Hi Guys, I don't know why but my Z (2004) eats through Batteries like crazy. I don't drive it very much, but after a few days of not driving it, it dies. I disconnected my after market stereo, and it still dies. I bought an Odyssey battery and it dies too. I wonder if the OEM alarm system is doing this. Is any one else having this problem? Thanks for the help.......db

 

Might want to have your alternator checked out.

 

^^^^^^^^

+1 to what he said.

 

I'm pretty sure the alternator is good the battery charges well. The car has only 11K on it. like I said before I don't drive it often. I spend a lot of time away. I also disconnect the battery when I leave.

 

check the dome light switch. sometimes when you think it is off, it really is not.

 

Yep, Thought about that too. I just want to see if anyone else had this problem before I take it to the dealer. My warrentee is done so I am going to have to pay out of pocket on this one.......db

 

Dome lights shut off automatically after a few minutes.

 

If its not your stereo, lights, or alternator...it's gotta be gremlins. MF'ing gremlins. They put them in GD foreign cars!

 

i say test the alternator.....simplest way is to get the car running then take a DVOM and put it to the battery and you should see a reading from 13.5 to mid 14's

 

OK I'll go do it right now....db

 

Pretty sure, listing the conditions you described, it is the alternator. Or you may hope that is the issue.

 

I checked it and it was fine... When the dies and I jump it I take it for a spin and it charges up. The problem is after I park it and let it sit for a few days.....db

 

To check your alternator, make sure the voltage is reaching the battery, if there is high resistance in the cable from the alt. -> B+ it won't charge. Do a voltage drop across the cable and if it's <=.5V that's ok.

The next thing to check would be parasitic drain. Sometimes if a module is drawing more amps than they should it could discharge the battery, especially if you don't drive it much. Hook up a meter in series between the negative post of the battery and the negative cable. Shut the car off and wait a while for the modules to go to sleep and check the amperage. I know for Ford the spec is no more than 50 milliamps, (.050 amps), which is pretty common, anything over that, start pulling fuses one by one until the amperage goes down. Then you know the circuit that's creating your problem.

 

Thanks man, I'll try this....db

 

Hello. Can you go into a little more detail on how to do this. I have a Digital Multimeter, but I'm not sure I'm doing it right. I checked the voltage while the car is running and it is in the 14s. I turned to car off, I took the negative cable off and placed the multimeter between the cable and the terminal and set it to DCA 20-200m and got a reading of 0 (zero). Any advice?

 

Is your meter auto-ranging? If so set it on that.

If you have alligator clips, or something to secure your meter leads, cycle the key to run, depending on how your meter is set up you might be able to turn the car on, but may not be necessary. Turn the key back off and monitor amperage. I'm off tomorrow for the holiday, but I also have access to Mitchell5 and AllData at the shop and can check specs for max amp draw and how long to wait for the modules to sleep if you want.

It a lot easier to use a battery quick-disconnect like the one below.



I keep one in my toolbox, but it's not something the average backyard mechanic probably has. If you have more questions feel free to PM me.

 

Thanks man, I also read today that if I have a defective Alternator it can draw power continuously when the car is off. This problem happened when the car was new. I always thought is was the stereo or something. Like I said before I spend a lot of time away. I know this could have been taken care of under warranty but it's too late now (car has 11K on it and super clean). It ended in January. Maybe a good dealer could hook me up. I did take it in for a Battery exchange when I first happened.

 

Something is drawing current that shouldn't be. In order for the battery to discharge as fast as you are talking about, I am thinking a short.

You mentioned an aftermarket stereo. Does this include an amp, with a direct feed to the battery? If so, I would look at the point the amp's power cable enters the car. Maybe the installer didn't use a grommet and the firewall metal cut into the power cables jacket....just a little. I say just a little because if it were a "clean" short the results would be very ugly. (Sparks, smoke, blown fuse, etc)

Even if it's not this exact problem, I still suspect the same general type of problem. Somewhere, there must be a short that draws enough current to drain the battery fast, yet not kill any known electronic system, (other than the battery) or blow a fuse.

This will be tough to find.

I would bet that the battery reads one voltage when the + lead is completely disconnected and then drops, considerably when it is connected back to everything. Try to isolate which line causes the drop. Then go from there.

Again, I have never heard of stock wiring causing such a problem; so try to focus on aftermarket / recent work that could have caused a power cable to ground out. I am thinking it’s one of the higher current lines that could draw a few amps without popping a fuse. (Get pinched, nicked etc)

 

Actually, if you know what you're doing this kind of problem is not hard to find at all. Furthermore, if there were a power cable shorted to ground before the load in the circuit, it would immediately pop the fuse and the problem would cease to exist. There is not a single circuit that could short to ground before any load and not open a fuse, period.

Also, no offense, but if you've never heard of stock wiring causing a parasitic current drain, you must not have worked on many cars. While I know you're just trying to help, I have already given him advice and a good direction to start working in. I do this kind of work everyday, and this is the approach taken by anyone in the dealership given the same concern.

 

Once again guys, thanks again. There's no stereo Amp. I'm pretty sure this problem started soon as I got the car (Read above). There has to be a short some where.