Searched the site and haven't found much. So my battery goes dead after starting the car a few times. If it's fully charged, it starts right up, but after four or five starts of progressively more difficult starts, the car cranks but refuses to start. When I pull the battery off at this point, it still puts out ~12.55 V. The dash gauge used to read ~10 V before cranking, then near 14 V when running, but now it doesn't even read 13 V when running. The battery is less than a year old, the alternator is even newer. After doing a draw test, I have about 10 mA with the radio and remote start/keyless system connected. I'm wondering if there is a wiring issue with the starter, since it appears to have enough voltage but won't start? Any ideas on what to check are greatly appreciated, as always. I'm just tired of having to charge the battery twice a week. Thanks.

 

check the water level on the battery and fill it with distilled water if its low and make sure you wear safety glasses i dont care how carefull you are being i got battery acid in my eye yesterday and it wasnt fun. You could also get the battery tested to see if its any good just to rule that out, i've had batteries go bad after one year so that doesnt mean anything. What kind of battery is it and whats the CCA? Something could be draining on the battery also, try pulling the radio fuse out

 

I thought you weren't supposed to mess with these batteries (not like the old days), i.e. open them up and add water? I had the battery tested maybe 4 months ago, and it was fine - don't know if testing it again will turn up anything new, because it was doing this then also. It's a 'Valucraft' that was bought new by the previous owner before I bought the car, and I believe CCA is 630, regular CA is 780. Without the radio and remote/keyless system connected, nothing even registers in the draw test.

 

Only "maintance free" sealed batteries can't be serviced (ie AC DELCO, CARQUEST), the kind that have the caps you pry up with a screwdriver can. I'd get the battery tested just to rule it out, a lot of places will do it for free, it will tell you the state of health/charge % and the measured and rated CCA.

 

I've been in Vegas for awhile, but I got back and had the battery tested and everything is good, tested like a new battery. So that rules the battery out. I put new terminal bolts in and new dielectric grease, but the problem's still there. I noticed today that simply disconnecting and reconnecting the battery was enough to start the car when it wouldn't start. Any ideas?

 

sounds like youre alternator isnt charging....

DO you go for drives in between these 4-5 starts?

Do the simple stuff first. Trace all the wires from your alternator and make sure they are connected!!! If you moved stuff around there recently it may have just come off. Check your ground and ground straps.

Have you relocated your negative terminal (from battery) to a new location (at the other end of the wire?)

 

Wow! Sounds like you and I were in the same boat. I would be in the process of trying to find my power drain and the battery would go dead from the drain. Interestingly enough I was charging the battery for the billionth time when I noticed the gauge on my charger moving once and a while. I pulled out fuses one by one until I found the LID fuse would spark when I pulled it out and the gauge would act normally. It might not be the LID fuse, but you might narrow down the circuit causing the power drain.

 

I do go for drives; to the store, gas station, etc. I'll check wiring tomorrow. Negative cable is in the stock location.

My drain with the radio and remote start/keyless entry is only 10 mA - I was expecting to see a huge drain, but I don't think that's enough to kill my battery.

 

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Its not a drain, he mentioned his battery is good ie: 12.55V out of the car, and he has a 10mA draw when everything is hooked up which is nill....

My freind's faulty alternator showed a draw of about 3A, we though it was a shorted light bulb or something somewhere, but it drained the battery dead in about 14 hours.

Im fairly certain your alternator isnt charging, so the circuit isnt completing somewhere.

Also, while your going through your wiring, remove both battery terminals, clean them off, and reattach the wires (tighten properly). You probably just have a bad connection somewhere.

 

I would say go have the alternator tested again.

 

Ok, well the wiring that I could see was fine - grounds were intact and snug, starter wires look good, alternator wires look good, no frayed wiring; battery connections are tight and greased; 12.55V car off - 14.31V car running. I would assume the alternator is working, I was checking the voltage while running periodically for about 15 min and it never dropped, stayed a constant 14.31V. Should I still have it tested?