MillerLite

Battery- original one tested bad- replaced, optima yellow top. more than adequate cranking amps

Alternator, replaced, tested... tested good, still replaced again, tested good.

ampere test, multimeter read 0.1 amps (yes i did it right, one lead @ neg terminal @ batt, other @ neg terminal @ wire)

i have spent a few weeks fidgeting with this problem! when driving the volts needle always reads above the 14v line. the highest electrical load i use would have to be my stereo (totaling a mere 400w), headlamps running lights brake lights, windshield wipers, w/ heat on high all at a stop light.

still, i have to carry my handy jumper box because 4 times out of 20 the battery will be dead and i struggle start the POS.

any clue? im a skilled aircraft ECM systems specialist w/ what i would say is a keen troubleshooting ability and much electrical experience and this is still a pain in the *** to me.

RotaryWeaponSE7EN

iTrader: (6)

Check the headlight motors, I had one that was draining power. Enough to where it wouldn't start.

MillerLite

hm, i got in an accident not too long ago and the fender was smooshed into my headlight.. now that theres no chafing and its all doctored up one of the headlights rises after the other.. its only like a .5second difference so i dont think anything of it but... when the headlights are lowered im sure the sensor knows when to stop the motor when it hits a certain neutral position, whether it determines this on a predetermined amount of motor spins or if a part of the headlight assembly lays down onto a button i do not know.
my point is that from what you are saying it is possible that the motor is pulling a constant juice, somewhat trying to correct the position of the headlight to the predetermined position.
for kicks ill adjust the headlamp at the little **** under the car to see if it corrects the difference... anything is worth a shot at this point
the thing that makes me think this is not the problem is that i checked how much ampere the car was pulling when off.. its .1, enough to trickle power the ecu and clock for memory purposes (when i leave the radar detector on accidentally it reads .25 amps.) the threshold between acceptable pull when the car is off and unacceptable pull is .5 amps.

MillerLite

or i could pull the fuse for the headlamp motors (leaving the headlamps up all the time) for a while and see if there is any difference.

its not like the battery isnt getting a charge, the car only doesnt start if it sits for like 8 or more hours.

GTmachine

Disconect the postive lead from the battery terminal. Use a circuit tester and put one end on the battery post and the other on the positive cable you just removed. If ther is a short in the system then the light should be on on your tester. Now remove the wiper fuse on your fuse panel that is next to your left ankel when setting in the driver seat, I believe it is a 15amp fuse second row up from the bottom second slot back from the right. If this is not your short then proceed to pull each fuse untill you find it good luck. The wiper switch on the second gen cars tend to short out after awhile.

magus2222

iTrader: (22)

you know, i had parasitic draw in my old car too. could not for the life of me get it figured out.....
although my system was pumping 2000W total, and ~150amps. idk. good luck really.
i guess just look for any wires that might be cut or missing or not plugged in? youre WAY overqualified for the job.
good luck man

peace

MillerLite

yeah ive looked for bad wires here and there but its a needle in a haystack to a certain degree. i played the fuse game for a little while but the thing that got me bored with it quickly is the fact that it was only drawing .1 amps w/ the car off, went to .0 when i pulled fuses for the ECU.. telling me the clock and trickle power for ECU was pulling what it should be pulling. so it has to be some intermittent thing pulling this power?!
it has to be intermittent, maybe something loose.. im going to have to start carrying my multimeter and wait for the car not to start to then commence the fuse game because the two times i tested what was being pulled for power i got normal readings.
im thinking about grabbing one of the Time Domain Reflectometer scopes from work to start shooting wires... enough coffee and my OCD will find any wire faults there.

what the hell dooka alternator did you have to run for that kindve ampere man?

magus2222

iTrader: (22)

lol. told you you were WAY overqualified. wtf is a TDR?
oh, i upgraded my alternator from the stock to a show car type, it will charge 250 amps. got rid of it when i sold my system. it was a BADASS alternator. hooked right up too! was running an optima redtop too!

peace

arghx

iTrader: (3)

+1 for headlight motors. I had the same problem after an accident.

also check ALL aftermarket wiring--stereo, alarm, engine management, whatever.

MillerLite

one of my favorite toys! along with oscilliscopes miltimeters power meters and frequency counters the TDR is a favorite

the Time Domain Reflectometer sends a short sweet electrical pulse through the wire under test. it works under the doppler concept, ping, sonar, however you want to think of it. when it gets the signal back it can tell you if you have an open or a short in your wire and exactly how many feet and inches to the fault. if you have a good TDR that has a scope you can also test to see how much loss your getting through a splice or a crushed wire or whatnot, sortve like a visual of ohm'ing a wire.

jal301

iTrader: (4)

Before I solved my grounding (and subsequent battery charge) issues, I found that there is a small light on the driver's side door where the key is inserted at the handle which was lit continually. I don't really believe that this was enough to drain the battery til dead since it is a daily driver, but this could possibly be a contributing cause, so I disconnected it. I have yet to test it now that the battery charges properly.

vato2000taco

iTrader: (1)

sounds like could be as simple as bad grounds or loose terminals or even corroded terminals. i had the same problem before and alty was bad so i replaced one month later, by then batt had gonr bad so i replaced it too.
still had intermitten dead batt. so i changed terminals and added 4 ga grounds and no probs yet

Rx7Ridah

iTrader: (8)

while i agree that you are WAY overqualified and over-tooled for the problem may i suggest one more tool? all of the major hand tool and automotive tool suppliers (i.e. snap-on, matco, cornwell, ect.) carry a simple and inexpensive tool for testing automotive circuits for parasitic draw. most call it a fuse-buddy. its a small meter with a standard or mini-bus fuse-style plug on it. you can replace fuses at the box with it and the meter testes for draw. heres a link.

http://www.cornwelltools.com/OnlineC...nosticacc.html

13b_lover

i have had a draw on my car also. i have a diehard platinum which is sears knock off of an optima. basically i drained it a total of 14 times. it is now fully charged at 12.28v mean it has like 20% capacity.....i also found out the battery drains itself.....oh how i figured that one out was by clean the battery so theres no dirt between the terminals lett it sit for a week on the work bench put my multimeter on and it voila 7.56v. oh and it was a good battery my car still started after 4 days with interior and exterior lights on minus headlights and still started. bottom line of the story is if you discharge a battery alot resistance builds up internally in the battery even if its an optima. where i used to work optimas came in damages alot.by the way i was ghetto rigging my sound sytem because i was to lazy to find the accs. wire hehe.fixed now. i read .006a with the car off.

crazyasu

also check your ignition light which is activated by the drivers side door handle and over time the handle can stick causing the light to stay which would definetly drain your battery dead in 8 hours. I pulled the light out of mine