Hey, all. I've had some major issues since I bought this car in October, and I think I've gotten them all fixed...except one.

The battery won't stay charged. Up until today, if I let it sit for 2 or 3 days, the battery would drain, and I'd be unable to start it until I got a jump. As of today, I'm down to 24 hours. (this may be due to the cold weather.)

When I first bought the car, it wouldn't start for the test drive. They charged the battery, and my mom and I went to drive it. A few miles down the road, the battery dies again. They came out, jumped it, and followed us back. They checked the alternator, and it was fine, so they put a new battery in it.

I've been having problems with it ever since. About 3 weeks ago, I took it and had the battery tested, and one of the cells was bad. Even though I didn't have a receipt for the battery the dealer had put in it, it was an Auto Zone battery, and they replaced it for free. (It's the ValuCraft battery, I need the top and side terminals for the HIDs. They don't have a better battery with top and side terminals that will fit in the space.) Now, the battery is listed in my name with the warranty. I know this battery isn't real high quality, and is lacking in the cold cranking amps department, but it's obviously more than that.

I've verified (by unplugging the power from the battery) that it's not the HIDs causing the drain.

On some possibly related notes, I have noticed (not for a while, but it happened more frequently soon after I purchased the car) that the oil pressure gauge sometimes doesn't work, and the temperature gauge sometimes, as well. The driver's side heated seat doesn't work, and when I had IT tested, they said it was a short in the seatback, not in the bottom part of the seat.

I have a mechanic that has helped me out with some major work (intake manifold, upper and lower intake manifold gaskets, manifold hoses, high pressure power steering hose, fuel filter, thermostat, low coolant sensor, right front axle, A/C compressor, transmission, and left front wheel hub) and he thinks it might be the BCM (body control module) but he had a heart attack last week, so I'm loath to bother him with the problem right now, and it's become critical. The last time I talked to him, he suggested I baby it along for a couple of weeks until he got back on his feet, and I could have, if it wasn't draining in less than 24 hours.

Anyone here have some experience with this problem and can give me advice? I'm planning on taking it in to the dealer tomorrow, but if there's something that can save me the $70 diagnostic fee, anything will help.

 

Electrical issues are one of the hardest to help with online.

Could be a bad ground, could be something stuck on while the car is off and draining the battery. If you can't check all of these you may have to deal with the $70 fee

 

It might be worth taking your car to one of the many auto parts stores that does the free diagnostics. Have them re-test the battery and the alternator. I know you said that the place that sold you the car tested the alternator and it was fine, but I don't know if I'd believe them. Maybe they just wanted to get your money and get you off the lot. I mean, we already know that when they sold you the car, the intake manifold, upper and lower intake manifold gaskets, manifold hoses, high pressure power steering hose, fuel filter, thermostat, low coolant sensor, right front axle, A/C compressor, transmission, and left front wheel hub, were either bad or going bad, so it wouldn't surprise me if the alternator is bad too.

It would be a pain in the butt - especially in cold weather, but if the battery and the alternator check out, you could try disconnecting the battery when you park the car. If over the next few days, it starts right up after disconnecting the battery while parked then you would know for certain that the issue is a drain while the car is shut off.

That's alot of driving around and messing under the hood, and could take days, however. So, maybe $70 to dx it at the dealer is not such a bad idea. Of course then, you may end up paying top dollar for whatever parts/repairs the dealer suggests.

Anything would be better than having to jump start your car everyday, however.

Hopefully once you work through this issue you will have a good reliable car!

 

Ditto on the battery / alternator test. Take it to an auto parts store that will test both for free.

If battery/alternator test fine, you may have a current drain somewhere in the system. A quick fix to prevent the battery from dying overnight is to install a battery disconnect switch of some kind. Most auto parts stores would have one for ~ $20 - $40.

Finding a current drain can be a pain, but it's not impossible. You'll need a multimeter. Disconnect the negative battery cable; hook up one multimeter lead to the negative battery terminal, the other lead to the neg. battery cable (or to any other good grounding location you can find). Start with the multimeter on a high amp setting just in case there is a significant current drain; that way you won't fry the multimeter. Then change the multimeter setting progressively lower. Most cars will have somewhere around 15 milliamps running through the system to power radio clocks etc. So getting a small reading is OK. But if you find more than about that, you have something draining power.

To identify the circuit that's causing the drain, take out one fuse at a time, then look at the multimeter reading. If unchanged, replace that fuse and try another. Keep trying 'til you get a reduction in the current reading on the multimeter. Once you ID the circuit with the issue, you still need to figure out exactly what is causing the drain; but at least you'll then know where to start looking.

Bad / corroded connections, especially ground connections, can cause the other intermittent issues you mentioned. That's an issue on one of my old cars. Cleaning connections has brought flaky gauges back to life.

 

When I took it last night to Auto Zone for them to test the battery, they tested the alternator, too, and it was good.

So, I took it first thing this morning, and they're swearing up and down it's the battery. They said they test them differently than Auto Zone, and it has a dead cell. She also said that it was reading 350 cold cranking amps when it was rated at 600.

I told her that this is the second replacement battery since October, and that there was something draining the battery while it was sitting. She went back tot he tech, and had him re-test anything it could possibly be. She came back with the same answer.

So instead of letting them put a Napa battery in it and charge me $45 for installation, I went to Sears and got their Optima battery, the one with the most cold cranking amps. I really don't expect this to fix it (I can hope, though) but obviously I have to do SOMETHING.

Kenny will be back at work Monday. If it happens again, I'll be able to show it WASN'T the battery, and I'll have a better chance of being able to tell them "Look, I paid your diagnostic fee last time, and you didn't find the problem. Do it again for free."

Keep your fingers crossed that it WAS the battery.

 

my question is was the conections to the battery clean. the other do you have any thing wiered hooked up to your 12v out lets. if no do you have a cell car charger and see if it lights up if not there might be a break along the line.

 

The battery was 3 weeks old, it and the battery cables are spotless. I take the cell charger out of the lighter before I exit the car, but when I use it, it lights up just fine.

 

I bet it is the battery, mine would sit for a couple of days and it would be almost dead. And it was the $180 Red Top Optima. This cold weather just kills batterys.
Replaced with the AC Delco ACD78-60, comes with a 5 year warranty and she powers up every time now. I can leave the Radar detector, cell phone charger in and on for a week and no problem. Hope your problem is solved soon, hate to see you torch the car. Let us know the root cause once you find out.

 

A load test will tell you in 2 seconds if the battery will hold a charge. Just because it's new doesn't mean it isn't faulty like the old one- everything is made overseas these days and are extremely poor quality so 2 bad batteries in row wouldn't surprise me. Any garage/battery retailer can do a load test. DON'T go back to where they said the battery has a 'dead cell'...I don't know how the hell can anyone tell if a single cell is dead. Go elsewhere.

 

Would be great if it really is just the battery. I also recently had a new one go bad almost immediately.

Let us know what you eventually find.