Bad Battery or Electrical Drain

[nettlesd]

Hello,

Two days ago I went out to the car to start it and the battery was dead. I happened to see my neighbor and he told me that he had noticed by driver's side tail light being lit up but no other lights were on. He thought my headlights were on but when he checked they were off.

I pulled the battery out and charged it. The car started right up and no tail lights were on. The next day I tried to start the car and the battery was dead again.

The battery is an AC/Delco 6 year battery that I think we bought maybe 3-4 years ago (not positive since we own two of these cars and that could be for the other car). Does anyone think it's just a bad battery or do I have some type of small drain on the battery? If it is a small drain on the battery then I don't have a clue as to what it might be. How do you find out? What do I check? Would a small drain on the battery run down a fully charged battery over night? That seems awful quick if the battery is good.

[RCA1186]

You might be having the notorious flashing lights issue. Perhaps only affecting the left turn signal. Just a guess but I wouldn't be surprised if this was the issue


aurorah.proboards.com/thread/23492

[tigger]

If you used a quick charger and didn't drive the car much that day, it won't hold that charge very long. Try trickle charging it overnight...

If you did trickle charge and used the car normally that day, probably time for a new battery.

[nettlesd]

The day it didn't start the battery was dead. I pulled the battery and charged it. I put the battery back in after it was fully charged and started the vehicle up. It started so I checked the tail light and it was off so I turned the car off. The next morning the car won't start because the battery was dead again. Something drained the battery during the night or it's just a bad battery that won't hold a charge anymore.

I left the battery in the car this time and put a trickle charger on it (as I did before with the battery removed) and let it charge until the green light came on to indicate it was charged. I then tried to start the car and it wouldn't start. The ole click...click...click. I'm thinking it's a bad battery or it's beyond it's time and needs to be replaced.

[tigger]

I would agree.

[nettlesd]

I've left the battery in the car for the last two days and it dead, dead and dead. The remote won't even work to open the doors. I pulled the battery to charge it so that I could take it down to an auto store for a load test. The trickle charger shows RED after being plugged in for a minute. Time for a new battery.

[phewop118]

Funny. Same thing happened to me this week too on my 02 4.0. Went to drive it and completely dead. Jumped it and it seemed OK. It even restarted easily after a short period of running. Let it charge for a while. Next day same thing, this time, after jumping it, the RIM is dead, along with all functions it controls.

Could just be the change in weather. Or a module staying alive and killing the battery (in my case, I suspect the RIM was acting up).