ok, heres the deal.
im new to third gens, and i dont know much about cars in general. i'm having a really annoying problem that prevents my camaro from doing anything--it wont start, the lights dont come on, nothing. for some reason, something is draining my battery and for all im worth i cant figure it out.

i know its not an ignition problem or anything else serious because when i jump the car it starts up fine and will run fine for a while. but when i come outside the next day to try to start it, its completly dead.

my friend who sold me the car stopped by and we tried a few things -- we checked all the fuses- unplugging blown ones, tightened the battery connections, and a few other things. but after i jumped it, the next day, it wouldnt start again.

the only idea i have left is the cigarette lighter. i remember when i first started having this problem i took the lighter out and it was hot even though i hadnt pushed it in. in fact it burned me. could this be the source of the problem, maybe the mechanism in it is jammed or something?

could anybody has any idea, PLEASE reply, this is a very frustrating problem.

 

It could be your cig lighter, or a bad battery. Take out the battery and have it checked at AutoZone or Checker. I had a problem like this before and it ended up being a bad cell in the battery. Hope this helps. T

 

Check the underhood light if your car has it, the rear cargo area light, just the generally obvious but easy to overlook kind of thing. Then hook an ammeter up in series with the battery and see hopw much parasitic drain current there is. Should be less than 50 mA. If it is, watch it for a while, see if there's any spikes. If there's no drain current, you just need a battery.

 

still have the same problem with my IROC..

probably will analyze it soon.. battery dies really fast, and not sure what it is. the lighter is disconnected, and nothing appears to be on (lights, etc.)

MIGHT be the radio, not sure.. anyone have a stock radio with the same problem happening? -- don't believe the one in mine is stock.

 

We took the bulb out of the underhood light way before this problem started occuring. but thats a good idea, i will double-check the other lights and simple electronics.

MasterEvilAce, you said you disconnected the lighter...how did you do that?

I have a feeling there's nothing wrong with the battery but that some type of electronic is draining the power...if i took the car to a mechanic would they be able to fix it or is this something i need to figure out myself?

 

It's really the wrong sort of problem to "take to a mechanic". What will happen is, they'll put it in the shop, charge you a couple of hours time, and tell you they couldn't find it. By the time they find it at that rate, you could easily run up 8 hours or more of shop labor, at what... $60? $65?

For less than the first hour's rate, you can go to Radio Shack and buy a cheap little meter that has an amps range; disconnect your positive battery cable; buy an extra side-post battery cable end if you need to; and put the positive meter lead on that and the negative lead on the actual cable, and see how much current your car is drawing off the battery. Then you can start removing fuses, etc. until you find the circuit where the drain is.

You'll learn alot about your car's electrical system that way, and probably fix it for less than $25 plus some of your time, instead of hundreds at the shop.

 

You dont even need a meter.. Do you have a test light? Disconnect one battery cable hook the test lead from the light to the cable.. hook the other end of the light(point or whatever it has) to the battery.

If the light is lit you have something draining the battery.. sometimes the light will light for a few secs then go out.. Thats OK just means it was charging some capacitors in the electronics.
What you dont want is for it to stay on.

Now if its on. Pull hte fuses 1 at a time, and watch to see if the light goes out. If it does then you know what circuit the problem is in. If it doesnt it has to be something thats not fused. The next most likely thing would be a drain in the alternator. Take the main battery lead off the alternator, if the light goes out now then you need an alternator.

I find a test light is even more sensitive than my ammeter. A quarter amp draw will make the bulb just barely glow.

 

Also, if that doesn't work, pull the power lead(s) off the starter. Thats what killed 2 optima batteries and an alternator on my Z before I figured it out.

 

Have you tested the alternator yet?

 

A few times where I work we have run into Delco radios in some cars & truck that the clock stays on, the light that is..causing it to drain the battery. We changed the radios and the problem was gone....Just a thought.

Keiran

 

to find out if its a bad battery or not let it get a good charge then take off the cables. it it starts the next day you know its a good battery and something is draning it. if it dosn't start you know its a bad battery.

 

Actually to check for a draw...shut everything off, that requires power even the under hood light. Disconnect and reconnect the battery...does it spark???If so, you have a draw somewhere. A easy way to find the curcuit where the draw is coming from without the super duper tools...Remove one fuse at a time checking each time for this spark at the battery terminal. As soon as that spark goes away...that is the area to look for a short of some kind.

Keiran

 

The spark method works fine for vehicles with no electronics.. If there are any capacitors anywhere in the car though they will try to recharge when you hook the cable up and cuase the cable to spark. Stereos and ecms both contain capacitors..

Oh and one more thing, I see he has a 91 camaro.. You really dont want to be sparking the cables too much in a vehicle with air bags. Never know what might set one of those off.

 

That is why you use the ground wire. We do this at our shop all the time..Works for us...