# Electrical Problem Draining Battery

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/electrical-problem-draining-battery/40245>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** batteries, tribute, mazda\
**Created:** [December 2, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electrical-problem-draining-battery/40245 "2009-12-02T01:23:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![nickaroe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7993a0/32.png) [@nickaroe](https://community.cartalk.com/u/nickaroe)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electrical-problem-draining-battery/40245/1 "2009-12-02T01:23:59Z")

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Something is draining my battery. The battery stays charged as long as the heads are pulled off of the battery. However, if you leave the heads clamped on the battery it drains and the car won’t start after a few hours. Does anyone have any ideas about how to troubleshoot this issue without having to pull the leads off of the battery between starts?

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**Author:** ![Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joseph_e_meehan/32/21_2.png) [@Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph_E_Meehan)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electrical-problem-draining-battery/40245/2 "2009-12-02T01:32:23Z")

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Yea. You put a meter on the battery and start disconnecting things until you find the one that is pulling too much. Note: most modern cars take a while for all those electronic things to get to sleep.

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**Author:** ![castironman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2acd7d/32.png) [@castironman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/castironman)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electrical-problem-draining-battery/40245/3 "2009-12-02T01:50:55Z")

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You will need a multimeter, best with an amp probe. Connect it to read amps - follow the instructions on your meter. Go to the fuse box and start removing fuses until the amps reads zero. Post your results and what car you have (year, maker, model, year, engine, auto/manual transmission…). Good luck and be careful to follow the instructions on your meter.

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**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:** [December 2, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electrical-problem-draining-battery/40245/4 "2009-12-02T16:46:47Z")

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Here is a link to a site that can help you with that.

[http://www.aa1car.com/library/battery\_runs\_down.htm](http://www.aa1car.com/library/battery_runs_down.htm)