So after the third week in a row where I've had to jump/push start my car, I need some help getting to the bottom of this.

Admittedly, part is the problem is me. I only get a chance to drive it on the weekends, so it mostly sits during the weekdays and by the time I get the chance to go for a joyride, the battery is dead. I know that driving more often would be a workaround, but I'd really like to find out what is causing the drain anyway.

Anyway, some facts:

-Battery is new as of September '09
-In September I had a Viper 5901 alarm system installed with the disturbance detector and battery backup
-I installed a modest sound system, including a 180Wx2 amplifier
-Back when it was warmer and I had a chance to go home I tested the current drain when the car was off, and it was somewhere around 250mA. I knew this was high, but didn't have time to do some fuse pulls for troubleshooting.

Anyway, I'm pretty just looking for ideas on what is most likely causing the drain or any other ideas of what could be causing my battery to be dead after 5 days or so. Thanks in advance

 

If you have a garage to park the car in, do so and don't lock the doors.

When you set the alarm and don't drive the car for a few days, it drains the battery. I have the same problem with my truck over the summer. I started locking it with the keys instead of with the remote so the battery wouldn't be drained.

 

Hmm, last week I didn't arm the alarm and just locked the doors, but the car was dead after 6 days. Are there any common culprits for a parasitic drain besides the alarm?

 

The HU also puts a parasitic drain on the battery for memory functions. Not sure how quickly it would drain the battery, but I suppose if given enough time it would

 

Okay so I did some current testing over the weekend, and this is what I came up with:

170mA with alarm disarmed
180mA with alarm armed
140mA with alarm disconnected
50mA with alarm connected and radio fuse pulled
The amp had no effect on current draw

It seems like my head unit is pulling most of the current, unless my alarm is on the radio fuse; I really should have checked that. I was going to pickup a quick battery disconnect, similar to this:

http://www.amazon.com/Moroso-74103-Battery...t/dp/B000COO1P4

today, but I decided to hold off because I don't know how eager I am to re-input my radio settings every week. I suppose it's better than not having my car start

 

What headunit do you have? Stock?

 

Pioneer DEH-P710BT

http://signature.crutchfield.com/S-frRAdDn...DEH-P710BT.html

I installed it myself along with my amp and speakers around September sometime.

 

Do you have a spare HU you could install to see if the HU isn't turning off properly?

 

I still have the stock one. I could always just unhook the connector for the head unit and check the current draw, maybe this weekend if I'm lucky.

 

i had the same problem, and got an optima yellow top and never have a problem anymore