Hello to all I have a 90 accord coupe ex 2.2 automatic. I have a serious issue with something on the car draining power from somewhere. I had my battery die rather quickly so I got a new one and had the car diagnosed with a new alternator, battery, starter, and system check machine. Everything was fine on the test except the (DRAIN) section on the test it clearly showed that something was making a serious drain on the system. A mechanic told me it was probably a ground from a positive cable somewhere on the car and that he would not help me or work on the car. He said it could be too many things and to sell the f... car.... I don't like that negative attitude surely someone one this forum has had a similar problem and can help me. The query is what/where and how would a drain in the electrical flow going to the battery happen? Again 2 people looked at the problem and results from test and concluded that it was probably a faulty ground (can't remember if they said faulty positive or negative ground). So I am perplexed here what could cause this and where to start looking at the positive or negative cables and which ones. Please advise me to help narrow down the hunt/search thanks.
Dave

 

There's tons of possibilities, & a shop can spend days searching for a random wire that's rubbed through the insulation. That would most likely blow a fuse, not a slow drain. But anyway, its tremendously labor-intensive searching for that kind of stuff.

That's where you come in...

First, you can search for stuff that doesn't turn off like it should. Open the pass-through in the back seat to check if the trunk lamp stays on when the trunk is closed. Stuck headlamp relay so the headlamps are glowing dimly when you park the car. Aftermarket stereo with some creative wiring so it's always drawing power? Glovebox lamp? Flaky brake-pedal switch so the brake-lights stay on? Flaky door switch so the interior light stays on?

You see, a shop mechanic can spend tons of YOUR money searching for that stuff. Then when it turns out to be a 30-second repair, you won't like the bill. Unfair, but that's the way it is.

If that's no luck, you can pull all the fuses. Hook up a test lamp across the disconnected negative battery terminal, then put fuses back in until something lights up the test-lamp. That will narrow down your search to everthing on that fuse.

 

Hello there,
Wow thanks for all that info I really appreciate your help. Come to think of it I forgot to mention that I saw a small spark when the key is turned to start the car but only saw it 2 times not again after that. Whatever is causing that spark problem has got to be connected to the drainage problem. So I will check the connections on the starter tomorrow I will start there. Today I checked the positive and negative cables they look good/okay. Also another thing I should mention and tell me if you think this might make a difference or not. I changed the positive and negative clamps that connect on the battery. When I did the job I am sure I did it sloppy and used black electrical tape to hide any loose wires that I could not squeeze into clamp. I did copy and do what was already there from the factory were they had the 2 wires connecting together and touching/ on top of one another. So I don't think that could be messed up or have anything to do with the problem but let me know what you think thanks.
Dave
　
　

 

Home-made connections on the battery posts can have any number of problems, but if you connected em COMPLETELY wrong it would you'd know immediately. A dead short will burn up that wire in seconds. So that leaves poor connections where you attached those wires. Poor connections don't drain the battery, they just provide poor power (low voltage) when you use that circuit.

So back to your checking... Disconnect each of those wires, one by one, while having a test-lamp across the disconnected terminal. If any of those light up the test lamp, that'll help you narrow down your search.

Got any aftermarket alarms or remote-start or anything like that? Those are also prime suspects of things that draw power when the car's turned off.

 

Hello,
Okay today I got a lot of trouble shooting done and have some new questions for you. I went to advance auto had them to a complete system check i.e., the battery, alternator, starter, and amp draw/drain on the system just like I did before. To my surprise the system says okay pass on all tests. The drain was at 8.73 and now it is normal at 0.2 which is normal. I went and had another test done with a different machine at another store and got the same good results of passing on all tests. So I have also checked all wires and the starter connections and everything seems good. So what I am thinking is this. The car sat for 2 months possible a little more without it being started at all. During much of this time it was covered under a lot of snow about 2 feet because I was lazy and did not want to clean it off as I was driving my other car Toyota Camry. So I am thinking that this may be the culprit here as it was cold the battery was 1 year and 1 month old and when the new battery was installed we did not let the car start and run before doing the new test on the machine. I think that is what made the test machine say that the system was draining amps then the next day it said otherwise that it was okay.
So in the end my questions are how long can you leave a car to sit and not start it at all without the battery draining or dying. I have been told not to leave it sitting without starting for more then 2 months. After that time it will drain/kill the battery. What is the time limit (guessing) for the car/battery to sit and die? Thanks for your help.
Dave

 

I've left a car parked for a couple months without a problem. Some places, mice & chipmunks can make a meal out of your wiring harness... ?

In general, if you let a battery go dead (or just low not completely dead) you have to worry about it freezing. The battery acid has a low freezing point like antifreeze, but as it goes dead it turns into water. Maybe???

 

Here in the frozen north people mothball cars all winter a lot. If you are just going to do one thing to prep the car, yank the battery out and put it in your basement. It probably won't even need a charge-up to start the car in the spring.

Yes, the battery acid turns to water when the battery becomes uncharged. The water freezes and breaks the battery case.

If you're up for a second and third prep items...change the oil and filter just before mothballing and add Satybil to the fuel.

Roy