Battery drains super fast

My car is a 1998 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. I’m having a problem with my battery draining faster then ever! I had it fully charged when i went to crank it. It was trying to start but it just wouldn’t start. I kept trying for about 10 minute. after that my battery was completely dead! i want to know whats the problem and try to fix it before i let a mechanic fix!

It could be the battery itself. Have you had the battery tested?

Tester

10 minutes of cranking would completely lot of otherwise-thought-to-be-good batteries I suspect. As @Tester says, your battery may be near the end of its life. But the real issue it seems to me isn’t the battery so much, it is to understand why the car won’t start after trying for 10 minutes cranking it.

Do you have any theories why your car won’t start right up like it should? When you first were trying to start it, when the battery was fully charged – in minute 1 of this 10 minute cranking ordeal in other words – did it seem to be cranking at the normal full cranking speed?; i.e a normal cranking sound?

@tester yes i had the battery checked the same day. it is a good battery and the alternator was put on in november.
@georgesanjose yeah thats what i want to know is why it will not crank. it makes the noise. just wont crank up…

If the battery isn’t draining while the car is just parked then perhaps you have another problem happening. Perhaps the ignition isn’t working or there is a fuel delivery problem. Try spraying a small amount of starter fluid into the intake and crank the engine after the batttery is recharged. If that gets the engine going then there is fuel delivery problem. If the engine still doesn’t start then the ignition system needs to be checked. If that is ok then the compression needs to be checked.

thank you !! ill check it out @cougar

A car that won’t start quickly needs attention. I think the battery is not the problem as the OP said he was cranking the car over for 10 min or so. Sometimes the fuel pump can fail, no gas no start.

I’d get a mechanic to check the car, continued cranking isn’t going to help and could burn out or certainly overheat your electric starter motor. After 30 seconds of cranking you should let the starter rest for 5 minutes, if you don’t rest it the starter motor can overheat and burn out. 30 seconds of cranking (using the starting motor) is a really long time and a modern car should start up in way less than 30 seconds. A typical start takes about 1 to 3 seconds of cranking the starter.

'it makes the noise but it won’t crank up" is a confusing statement. What I think you mean is it cranks but the engine won’t start.

For a gasoline engine to start, at the minimum you need

  1. Spark at each spark plug
  2. Gas delivered to the intake manifold
  3. Spark and valve timing correct
  4. Compression
  5. Adequate crank speed.

OP should ask his mechanic to go through those one by one. Is there a spark at the spark plugs during cranking? Are you sure there is gas in the gas tank? Have you measured the fuel pressure? Do you hear the fuel pump working? Is the spark on number 1 cylinder occuring near or slightly before the crank pulley TDC mark? Have you checked the compression? Is there any reason to think the valve timing may be off, like you’ve recently changed the timing belt or chain? Or the engine suddenly died for no reason and you’ve never been able to start it since?

How many miles on it? Does it have 2 coils or 8? Remove the air filter and give it a snort of starting fluid and see if it will “catch” for a few seconds…If it does, check for fuel pressure at the fuel rail…If it has spark and fuel, it will run…

“It was trying to start but it just wouldn’t start. I kept trying for about 10 minute. after that my battery was completely dead!”

Ten minutes of cranking will kill any battery. And it won’t do a 15 year old starter any good either…