(Resolved) Parasitic Battery Drain

Swey

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The past few months I have been having trouble getting my car to start, and it's slowly but surely gotten worse. I'm at the point where every single time i start my car, I have to use my portable jump box. After the car is started, everything works as it should.

After a little bit of back and forth and running to and from advance auto; I finally decided to invest in a test light. (Unsure as to how great these are on detecting power draws)

After yanking out fuses i finally pulled the 10A fuse under the hood for "Back Up" (reverse lights) and that seemed to be the culprit. However, my reverse lights work as intended and do not continuously stay powered on so i highly doubt that's the actual cause of my dead battery.


Does anyone here on these forums know if there's anything else connected to Fuse #18 under the hood besides the backup lights?


Things i have ruled out:

Trunk light
interrior lighting
door jamb switches
aftermarket amp
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latole

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You write you ruled out a after market amp
Did battery go down before you put this aftermarket amp ? Or the car always start ?

You may do a short circuit in the car wiring when wiring this amp ?
 
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Swey

Swey

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You write you ruled out a after market amp
Did battery go down before you put this aftermarket amp ? Or the car always start ?

You may do a short circuit in the car wiring when wiring this amp ?
This has been an issue prior to wiring up my aftermarket amplifier. I suspected the parasitic drain to be a relay that was stuck open, but it doesn't seem to be the relay that i replaced.
 

caspar21

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sometimes the battery is abused at the dealership when they show the car. maybe get the battery tested. a small drain can kill a bad battery quick. how much of a drain you seeing? amp test it?
 


latole

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sometimes the battery is abused at the dealership when they show the car. maybe get the battery tested. a small drain can kill a bad battery quick. how much of a drain you seeing? amp test it?
Yes you must have a proof of battery drain with a Ampmeter , you'll see how much current is the drain.
Read how much voltage battery is charging.

To be sure it a drain not a charging issue.

That is the first step you must do. You can't work like a blind in car electricity , it nee a basic tool Voltmeter / Amp meter
 

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If you're sure any aftermarket items are ruled out, the most likely cause is a stuck relay.

You can try going into the the engine and under-dash fuse box and flicking all the relays a few times sharply with your fingers. If you still have the issue, you can pull each relay individually and check each one with a DMM.
 
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Swey

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Hey everyone, I found the issue with my battery drains, it turned out to be a bad cell in my battery which was impossible to find without removing the battery and all the connectors.

I had numerous mechanic friends and have checked myself to rule out potential drains and everything pointed in that direction, however after my car stopped starting (even when jumping) I finally went to Advance auto and purchased a new battery. All my issues were resolved and my battery stopped dying.

The bad cell in my battery was causing the battery to discharge/spark on my negative terminal and connecting wires, and this led us to believe it was a parasitic drain. However it ended up being a relatively simple fix and obviously a little pricey.

Yes you must have a proof of battery drain with a Ampmeter , you'll see how much current is the drain.
Read how much voltage battery is charging.

To be sure it a drain not a charging issue.

That is the first step you must do. You can't work like a blind in car electricity , it nee a basic tool Voltmeter / Amp meter
We used an amp meter before replacing the battery and it was displaying as if it was a parasitic drain.

So i suppose for future reference, removing the battery from all the connectors and running a battery test would be best to rule things like that out in the future.
 

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So i suppose for future reference, removing the battery from all the connectors and running a battery test would be best to rule things like that out in the future.
For future reference, a battery test is the step number one to do in any proper trobleshooting procedure of a problem of this type. Assuming that battery "should be" OK and guessing that something else must be the problem usually unnecessarily extends the whole process. Measurements are the basis. I don't see how a broken battery cell could cause a parasitic drain on an ammeter connected in series.
 

latole

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For future reference, a battery test is the step number one to do in any proper trobleshooting procedure of a problem of this type. Assuming that battery "should be" OK and guessing that something else must be the problem usually unnecessarily extends the whole process. Measurements are the basis. I don't see how a broken battery cell could cause a parasitic drain on an ammeter connected in series.

As you write ; a battery test is the step number one ; 100% right

As you write ; I don't see how a broken battery cell could cause a parasitic drain on an ammeter connected in series ; 100 % right

IMO most people know nothing in electricity or how to use voltmeter or ampmeter. The information the write here are wrong
 


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Swey

Swey

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For future reference, a battery test is the step number one to do in any proper trobleshooting procedure of a problem of this type. Assuming that battery "should be" OK and guessing that something else must be the problem usually unnecessarily extends the whole process. Measurements are the basis. I don't see how a broken battery cell could cause a parasitic drain on an ammeter connected in series.
The bad cell in the battery caused the battery to discharge and spark as it wouldn't hold a charge. I didn't say a parasistic drain was caused by a bad cell. I simply meant that the bad cell was the issue the whole time.
 

latole

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There was no ( outside) parasistatic drain.
Reading with a amp meter would have told you it was the battery
 

Civics4Ever

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Actually, a battery load test is the first thing that should have been done.
 

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Always put computer repair into everything you have to do with the acronym KISS... Keep It Simple Stupid and the old Sherlock Holmes line " When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
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