My battery isn't holding it's charge. Something is draining it and I just can't figure out what it is. I know it isn't the alternator and the battery is brand new. I tested my fuses and found a short in the int lps fuse. I disconnected the fuse but the battery still drained. Is that my problem or should I try something else????
did you do anything different than usually like replace something new?
Bad alternator, or if you have a sound system, it could be the problem if improperly hooked up.
Girls suck, buy a fast car.
i think you can get your alternator tested. thats the first thing i thought. how do you know that its not your alt?
GO PATS!!!
check for 14+ volts at the alternator when the car is running.
I had the alternator tested already.
fully charge the battery, then remove it overnight. If its fine 24 hours later when you plop it in to start, its not the battery, suspect a short somewhere.
turn the engine off, and remove the key...disconnect the negative terminal and look for voltage and current between the ground clamp and the battery terminal.
if you find juice, this would indicate a wiring fault, like two wires rubbing and getting a connection. Concentrate on bundles of wires going on angles, and work back to smaller bundles.
next, disocnnect the negative altogether, and take the positive clamp off, and use the meter between the positive clamp and the battery...without the negative clamp on. This would indicate a wire shorting out against frame metal, finding its own ground.
a digital wristwatch will drain a battery eventually, but it will take forever...headlights can do it in an hour or less.
anythign over a couple hundred milliamps (current on the meter...) will do it overnight. Think...a 300 milliamp trickle charge can charge the battery over night or ina day...so it only takes that much current draw to discharge it.
As a quick fix, you could disconnect the red (+) terminal of the battery, that would cure the fault temporarily.
these little wiring faults can be a BEAR to find, lol. I have seen people change entire wiring harnesses, and STILL not find it, lol.
by that point, you start with a test light, and trying wire connections, and poking the other probe to system grounds nearby...you will eventually find it if you make it a hobby when you are bored.
Is an '82 Olds Firenza a "Flash Ride" ?
