Battery Drain (Long)
Josh Foster
jfoster@hoelscherengr.com
Mon, 4 Mar 2002 13:13:30 -0600
Guys,
I've searched the archives and did not find what I need. A quick rundown,
I've owned my 92 for about a week and a half. Last Monday my rear defrost
did not work, so I checked the fuses and there weren't any in the fuse panel
for the defrost. Replaced the fuses, I mention this b/c it is just about
the only thing I have done to the car since I've owned it. On Tuesday,
about 3 hours after getting home from work I try to start my car. Nothing,
no clock, etc. It was about 20 degrees F outside. I put it on my battery
charger for about 20 minutes and it starts. I take my wife's car to Sears
to buy a new battery b/c I don't know how long this battery has been in the
car, and I will own this car for awhile, so I will know the history. It
acts fine for the rest of the week, and even this weekend when it has near 0
degrees. It starts fine this morning, but 4 hours later it is dead. I did
install a cd player on Saturday, but I don't think that is the problem. The
voltage across the terminals is only about 1.5 volts. So there is a drain
somewhere, but I wanted to see if you guys had any thoughts. One old post
says a diode could be going out on the alternator; but after buying new
tires and a battery I don't want to buy an alternator just to troubleshoot
something that could be small. Thanks for any thoughts. Sorry about the
long post, but I wanted to include as much info. as possible.
Josh