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battery drain when car is sitting off I just replaced the serpentine belt, alternator, and battery. replaced everything on a Tuesday, ran fine on Wednesday all day, Thursday ran fine in morning then after work in evening the battery was completely dead. got a jump start and it ran fine to get me home, battery light came on briefly along with airbag light but went off shortly after. have checked battery with meter and it reads at 14 when its running, alternator is fine and belt is not too loose or too tight, fuses test as good, connectors are good as well. I turn everything off including the radio and the heater, unplug the phone chargers and all that when i turn the car off. And when I turn it back on after its been off for hours the battery is completely dead. The old battery charged and tested fine when out of the car so we switched the batteries back out. but the battery light and airbag light are still coming on. What else should we be looking for? Going back out in a few hours to see if it turns on again. |
2 Answers
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Jimm 1/25/2020 Several possibilities; faulty / worn belt tensioner, faulty / corroded battery cables, faulty corroded battery terminals, short in the electrical system or wiring. |
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Teddy B 1/26/2020 Any Fuse or Distribution Box, should Not have any wires hotter than the under hood temp,
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Teddy B 1/25/2020
If you had no Current Drain or Dead Battery before you replaced the Alternator,then
maybe the replaced one is no good,it happens alot,you can go thru 3 to get a good one.
You have to do a Current Draw Test as mentioned by Jimm , to find the circuit with the problem. I would start with the replaced alternator first or unplug it & remove the wire
to the Battery & see if you still have a drained battery.
The Parasitic Drain Testing is explained on the internet &
You Tube Videos.
Beth 1/26/2020
Thank you, would you perhaps know if the fuse box under the hood is supposed to be hot, or light up on both sides of the battery fuse when the engine is off and key is in hand? was told that on some newer cars that is normal but would like to know for this one.