Hello all,

Seeking assistance on an electrical problem...

Car wouldn't start, interior lights and beeps and chimes all good, called AAA got a jump. Guy ran a quick diagnostic and said alternator and battery both fine, just out of juice. Test showed the headlights were drawing power even when "off."

Anyone have this kind of issue before? After 3 starts I had to get another jump. Car now parked in garage, but now I'm unsure what to do.

For now, temporarily just pull the headlight fuse every time I park overnight? Thanks

 

Headlights turn off, when you turn off the HL switch? I guess, I would check the voltage on the line (relays, fuse area, etc) going to the HL --- with switch off.

 

I’d get a “second opinion” on the status of your battery before I checked anything else out.

A bad battery can act just like what you’re experiencing—it’s possible the AAA guy was wrong and that’s the problem—if it is, replacing the battery is a whole lot easier fix than trying to track down an electrical problem like a parasidic drain.

Take the car to any auto part store like Autozone, O’Reliiy’s, Pep Boys, etc and they’ll check it for free.

 

a simple way to test for parasitic drain is to disconnect the ground wire from the negative terminal. then bridge a test light between the 2, if you really have a parasitic drain it should light up. after that go ahead and start pulling fuses til the test light goes out.

 

If the car needed a jump start then the battery is not fine, it needs a full charge before you can tell for sure if it's bad or not.

 

Just put in a new battery and see what happens.

 

Car batteries only get a couple of deep discharges before they're scrap. A parasitic electrical draw will literally bleed a battery to death.

Checking for a parasitic leak is dirt simple. All ya need is a good battery and a $6 Harbor Freight multi-meter set to amps. With doors shot and ignition Off pull the negative battery cable and measure the amps (should be milliamps) between the cable and battery. Should be tiny. Won't be zero 'cuz the radio memory and remote locking system draw power all the time. If the draw is large connect the same way and pull fuses one at a time to locate the problem.

Several good internet videos. Note proper automotive practice always disconnects the Negative cable. Mainly because if it touches the car body nothing happens.

-- Chuck

 

This. This os proper way to confirm, and diagnose, parasitic power drain.

You can also use a yest light hooked up the same way, as described in another post, bit its less accurate. Brightness of lamp indicates power loss, compared to actual numeric value from a meter.

Setting a meter to amps can be tricky. You also need to be sure to plug meter wires into correct socket.

Also, make sure you connect meter correctly. Remove cable from battery, connect meter between battery and cable you just removed.

Removing fuses one at a time, if meter reading drops way down, that was the circuit with the problem. Trace from there.