A few days ago, I went out to my car to find the battery totally dead. As far as I could tell, I hadn’t left anything (e.g. the lights) on.
I tried running it on a plug-in battery charger for about a day. When I reinstalled it, it was still dead.
I got a new battery (the old one was fairly new and still covered by warranty) and installed it. I tried attaching the batter to a plug-in 1amp charger for about a day, and the same thing happened.
The weird part is, after I charge the battery and install it, I get electricity for a little bit. The door-open lights will come on along with the dash lights and the motorized seatbelt will move. But as soon as I turn the key, everything dies.
Is there something that could be instantly draining my battery or is it another problem?
“The weird part is, after I charge the battery and install it, I get electricity for a little bit. The door-open lights will come on along with the dash lights and the motorized seatbelt will move. But as soon as I turn the key, everything dies.”
That’s all little stuff in terms of what they need from the battery. Try the horn, then the headlights. They need more.
Have you tried jump-starting the car? Why was your first move to get a new battery?
Clean the battery connections with a battery post cleaning brush. If that doesn’t clear the trouble then make sure voltage is getting to the main panel under the hood when you try to start the engine. If the voltage drops then the power wire between the battery and the main panel under the hood has a problem or there is a bad connection to ground.
Send a picture of the top of the installed battery. I also think you have a terrible corrosion problem, and maybe some bad terminals. Depending on the age, the battery clamps that are used by Asian car makers tend to rot out, crack, and refuse to tighten properly on the battery posts, causing this problem. I find that having to replace those battery terminals on 10 year old Asian cars are fairly common.
Typically when you have power until you turn the key, then everything goes dead, you have a poor connection either at your battery terminals, or the other end of one of the cables.
"Why was your first move to get a new battery?"
You’ve Asked Twice And Have Not Received An Answer. Let’s See If I Can Help You.
“A few days ago, I went out to my car to find the battery totally dead. As far as I could tell, I hadn’t left anything (e.g. the lights) on.”
“I tried running it on a plug-in battery charger for about a day. When I reinstalled it, it was still dead.”
“I got a new battery (the old one was fairly new and still covered by warranty) and installed it.”
I suppose the answer is that the battery showed signs of being defective, right ?
The owner was able to get a replacement to try that was covered by warranty, right ?
This all seems logical to me, rather than mysterious.
As to whether or not the owner tried jump starting, who knows ? My guess is that a charger was tried instead of a jump start. Is the charger any good ? Who knows ?
It seems as though a new battery should have cranked this baby up if everything else was in order on this car.
Lots of questions remain, including the one I asked.
"I suppose the answer is that the battery showed signs of being defective, right ?
… a discharged battery is not necessarily defective.
The owner was able to get a replacement to try that was covered by warranty, right ?
This all seems logical to me, rather than mysterious.
… and jumpstarting would be illogical because…?
As to whether or not the owner tried jump starting, who knows ?
… I’m guessing the owner knows. That’s why I asked him. It just seemed to make sense to ask the person who would know, rather than you.
My guess is that a charger was tried instead of a jump start. Is the charger any good ? Who knows ?
… How could a “plug-in 1amp charger” not be any good? “Who knows?” Perhaps the OP, which is why I am asking him questions. If you don’t know the answer, “who knows?” is implied, so there is no need for you to post it.
I don’t find your input in this current matter helpful, but I welcome your enjoyment. Isn’t fun the best thing to have?
"I don’t find your input in this current matter helpful . . . "
Sorry about that, but you asked the same questions twice, we’re not getting any feedback, and I just don’t see how knowing why the battery was replaced as a first move to get the car running is important. I thought it was obvious. The owner installed a new battery. That was important information. Please explain this question so that I can learn something.
Also, please tell what response to "Tell us more about this “plug-in 1amp charger”. would help you. Please give an example.
Many folks who come here for help (especially people with cars that won’t start and can’t be driven) are working with limited resources (time, money, knowledge, equipment) and are doing what they can with what they have to get the problem resolved. We have to work with that, too.
" … a discharged battery is not necessarily defective."
I agree. I didn’t say it was defective, but the battery showed signs that it was and a warranty replacement was available to try.
" … and jumpstarting would be illogical because…?
I didn’t say it wasn’t logical. I said we don’t know if it was tried. Again, resources can sometimes make these “logical” options unavailable.
I live twenty miles from the nearest town. Many things I do when certain situations arise would seem illogical to others who have nearby stores, people available for assistance, etcetera. Sometimes a person has to give it whatever it takes to get the job done and sometimes it’s not pretty.
I think you’ll just have to be patient and see if the owner responds and we will possibly never hear from her/him again.
Littlemouse: haven’t tried the lights or horn yes. I jumped it, and it made it to the end of the driveway then died. I actually tried charging it first, but that didn’t seem to have any effect.
Cougar/bustedknuckles: I replaced the battery connectors a few months ago, so those shouldn’t be a problem.
Oblivion: Could be. How would I go about testing this?
Since the battery is new and the terminals going to the battery are new I’d check them for corrosion at the battery, starter and ground. If they are clean and tight then check the length of the battery cables for cracked insulation where dirt and corrosion may have entered the cable causing poor electrical conduction. If these thing all fail I’d recommend having the starter tested it may have a short inside of it zapping all the electrical current.
Disconnect the battery and charge it or have it charged. Obtain a VOM (electrical test meter) with a 10 amp scale. Set the meter up to read on that scale. You probably will have to move the positive lead from it’s normal position…Then, with the cars key off and all the lights off, reconnect the positive battery cable in the normal manner. Then connect the negative test lead to the negative post of the battery and the positive test lead to the cars negative battery cable…The meter will now read current draw on the battery in amps…Normal is less than 100ma…If the meter reading is very low, you can switch to the 1000ma scale (1 amp) and go from there…
Hear is an Idea, tonight when its dark have someone looking under the hood when you turn the key, if its a loose ground or poor conection they should see/hear a big spark. It may at least give you an area of the car to look at
We do not know the battery condition in the no start phase. Check it out, remove and take to auto parts store for testing. I am guessing the battery will be ok. If so let us know.
I haven’t seen anything that tells me that the original battery or the replacement one were bad, He had the same symptoms after replacing the battery as before.
Even a cheap voltmeter from hHarbor Freight will tell if he has 12 volts or better between the battery posts { the posts not the clamps}. If he does , its not the battery.