Hey everyone,

With your help I was able to replace my main cylinders for my convertible top!!!! Thank you. Now I have another concern. Something is draining my battery. I have checked all of my fuses, both sides under the hood and the side panel of the driver side dash. All are working fine. Not sure where to go now.

Experience with a drained battery. First time it happened, I drove 15 miles to work, came out from work and needed a jump. Took the battery to my mechanic, fully charged. Put the battery back into my car, drove to work, again 15 miles. During my drive to work, a demon took over my car. Battery light flashing, abs light flashing, doors locked while I was driving, and the light sensor came on. Parked my car, came out from work, and yes, you guessed it, I needed a jump to get home.

Not sure where to go from here. Thoughts?

Cathy

 

Have you had the alternator checked?

 

Hi Cathy, when you get it running what is the voltage at the battery? If lower than 12 volts, check the alternator and associated wiring to it back to the battery. A few owners have had corrosion real bad inside the cables at the connecting points (and or the battery posts themselves). IF the voltage is still low with clean battery terminals and cable ends, check the output from the alternator. Some of the local auto parts stores (advance/auto-zone) has a simple voltmeter they can help you check with. They also have the testing box to check a variety of battery/alternator issues. I would go to 2 different places and compare what each said (without letting the other know you are going or went somewhere else).


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Fuses do not cause battery drain.

All those lights coming on are a sign of unstable system voltage, generally low system voltage.

There are two things to remember here.
1) Generally, if the 'battery' light comes on, it means that the alternator is not charging. BUT, the design of the circuitry that activates the light means that, sometimes, it's true cause is hard to pin down.
2) There are three things that cause a dead battery. First, is an alternator that is not charging. The second is a drain on the battery when the key is in the "Off" or "Lock" position. The third is an old battery that simply cannot hold a charge.

Given that you can get a jump and the car runs, my first guess here is that the alternator is fine (even tho we kinda have indication otherwise, that is, that damn light) and that you have a high drain on the battery when the engine is off. You can assure that the trunk, interior and glove box lights are off - but little else is so easy to check.

I'd go with the recommendation to see if the system voltage rises to around 13.5 to 14.5 votls with the engine running, if so, the alternator is charging fine. What is now left is to find out if either the battery is just old and dying, or if there is a drain on it when the car is off. Any reputable garage should be able to measure the standby current - but fact is, most garages are not competent when it comes to even basic electrical issues.

Attached is my Crossfire-specific procedure.

 

Thank you for your input. The battery has a full charge, cables intact no corrosion, etc. There definitely is a drain on the battery when the car is off. We have checked lights to make sure there are not any on when the key is out of the ignition and did not find any. We pulled each fuse individually, hoping it would be an easy fix, but no, there was still a draw on the battery for each one.

Our next thought was the alternator. I will take your suggestion and visit a couple of auto businesses to have the alternator checked.

Thank you.

Cathy