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Battery dieing overnight? #284442
November 24, 2008 04:48 pm UTC
November 24, 2008 04:48 pm UTC
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Mike Petro Offline OP
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Sunday morning my battery was randomly dead. It's an old battery so I swapped it out for the one in my Eclipse. Started up fine after. I didn't drive it around after verifying that it started.

This morning, went to start it. Battery was dead.

I don't get it. CD deck is an aftermarket one which doesn't shut off when the car is off, but instead you need to hold down "source" for it to shut off. I did that.

Lights were all off, everything I know of was off.

I remember one day last week on my way home, crwaling on the 403 in rush hour traffic, my dash lights went dim for a couple seconds, and radio turned off, then back on and everything was normal.

Could this be an alternator problem? Does the alternator hold the charge in the battery when the car isn't on?


'15 VW GTI Autobahn
'10 Mitsubishi EVO GSR - SOLD
'97 Eclipse Spyder - RIP. Oct 1/11
Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Mike Petro] #284457
November 24, 2008 06:23 pm UTC
November 24, 2008 06:23 pm UTC
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Rob Strelecki Offline

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Are you sure the battery in your Eclipse was charged in the first place?
If the Eclipse has been sitting for a while without running, especially with this cold...

Throw the battery on an overnight charger and make sure that all the connections/terminals are clean when you put it back in.


1993 Eagle Talon TSi FWD
13.8 @ 106 :::: 14.1 @ 117
Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Rob Strelecki] #284459
November 24, 2008 06:39 pm UTC
November 24, 2008 06:39 pm UTC
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Mike Petro Offline OP
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Pretty sure yeah. My Eclipse was started/driven a couple times and probably only sat for a day before I put the battery from that into my Laser.


'15 VW GTI Autobahn
'10 Mitsubishi EVO GSR - SOLD
'97 Eclipse Spyder - RIP. Oct 1/11
Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Mike Petro] #284462
November 24, 2008 06:48 pm UTC
November 24, 2008 06:48 pm UTC
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Rob Strelecki Offline

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Right, but how long was it sitting for with only being started?
Just starting it a few times (no drive) is actually worse than anything because your alternator hasn't put any new charge into the battery since your starter and warm-up cycle took a chunk. The cold temp. is just icing on the cake.

Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Rob Strelecki] #284464
November 24, 2008 06:52 pm UTC
November 24, 2008 06:52 pm UTC
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Mike Petro Offline OP
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Alright, so I'll charge it overnight, and we'll see what happens Wednesday morning. If it's dead, then what should I do?


'15 VW GTI Autobahn
'10 Mitsubishi EVO GSR - SOLD
'97 Eclipse Spyder - RIP. Oct 1/11
Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Mike Petro] #284467
November 24, 2008 06:57 pm UTC
November 24, 2008 06:57 pm UTC
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Rob Strelecki Offline

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If the overnight charge doesn't help, then the battery is garbage. That is of course assuming all of your connections are fine. If your battery is charged you don't need an alternator to run (although you might have some strange electrical behaviour, dash lights and such, due to a bad alt - but the motor should run fine).

An important point to note is that a dead battery subjected to freezing temperatures will freeze and crack internally, and it will no longer hold a charge.
Also, a battery should never be stored on a concrete surface.

Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Rob Strelecki] #284471
November 24, 2008 07:09 pm UTC
November 24, 2008 07:09 pm UTC
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Mike Petro Offline OP
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Thanks for the help Rob. So if it doesn't start up on Wednesday, I'll go grab a battery from Canadian Tire, and see if that fixes the problem.


'15 VW GTI Autobahn
'10 Mitsubishi EVO GSR - SOLD
'97 Eclipse Spyder - RIP. Oct 1/11
Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Mike Petro] #284488
November 24, 2008 09:47 pm UTC
November 24, 2008 09:47 pm UTC
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Also, you might want to make sure the alternator is doing it's job to keep the battery charged while the car is running. Test the voltage at the battery WITH the car running, should be around 14v or higher. If not, you may have an alternator problem.

Another thing to look for is maybe something is putting a slow drain on your battery... glove compartment not closing and light's staying on, radio not shutting off, etc.


Sometimes I use words I don't understand in an effort to make myself sound more photosynthesis.
Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Mark Bondy] #284503
November 25, 2008 12:29 am UTC
November 25, 2008 12:29 am UTC
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Ghislain Goudreau Offline
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Originally Posted by Mark Bondy
Also, you might want to make sure the alternator is doing it's job to keep the battery charged while the car is running. Test the voltage at the battery WITH the car running, should be around 14v or higher. If not, you may have an alternator problem.


Chabing!!!

We should remember that an Alt is not made to recharge a Battery but to operate the Engine and accessories and "keep the Battery charged". That is it.

Recharging a fully drained Battery takes time and can't be done with a 20 minutes drive. It takes a good old Battery charger a few hours to do so.

A weak Battery will put a strain on an Alt and might help send it to an early grave.

Heck, take the Alt in for testing when you get that new Battery. That dieing Alt might of speed up your Battery's fate.

Ghislain.


Rouge!!!
Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Ghislain Goudreau] #284504
November 25, 2008 12:40 am UTC
November 25, 2008 12:40 am UTC
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Mike Petro Offline OP
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It started up without an issue this evening when I left work. So I got a boost to get to work this morning, and it sat there from 10am to 6:30pm, then started. Was only driven for about half an hour in the morning.

It's out of the car now, hooked up to a charger. So we'll see what happens on Wednesday morning.


'15 VW GTI Autobahn
'10 Mitsubishi EVO GSR - SOLD
'97 Eclipse Spyder - RIP. Oct 1/11
Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Mike Petro] #284523
November 25, 2008 03:33 am UTC
November 25, 2008 03:33 am UTC
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Bobby Kunac Offline
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How long have you had the aftermarket deck in your car?

Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Bobby Kunac] #284526
November 25, 2008 04:00 am UTC
November 25, 2008 04:00 am UTC
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Mike Petro Offline OP
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Came with the car so I can't really tell you.

The instructions say "Hold src to power off, and to power on". So I'm going to guess and say that isn't the problem.



'15 VW GTI Autobahn
'10 Mitsubishi EVO GSR - SOLD
'97 Eclipse Spyder - RIP. Oct 1/11
Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Mike Petro] #284528
November 25, 2008 04:22 am UTC
November 25, 2008 04:22 am UTC
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Kenrick Miller Offline
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When something like this happened to me it was a short in my power locks that simulated someone holding the button down. It took 3 days for this to drain the battery though.

If something is draining your battery you can take your fuses out one by one and use a multimeter to see which circuit is drawing current when the car is off. Just make sure that the current in the circuit is less then what the multimeter is rated for or you will end up burning out your multimeter. shuffle

Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Kenrick Miller] #284530
November 25, 2008 04:58 am UTC
November 25, 2008 04:58 am UTC
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Mike Petro Offline OP
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Really eh? I wonder if it's something dumb like that. The only electrical issue I've noticed is that the dome light does not come on when the drivers side door is open. Instead, it only comes on when the passenger side/trunk is open.

I'll try the fuse thing on the weekend and see what happens.


'15 VW GTI Autobahn
'10 Mitsubishi EVO GSR - SOLD
'97 Eclipse Spyder - RIP. Oct 1/11
Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Mike Petro] #284540
November 25, 2008 02:40 pm UTC
November 25, 2008 02:40 pm UTC
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Troy Jollimore Offline
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That's more likely due to a bad door switch than anything else. Watch it for a couple of days and let us know what happens...

Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Troy Jollimore] #284542
November 25, 2008 03:19 pm UTC
November 25, 2008 03:19 pm UTC
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Mike Petro Offline OP
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The trickle charger has a gauge on it and this morning, the gauge wasn't much above 5...


'15 VW GTI Autobahn
'10 Mitsubishi EVO GSR - SOLD
'97 Eclipse Spyder - RIP. Oct 1/11
Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Mike Petro] #284543
November 25, 2008 03:45 pm UTC
November 25, 2008 03:45 pm UTC
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Ian Burnside Offline
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If the battery is out, take it to crappy and get it tested.

Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Mike Petro] #284544
November 25, 2008 04:04 pm UTC
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Rob Strelecki Offline

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Originally Posted by Mike Petro
The trickle charger has a gauge on it and this morning, the gauge wasn't much above 5...


5 what? AMPS?
They usually show the amperage that the battery is drawing to charge, so a lower number is a better charge. I think 5 is too much. After an overnight charge mine would be just above 1.

Crappy tire is good for testing.

It does sounds like the battery is not holding a charge.
You could check this pretty easily with a voltmeter.
Test the voltage with the battery off the charger. Since it was just on the charger it might be a bit above the normal ~12.5v, but wait for it to drop down. If it keeps on dropping down much below 12.5v, then you've confirmed that the battery is toast.

Last edited by Rob Strelecki; November 25, 2008 04:11 pm UTC. Reason: to add
Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Rob Strelecki] #284547
November 25, 2008 04:22 pm UTC
November 25, 2008 04:22 pm UTC
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Ian Burnside Offline
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I'm curious as to what type of battery it is, because they dont recommend Motomaster Eliminators up here anymore as the break really easily because of our wonderfull roads. Something to do with too many cells inside that come into contact with each other far too easily.

Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Ian Burnside] #284548
November 25, 2008 04:32 pm UTC
November 25, 2008 04:32 pm UTC
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Mike Petro Offline OP
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I'm not too sure what the original one was, but the one from my Eclipse (that's in it now) is a Motomaster Eliminator


'15 VW GTI Autobahn
'10 Mitsubishi EVO GSR - SOLD
'97 Eclipse Spyder - RIP. Oct 1/11
Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Mike Petro] #284657
November 26, 2008 09:01 pm UTC
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Is the battery bloated or swollen? Do the sides bulge out at all? This is a good sign of a battery that has been overcharged or has a bad cell. Mine is bulged and it can randomly lose charge overnight. My regulator went in my alternator and it put out so much voltage that it blew all the bulbs in the car and swelled the battery. Replaced the alternator but the battery is still sketchy.


'92 Laser AWD Turbo

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God damn this noise inside my head
Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Scotty Mac] #284659
November 26, 2008 09:07 pm UTC
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Mike Petro Offline OP
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Nope, battery looked fine.

I bought a new battery for it and is now installed. Haven't had an issue yet.

I'm going to take the other battery to CT tomorrow, and my alternator there when ever I get a chance to remove it to see if one of those is the problem.

If both check out okay, then I know something is drawing a constant current.

Thanks for the help guys


'15 VW GTI Autobahn
'10 Mitsubishi EVO GSR - SOLD
'97 Eclipse Spyder - RIP. Oct 1/11
Re: Battery dieing overnight? [Re: Mike Petro] #284686
November 27, 2008 01:43 am UTC
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Probably a bit late now but when I had the same issue it turned out to be simply oxidized termials on the battery. They weren't corroded, just has a dull appearance. I thought I had a drain because when I went out in the morning, the battery was dead, but what I suspect was that the battery was pretty much dead when I shut the car off because it could not charge. I bought a wire brush style terminal cleaner, charged the battery and has been great ever since.
Let us know how the battery test turns out.


97 Eclipse GSX

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