2005 5AT base coupe with 32K miles, purchased new.

only really drive car during the spring, summer, fall months and it sits in winter, but I try to exercise her weekly. last year I had battery replaced because it kept discharging. went with Optima Red Top. have not had any issues again until now. let the car sit for over a week...probably 10 days and battery is dead again. even had new alternator put in this year as bearings were going bad.

do not have any electronics in car except U-Tech. only OEM stereo and nothing else. car has mild bolt on mods to suspension, brakes, exhaust, intake, but nothing that should be drawing on the battery. I realize I have a parasite now and will have to do a parasitic draw test to see what is not going to sleep.

my question is does anyone know of frequent culprits or what to look for on this car so it will help me narrow my search. car is fine as long as it is driven to work once a week so it must be very small.

thanks in advance.

 

have you replaced any of your interior lights? Dome lights? I replaced my dome lights with smt led boards and have noticed with mine that even with the door closed, the leds in the dome lights have a little shine to them (you can only see it in the dark) If I flip the switch from 'door' to 'off' they turn all the way off. I am going to try to find a resistor to put in line to keep this from happening.

by the way, after about 7 days my car was difficult to start. Next time it sat for an extended period of time I flipped that switch to the off position and the next startup was fine.

 

^unfortunately no. wish it were going to be something that easy. it is more than likely something very small.

 

try pulling the fuses for the stereo and amp. OEM headunit is likely at fault

 

thanks. I will start there.

 

DRG35R, I’m sorry to hear about the trouble you’ve been having and I’d like to help. My name is Jim McIlvaine and I’m the eCare Manager for Optima batteries. From what you’ve described, it sounds like your battery may indeed have a high “key-off” load.

A vehicle can be tested for a high key-off load with an ammeter or DMM on the DC amps setting. With the ignition off, disconnect one of the battery cables. Connect one ammeter lead to the battery and the other to the cable. It may be necessary to wait several minutes after first starting your measurement for some items to “go to sleep”. The normal current drain on most vehicles is about 25 milliamps or less. If your key-off load exceeds 100 milliamps, you can isolate the problem by pulling one fuse at a time from the fuse panel until the ammeter reading drops.

It’s always a good idea to fully charge a jumped battery with a battery charger as soon as possible. I realize that isn’t always practical, but if a jumped vehicle isn’t driven under ideal conditions, an alternator may not fully charge a deeply-discharged battery. This can lead to a cycle of dead batteries and jumps until either the battery or alternator fail.

Many modern vehicles do have computer systems and other accessories that will drain a car battery, if a vehicle sits for an extended period of time. Perhaps the best option for you might be a battery tender/maintainer, which will help extend the life of any battery, regardless of brand.

If you do not use a battery maintainer, storing your vehicle with a fully-charged and disconnected battery is a good practice. The battery should also be checked periodically while in storage, to make sure it maintains at least 12.4 volts. If it needs charging, that should be done with a battery charger, before the vehicle is driven.

In some instances, a battery may have enough of a charge to start a car once, but if the car isn’t driven long enough for the alternator to recharge the battery, you could find yourself stranded a few miles from home. Please keep us posted on your situation. Thanks!

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries

 

^great response. Good to see a company keeping tabs on their customers.

 

^^ x2 I love to see that...

but my guess is the head unit.... its a common problem for the OEM bose HU to fail to switch the amp off

 

^^ like the 4th to agree here.

Time for a replacement headunit!

 

do not have the Bose system.

 

Jim,

Thank you very much for the response. car has been sitting now for about three weeks. do not have a garage so unfortunately I can not use a battery tender. The car sits in my drive during winter and is rarely driven as I do not want it exposed to salt. Usually I get a clear day a week to take it out for some exercise, but this winter here has been terrible so far and the car has been sitting a lot. had I known, I would have disconnected the battery. would like to get a chance to hook up my battery charger and let it charge for a full day or however long it takes. sure it is just something very small, but need to get car into the shop so we can find it. this damn snow on the weekends has me grounded right now. do not want to jump the car at this point and risk damaging the alternator. sure this is an easy fix once car is indoors and we can do the fuse testing.

Thanks again.

 

ahh sucks to hear that one recommendation if you didnt do already is dont get the OEM batteries from the dealer they suck

 

thanks, but as I mentioned above, I have an Optima Red Top.

 

Get one of the small solar panels that plug into the ciggy. It will keep it topped off.

Edit: I forgot the ciggy on our cars is "switched", you would need to connect it directly to the battery.

 

DRG35R, if you know your car will be sitting for a while, it might be a good idea to remove your battery and keep it charged at home. Another option may be a solar charger, but it will be less effective in Winter, especially if it gets covered by snow. If you do get a solar charger, be sure to get one that has a charge controller. Some inexpensive ones do not and will overcharge a battery that is already fully-charged.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries