Friday, March 14, 2014
Dead battery
Yesterday morning I found the battery in my Suburban dead. I put the battery on a battery charge and then took the truck to the auto parts where the battery was tested with an electronic tester and then with a load tester. Both showed the battery was/is good.
How can I tell if something is either on or comes on to drain the battery?
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If this happened overnight, try this. Let the car set for 10 or 20
ReplyDeleteminutes (more is OK). Then disconnect the battery and open the
glovebox and feel for the light to see if it is warm. Do the same for
the trunk and the hood (if there's a hood light).
If any of these lights stay on when the car is off, they could be the
source of the battery drain. The fix is to replace or adjust the
switch that activates the light, or to remove the bulb if you don't
want to bother.
There may be other sources, but when I worked at a new car dealership,
this was the course of all the battery draining issues on the brand
new ones.
If the vehicle sits for a long time without the battery being charged
by the electrical system, they can lose charge over time. If you
haven't used it for months, then this might be the case. There may be
some small current drains that won't affect the battery much if it's
used every few weeks.
If you ever replace your car or truck battery, see if you have an
Interstate brand battery distributor in your area. If you do, call
ahead with your battery type or make, model, and year of vehicle and
see if they have any blems or reconditioned batteries for sale. The
reconditioned ones are just batteries that sat for 3 months on a parts
store shelf wihtout being sold or returned by a customer under their
no questions asked money-back guarantee (30 days, I think).
They take these back and charge these batteries, then test them to
make sure that they still meet the specs for a new battery then sell
them at about 1/3 of the retail price, but the warranty is only 90
days. One of these reconditioned batteries powered my Chevy S-10 for 8
years and 3 months. This brand has the least percentage of returns of
any brand, and I've only bought this brand for a long time because of
this.
leave one battery cable off overnight then put it back on in the morning and see if it starts. If yes, its the car, if no, then its the battery.
ReplyDeleteDisconnect the battery on one terminal ....
ReplyDeleteConnect a amp meter ( milliamp meter as commonly used for voltage and current testing)
then note the reading. You computer and clock will draw a small amount all the time but
if you see a larger draw ...then start pulling fuses...until you see the meter drop...then check
that circuit for the item casing the draw...
Note its may not be a light. Many vehicles have heaters on the door locks and more, and even
wet connections can cause "short"
The hood light, glove compartment light and brake lights did not come on (I've had the brake light switch stick and come on intermittently). There was no appreciable drop as the radio clock is off with the key.
ReplyDeleteThere was no appreciable drop as the radio clock is off with the key. So you have to reset your clock every time you turn on the key?
ReplyDeleteNo, it must have a memory chip which holds the time and whatever programmed channels... The clock had to be reset when the battery went dead
ReplyDeleteWell, this morning we went to do our Wednesday (Hump Day) errands and the Suburban barely started. When we got home I hooked up the battery charger and just a bit ago, when it got dark, I went out and lo and behold, there's a light on in the glove compartment. I had checked it before and no problems but if the truck gets jarred or hits a bump, the door just comes open enuf to let the bulb come on. As the bulb seems to be in a glass or plastic case, there was no heat present. Tomorrow I will disconnect the light. Dunno if there would be a fuse or not....
ReplyDeleteHopefully now the problem is solved
Look for "courtesy" fuse, it fuses all door hood glove box under dash lights.
ReplyDeleteEasier than removing bulb for test, if it cures the problem see if glove box door can be readjusted to make seal better or just remove that bulb.
OR get a fiber anti door slam button (Used on Kitchen doors sold in packs of 4 and up) at your hardware store and stick it on the door where the lamp contact switch hits the glove box door, replace about every 5 years.