good battery, bad car
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good battery, bad car
I went to start my car up this morning, and got nothing. No lights, no crank, no click, nothing. I figured I had a slow drain, and pulled my battery to recharge it so I could track it down. I hooked the battery up, and it says that the battery is fully charged. :?:
I drove it last Sunday, and it ran fine. The gauge showed just under 14. The battery and alternator are both less than 6 months old. When I pulled the wires, the connections were pretty clean, and still had that purple goo on them.
I thought maybe fuses, but how would a car sitting in a driveway for a week blow a fuse? It hasn't really rained much this week, and it hasn't been very damp either. Where should I start? I'm not very good with electrical.
I drove it last Sunday, and it ran fine. The gauge showed just under 14. The battery and alternator are both less than 6 months old. When I pulled the wires, the connections were pretty clean, and still had that purple goo on them.
I thought maybe fuses, but how would a car sitting in a driveway for a week blow a fuse? It hasn't really rained much this week, and it hasn't been very damp either. Where should I start? I'm not very good with electrical.
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Does anyone know where the grounds are? I know of the one on the body right by the battery, but I couldn't follow the wire to any others. Is there one on the block?
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Two words, Parasitic Drain. Start checking things like the glove box light, trunk light, courtesy lights being off. If you have a power antenna, remove the fuse or disconnect at motor. I don't know if you have Automatic level Control, but remove the fuse for that. You just have to isolate components on speculation unless you have either a DC clamp on ammeter, or a multimeter configured as an ammeter to read DC current you can connect in series with the battery positive to monitor current flow while you're removing/re-installing fuses. Parasitic Drain is voltage to ground leakage (not good) and will discharge a perfectly good battery. A broken ground, or partial lack of ground will not cause parasitic drain. Parasitic Drain is the result of a ground being somewhere it shouldn't be.
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Re: good battery, bad car
Originally Posted by meechv
I figured I had a slow drain, and pulled my battery to recharge it so I could track it down. I hooked the battery up, and it says that the battery is fully charged. :?:
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Sorry I wasn't clear. The battery was fine, it had a full charge when I took it out of the car. I thought it was a drain, but when I went to connect the battery up to recharge it, the gauge said that it didn't need charging, that it was already fully charged.
So, yes, it does hold a charge while connected to the car'* electrical system. The problem is that the power isn't getting to any of the systems, no lights, no click, no ignition, nothing.
So, yes, it does hold a charge while connected to the car'* electrical system. The problem is that the power isn't getting to any of the systems, no lights, no click, no ignition, nothing.
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Re: good battery, bad car
Originally Posted by meechv
I hooked the battery up, and it says that the battery is fully charged. :?:
.
.
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Ok, thanks, I'll try that. Is the main battery ground on the block, or somewhere else? I can't find it. I checked the one on the body near the battery but it looked fine.
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When I took my engine'* top end apart, I found that the ground was on the coil pack bracket, IMO not exactly the best spot for it, and was really greasy due to failed valve cover gasket. I would also check the positive cable that goes to the power distribution centers by the windshield wipers as that *may* have come loose or corroded.
Also, putting a bit of dielectric grease on the battery terminals helps with contact issues. I have experienced issues with battery connections where the bolt is good and tight but there is a slight gap between the lead pads of the battery and cable, and wouldn't let the car start for crap.
Also, putting a bit of dielectric grease on the battery terminals helps with contact issues. I have experienced issues with battery connections where the bolt is good and tight but there is a slight gap between the lead pads of the battery and cable, and wouldn't let the car start for crap.