car battery goes dead


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Old 06-29-12, 08:54 AM
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Question car battery goes dead

my car battery is fine if i drive it everyday ..if i dont drive it for 4-5 days the battery goes dead this is my second battery this has happened with there is no lights or anything left on and yet as long as the car sits its dead?? what could cause this to happen
 
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Old 06-29-12, 09:05 AM
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Sounds like you have a draw somewhere - enough to kill the battery in a few days, just not enough to do so in one.
 
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Old 06-29-12, 09:09 AM
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What make/model/year?

How old is this current battery?
Has the vehicle sat for any length of time (parked for the winters, etc)?

Most parts stores will do a free (or small fee) battery and/or alternator test.
 
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Old 07-04-12, 10:49 PM
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I'm going to guess bad alternator from experience. Most NAPA, Autozones, O'Reilly's, etc. will test your system for free. Or you can by your own load tester for less than $50. They're easy to use. One "cheating" fix would be to put a cut off on one of the battery cables so you just pop the hood and flip the lever when you aren't going to use your car for a while. Unless your battery is bad, this is the cheap, horrible way to solve the problem. Personally, I'd do it the right way and figure out what the issue is and fix that.
 
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Old 07-05-12, 05:35 AM
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Bad alternator would result in a dead battery at some point anyway, IMO, so the cutoff would not buy you much.
 
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Old 07-05-12, 11:19 AM
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I'm with Mitch, you've got to have a draw somewhere. Yes, modern cars do tend to have more little ways for the juice to get used while the key is off, but in 4-5 days I would not expect the battery level to go below starting voltage.
 
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Old 07-05-12, 12:25 PM
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I have had alternators show drain at their "hookups" when cars are off before. Not typical, but it happens. If the car is older or has a lot of miles, I'd replace both battery and alternator just to be safe. It's going to need it at some time.
 
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Old 07-05-12, 08:16 PM
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Gday Guys
i just went through the same problem over here with my Nissan Patrol, it was inside of the Alternator, it would put charge in whilst the car was running then steal it back out again during the night leaving me with a flat battery, i did the disconnection thing from terminal for a while, then i either forgot and it died but then i just had enough, and i got the alternator looked at,,
a simple easy for you too check and see if you alternator is fine, start up the car and simply remove 1 of the cables it dont matter if it is the positive or negative, if your car still runs and sounds exactly the same, it most probably isnt the alternator, but if the car stalls as soon as you take the lead off the battery, then it is your alternator 100% for sure, this is only if you do not have a set of multi meters too check correct volts back too battery, many people will tell you cant do this, cause it will cause damage too your car, IT WILL NOT!!! ive done it on so many cars, both petrol/desoil motors, with injection and carby, with and with out computers, all you are doing is checking the current with out a meter, if it was going too cause problems or break things, it would do this, if it was not working anyway, so be sure it is safe too do, you have too remove a terminal from the battery, other wise the car will run from the 12v stored in the battery until it uses all its stored power than will cut out, same as removing the cable, just a much quicker way not too end up on the side of the road with a flat battery and stuffed alternator, if she runs look for a leak in yous system, 1 time i did have the memory diode inside my stereo **** its self, so when i shut the car down instead of only using the smallest amount of power for the preselected radio stations too be remembered, this diode **** its self, then the stereo drew 12v whilst the ignition was off, dont think this is your problem, but just Putting it out there..

P.S
MOST IMPORTANT>>>>>> if you take the positive terminal off, make sure you hold it clear from grounding any where other wise you risk stuffing a good alternator if you ground it and the car is still running and your alternator is fine(but it wont be if you ground it out), i usually take the Negative terminal off too be safe, but have also done the positive many many times, just hold it just off the terminal, if the car runs after about 5 seconds, put it back on the battery and tighten and keep looking for your electrical leak.
 
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Old 07-09-12, 08:42 AM
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Thanks for all the advise will check into it all but the car is a 93 lexus gs300 193,000 miles the battery is a die hard...it's brand new this is the second battery the first one i just went dead and i took it back to sears thinking it was a bad battery and the same thing happend again to the new one so definitly not the battery
 
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Old 07-09-12, 04:41 PM
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You didn't mention if you eliminated other simple causes of a parasitic drain such as glove box light, trunk light, sun visor vanity mirror light etc.
 
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Old 07-09-12, 05:16 PM
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The alternator has diodes in it that prevent the discharge of current from the system through it. If the diode is bad, the battery could discharge. I would concur with the others and have the alternator checked out thoroughly, not just to see if it is charging.
 
 

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