Yes, something is draining the battery completely but what?
With a good recharged battery there should be no need for a “jump”, the engine should start and run for at least 20 minutes before the battery is completely discharged.
Perhaps you are not explaining the condition accurately but it seems like you have two dead batteries and the engine will not start.
BTW, you original post is quite vague, that is why there are odd suggestions like that the glove box light might be on.
You need to explain the vehicles condition more accurately.
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Are you against the simple test of removing the hot lead from the alternator? Its not hard to do and it doesn’t matter how new the alternator is that we are discussing. That new component is still an unknown quantity at this moment in time.
I would unhook that hot lead and see what you get… If its the same then Oh well… you lost 12 minutes of time…move on.
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I’m beginning to think your battery charger is no good.
Are you disconnecting the battery from the car when you charge the battery.
Another possibility is your starter is shot and there is nothing wrong with your battery
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After reading through the various postings about this problem there is a couple of things that stood out to me. The first one is the charging voltage that you stated. If the alternator truly is putting out 16 volts to the battery then that is too high. Charging the battery at that rate will damage it. You should see no higher than 15 volts going to the battery.
The next thing that stands out to me is your statement about the battery going dead after trying to start the engine just one time. If the battery is really good and fully charged it can’t just go dead with just one startup attempt. In order to completely discharge a fully charged battery you would have to draw enough current that would melt the main wires going to the battery. I assume that where ever you are checking the voltage at it isn’t directly on the posts of the battery. What seems to be happening to me is there is a bad connection to the battery, most likely one of the battery clamps. This will make it seem like the battery is dead but it really isn’t. Internal wire corrosion at the battery clamp or the surface of the clamp connected to the battery post can cause this issue to happen. If you haven’t thoroughly cleaned the battery clamp surfaces using a battery post wire brush you should do that. If the battery voltage goes to zero even right on the battery posts then I would have to think that the battery has an internal connection problem and it needs to be replaced. There is no other fix for that kind of problem.
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So what you’re all saying is there couldn’t be a miscommunication between the battery & alternator and the only way there could be a drain is if the battery is dead?
Also, sorry about the vagueness. I really didn’t think anyone would reply to me and if they did, definitely not this quickly. That was the best way I could explain or describe it without explaining all of my previous but still current repairs and I don’t feel like any of that has to do with the fact that my car won’t run. Also, i don’t know a ton about cars to begin with.
No, I didn’t disconnect the battery from the car
Thank you for your detailed comment. I will keep it mind!
There could be a charging system problem but the information that you have provided so far does not make sense. You recharged the battery but it still required to be jump started? It sounds like the battery is no good. You installed a different battery and the engine only ran for one minute? Why? Did the engine stall because the battery was completely discharged or is there another reason?
You need to measure the battery voltage before starting, while cranking the engine and while the engine is running. That information will be helpful in the diagnosis.
If you can, please measure the battery voltage directly on the battery posts while trying to start the engine. If you still have good voltage there then you need to check the voltage getting to the fuses that are in the panel under the hood. You will most likely see little to no voltage there. This will be true if there is a power wire connection problem between the positive battery terminal and the fuse panel. If that wire has a connection problem then it will make it seem the battery is dead because no power can get to the ignition switch and other areas.
Very good advice from @Cougar and @Nevada_545 … as usual. I concur with all of it. With your mention of multiple batteries tried the only common denominators are your batt connections and your alternator (and the starter of course but that is not in the loop at rest). Which is why I wanted the alternator disconnected, just for a test the alternator is live all the time. Also your report of 16vdc is not a good parameter…its too high.
There certainly CAN be a problem between the battery and alternator. Again…disconnect the hot lead to it, for test purposes and see what happens. Again I agree with the others on the battery health itself as @Cougar mentions you cannot kill a fully charged health battery that quickly without smoke from somewhere.
Stop fighting and or trying to interpret the advice and just follow it.