# 1989 Mazda 323 battery drainage **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** mazda\ **Created:** [July 27, 2019, 10:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-mazda-323-battery-drainage/145410 "2019-07-27T22:50:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RichardLawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2acd7d/32.png) [@RichardLawn](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RichardLawn)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 10:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-mazda-323-battery-drainage/145410/1 "2019-07-27T22:50:04Z")
My sister in law has installed 3 new batteries and each time within a short time the car is dead, battery drained. Not too long before replacing the battering the first time she had the water pump replaced. Could there be a connection. Any ideas why the battery keeps going dead? ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 11:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-mazda-323-battery-drainage/145410/2 "2019-07-27T23:30:32Z")
Likely, no, the water pump has no connection the the battery. The batteries go dead because some electronic component has a flaw. If this 30 year old car has an aftermarket radio, I’d suspect that. Take it to a mechanic that can run a parasitic draw test on the car to find the elctronic box causing this. Replacements are going to be very, very hard to find. ---
**Author:** ![RichardLawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2acd7d/32.png) [@RichardLawn](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RichardLawn)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 2:08am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-mazda-323-battery-drainage/145410/3 "2019-07-28T02:08:34Z")
Thanks I’ll pass this on to my sister in law. The car has also never been garaged which could lead to all sorts of electrical issues over time. Rick ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 2:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-mazda-323-battery-drainage/145410/4 "2019-07-29T14:23:39Z")
If that is the case, animals may have chewed though some of the wiring, causing a short somewhere. As said a good mechanic should be able to locate the parasitic drain or short. ---
**Author:** ![Cougar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cougar/32/21348_2.png) [@Cougar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cougar)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 1:49am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-mazda-323-battery-drainage/145410/5 "2019-08-03T01:49:38Z")
One common trouble area for this kind of thing is CD players. Seatbelt switches are another one. In order to pin the trouble down you need to monitor the current draw on the battery while the systems are in the sleep mode. Normally current draw is less than 35 milliamps but it can vary some depending the maker of the vehicle. While watching the current, suspect fuses tied to the trouble area are pulled and replaced one at a time to see which fuse cuts the current drain on the battery when the fuse is removed. You then need to see what that fuse supplies power to and check those things out. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 1:56am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-mazda-323-battery-drainage/145410/6 "2019-08-03T01:56:41Z")
Check if there is a convenience light burning above (dome light), in the trunk, engine compartment, or glove compartment. ---
**Author:** ![Scrapyard-John](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@Scrapyard-John](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Scrapyard-John)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 2:03am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-mazda-323-battery-drainage/145410/7 "2019-08-03T02:03:28Z")
Could this be as simple as a bad alternator rather than an unknown drain on the charging system? I don’t know exactly how long a new battery would last with a bad alternator. I’m also not sure how long these batteries are lasting on this car, other than “a short time”.