Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

Technical => Electrical Tech => Topic started by: matttherat on August 22, 2005, 12:53:58 PM

Title: Battery Drain
Post by: matttherat on August 22, 2005, 12:53:58 PM
I was on my way to see my girlfriend one night, and I felt a slightly weird feeling in my car, kind of like a drop in power, then it was kind of reving the engine if I tapped the gas a little. It felt really weird to drive and thats the only way I could explain that.

I got to her work, and everythign was fine, until I tried to leave.

Car wouldnt start.

Called my uncle and tried to jump it to no avail. We then went and bought a new battery. I was about to leave when my girlfriends boss came and asked us if we could jump his car, so we did.

Got the car in my backyard and got the alternator out, seemed it was dead. We went and got a new one got it in, car was fine.

This morning, dead again. So something must be draining the battery  right? Im sure it could be one of a million things, but if anyone has any good geusses I'd be happy to hear em.

Thanx - matt
Title: Re: Battery Drain
Post by: hundred_dollar_5.0_t-bird on August 24, 2005, 10:12:23 PM
re-charge the battery and leave ur car untill later at nite and look for anylights on like your under hood light  i know it would take forever to drain your battery with that light

just a suggestion

Z
Title: Re: Battery Drain
Post by: EricCoolCats on August 25, 2005, 04:29:36 PM
Bit of a repost...but it may help:

There are only a few things in your car that can suck down that much power, that quickly:

- Alternator diode stuck.
- Bad battery.
- Fuel pump circuit stuck.
- Bad/incorrect radio circuit.
- Interior lights left on.
- Mercury switch in hood/trunk lights stuck open.
- Ignition switch stuck/malfunctioning.
- Aftermarket radio left on/radio draining.

I wouldn't bet that your replacement alternator is necessarily good. I went through three 130-amp alts this year; the second one was a bad replacement. It drove me nuts until I got it tested. Also, your new battery could be bad. Or they could both be bad.
Title: Re: Battery Drain
Post by: Thunder Chicken on August 25, 2005, 05:41:56 PM
Quote
Or they could both be bad


That's a good possibility - a bad battery will often ruin an alternator very quickly by causing it to run at full capacity. A bad alternator can very well destroy the battery as well by undercharging or overcharging. Whenever you replace one you should always have the other checked
Title: Re: Battery Drain
Post by: NorCalAeroCoupe on August 25, 2005, 10:16:59 PM
Also check the lights/switches in the glovebox and console...they can suck it down pretty quick !!
Title: Re: Battery Drain
Post by: 460 turbo truck on September 03, 2005, 11:50:57 AM
check for a draw !! .... tools needed ..test light

remove negitive battery cable and hook one side to the cable of the negitive and put one side on the battery post negitive, if there's a draw the light should come on ( don't forget to check the test light first) if the light comes on, pull one fues at a time, until the light goes out, if the light goes out, there's your draw, if the light doesn't got out with pulling fuses, start un-plugging sensors, wiring harness, but be careful, and rember to do one at a time, if nothing works, and the light stays on, then you can start pulling more than one thing at a time, you never know, it may be two things shorted/ stuck open