I travel quite a bit for work, and when I am gone for roughly two weeks, I come back and my 2000 Subaru Outback’s battery has died. After one week, it still starts. It seems that two weeks is the cutoff. There are no lights that I leave on that I can see, or any obvious (to me!) things draining the battery. This has happened three times (all times I’ve been gone for two weeks) in the last year. I’ve taken it to Les Schwab and the battery charges up fine, and it works as long as I don’t leave it for two weeks. Any suggestions, or has anyone had the same problem? Thanks!
How old is the battery?
Tester
Next time you go away for 2 weeks, disconnect the ground strap from the battery, and leave it disconnected. When you come home, connect it up. If it starts right up, you know you have an open circuit somewhere thats killing the battery. If the battery is dead, then it is dead and you need a new one. After 7 years who could complain?
The battery is about 1 year old…so I’m guessing it’s an open circuit somewhere. I just can’t for the life of me figure out where it is!! Thanks for the suggestion.
I recommend you have the current drain checked while the car is parked. The battery should last at least a month without having to get a charge on the battery to start the car. I have a '01 Outback and leave it parked for extended periods. There should be no more than 80 milliamps of current drain while the car is parked. If there is then pull fuses one at a time to see which circuit is causing the trouble. You may also want to get the battery load tested to see if it is ok.
BTW, a open circuit is when no current flows since the connection path is broken.
Thanks!