzling.

[OAC_Sparky]

Please clarify --- you turn on the dome light and crank the car and it doesn't dim AND cranks slow?

Like I said earlier, if the battery dies after a period of disuse (the overnight reference was a generality) it would point to either a bad battery or a voltage leak.

[Spinal]

(11-26-2011, 12:58 AM)OAC_Sparky Wrote: Please clarify --- you turn on the dome light and crank the car and it doesn't dim AND cranks slow?

correct.

[OAC_Sparky]

(11-26-2011, 12:59 AM)Spinal Wrote:

(11-26-2011, 12:58 AM)OAC_Sparky Wrote: Please clarify --- you turn on the dome light and crank the car and it doesn't dim AND cranks slow?

correct.

Then you're likely looking at a starter/starter connection/starter solenoid issue

[Spinal]

well it cranks slow when the battery is like losing charge/almost dead, otherwise it works fine.

[OAC_Sparky]

(11-26-2011, 02:16 AM)Spinal Wrote: well it cranks slow when the battery is like losing charge/almost dead, otherwise it works fine.

Well, if you're cranking it and it's cranking slow but there's no affect on the dome light the battery isn't the problem. That's what I'm trying to say.

If the battery was truly low and the car was cranking slow the dome light would really fade out while you're cranking.

[Spinal]

what about after it cranks once or twice then goes click click click?

[OAC_Sparky]

If the dome light doesn't fade out then the clicking you hear is the solenoid. It's on the starter (IIRC), it sends power on to the starter, pushes out the starter gear to the flexplate/flywheel and powers the starter.

If the battery was low then you'd hear the clickclick and the dome light would go dim, instrument panel and your radio would fade out (and the time would reset, etc.). If the dome light stays bright then the starter either isn't getting enough current (bad/corroded connection) or the starter/solenoid has a pooched winding and (if it''s the solenoid) not passing enough current or (if it's the starter itself) isn't producing enough torque with the remaining winding.

More likely it's the solenoid if it's still clicking but I don't know if the Focus's starter solenoid is serviceable as it's attached to the starter (IIRC). Some are, some aren't.

I just went through this on my wife's Taurus.

[Spinal]

turns out the battery was fried, got it replaced at CT this morning, funny how its the second one though, if it happens a 3rd time i either have the worst luck ever or theres something wrong with my car.