QuestionSTEVE, I AM LOST AND HOPE YOU CAN THINK OF A POSSIBLE SOLUTION.
WE HAVE A 1998 ACURA CL, IT HAS NEVER HAD A ACCIDENT, ALWAYS WELL MAINTAINED.LAST WEEK THE RED BATTERY LIGHT CAM ON,LIGHTS
STARTED GOING DIM AND THE CAR DIED.FIRST I REPLACED THE BATTERY,
NEXT DAY REPLACED THE ALTERNATOR.
EVERY THING WAS WORKING FINE.BATTERY LIGHT WAS OFF AND WE HAVE
A NEW BOSCHE BATTERY AND ALTERNATOR SEEMS FINE ALSO 14.50-60+.
THE NEXT MORNING THE BATTERY IS COMPLETELY DEAD.
SOMETHING IN THIS CAR IS SUCKING THE JUICE FROM THE BATTERY WHEN
IT IS PARKED AND NOTHING IS ON. A FULLY CHARGED BATTERY IS DEAD
COMPLETELY IN LESS THAN EIGHT HOURS, THIS IS MAKING ME NUTS.
ANY HELP WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. THANKS AGAIN. BILL
AnswerThe first thing to do is have the alternator and battery tested. I know they are new, but sometimes even though they are new they can still be bad. A simple test will rule this out.
You also need to check your battery cable connections to be sure that they are clean and tight. You should not be able to twist them with your hands.
Another thing I would do is go out to your car at night. See if there is anything on that you can see. It will be easy to tell if any lights are on when it is dark outside.
If after all of that you still find a power drain then you need to do a key off draw test. Basically this is done by hooking an ammeter between the battery cable and the battery. This will show you how many amps are flowing through the cables. Then start pulling fuses one by one to see which one causes the power drain to go away. After that you will know what circuit is causing the problem.
This is a fairly complicated test so you might want to take it to a repair shop. If you have a lot of electrical experience you can certainly do it yourself, but it can be confusing.
Good luck!
