Battery draining.. Help please... =(

nimdivino

nimdivino

Experienced Member
Joined
12 December 2006
Messages
630
Hello guys... I have a problem and don't know exactly what's wrong. The last time I drove my car was December 24 and it was running fine.. Unfortunately I didn't get to drive the car for about 1.5 months. Last week (friday) I went to get my car and I sort of expected that the battery would be drained. Sure enough, I couldn't start the car because there was no power. I jump started it using a battery pack and used it all day including that night. The next day the car wouldn't start and you can barely see the lights are on.

The battery was maybe just a year and a half old from Costco (kirkland) so I decided to replace it. Bought a new battery last Sunday and obvoiusly the car started without issues. I left it in the garage with the stock alarm on didn't drive it for 5 days.

Fast forward from yesterday morning, the car wouldn't start because there was no power. I am panicking at this time not knowing exactly what's wrong. So I jump started it and drove it to my friend's house where he can maybe take a look at it. After about a 10 minute drive, I turned off the car and started it again without a problem. Drove it around town without any problem at all.

Just couple hours ago, he called me up and said that the battery is completely drained when he left the car overnight. The stock alarm and my clifford alarm was off and doors were shut properly with no lights on.

So obviously there is something draining my battery and I don't know what it is. Nothing was changed in my car for a long time. I have ruled out the battey and alternator since it is obviously charging.

Any thoughts? Anything I should focus on?

Thanks very much for your input in advance and I apologize if this is a little wordy.

Nim
 
Did you check your alternator was charging for sure by putting a voltmeter on the battery while it was running and saw the voltage increase from 12VDC to 14VDC?
I have a Clifford alarm too and it is a drain, but not that quick. Check your grounds, engine and chassis. Check your battery leads for tightness, both ends.
Get a battery tender and attach it at all times. These cars are known to drain batteries.
Happy Motoring!
 
Is it possible that your new battery was not fully charged when you put it in, and didn't run the car long enough for the alternator to charge it?

pgilliam1 said:
Get a battery tender and attach it at all times. These cars are known to drain batteries.
Click to expand...
True, but... A bone stock NSX can drain the battery to the point where it's difficult or impossible to start after anywhere from a week and a half to three weeks. But with a good battery, and a good alternator, the car should be able to be started without any problem after a week of sitting.
 
Yes I was thinking the battery was not charged fully too. Also you can easily use an ammeter to see if it has a draw.
 
pgilliam1:
Unfortunately no I didn't get to try a voltmeter since I don't have one. I will go to Autozone tomorrow and have them run a test. They should be able to tell if its alternator right?

And do most people just change their alternator brushes if the alternator fails? I just checked parts and they have brushes for $23 instead of $1036 for the whole alternator.. ouch!

Nim
 
Alternator is out, a battery remains in good health during 3 years, then, begins the troubles, to keep my battery in good state, I charge it has bottom in autumn (my NSX does not roll in winter) and it remains in a place hot and dry, in spring, the NSX starts without problem (it is necessary to follow the protocol to initialize ECU) engine computer unit (http://itisfresh.com/how-to-reset-ecu-acura-nsx.html), when the car does not run during more than 1 month, it is necessary to remove the battery:cool:
 
Have a load test done & get the diodes on the alternator checked. That can drain a battery in a day or 2 if they're bad. If it's not that something else is drawing way too much juice when parked.
 
nimdivino said:
pgilliam1:
Unfortunately no I didn't get to try a voltmeter since I don't have one. I will go to Autozone tomorrow and have them run a test. They should be able to tell if its alternator right?

And do most people just change their alternator brushes if the alternator fails? I just checked parts and they have brushes for $23 instead of $1036 for the whole alternator.. ouch!

Nim
Click to expand...

Yes, Autozone will be able to test the alternator. As far as replacing brushes, if that's the only problem then that will work. Bushings, armatures and diodes can also fail. Having the alternator rebuilt or buying a rebuilt alternator won't cost you anywhere near $1036 and will work just fine.
Good luck and Happy Motoring!
 
Wow,

I am having the exact same problem with my NSX. I put in a new Costco Kirkland battery one year ago (make sure you get the one with the pos. & neg. terminals in the right place - the first one they sold me had them reversed), and about 6 months ago the battery had no juice left after the car sat for a while. I would charge the battery, the car would then of course start fine, then go a few weeks or more and not start again. I had completely run the battery down on a least two occasions and then give it a full charge, but from what I've heard, once you completely drain the battery a couple of times, it loses it's ability to hold a charge, and is permanently damaged. I've now gotten into the habit of hooking up my 1 amp motorcycle battery charger about every 10 days. It's nice to be able to charge the battery from the engine compartment and not have to do it from the hard-to-get-at battery!

By the way, Costco will replace the battery any time in the first 36 months for FREE, with no pro-rating like most battery retailers. That's exactly what I plan to do shortly. Gotta love Costco. By the way, I'm told the parasitic drain on stock NSX's is somewhat high. I still need to check my ground connections, but I know the battery connections are good. I'll check my starter connection while I'm at it. Also, as a precaution, I recently re-flowed the solder joints on the Main Relay.

John :cool:
 
Thank you for the input guys...

So my friend removed the battery from the car, fully charged the battery last night using a battery charger out (again a week old battery from costco). After a full charged, he hooked-it up in the car without starting it, left all doors, windows, trunk closed and the alarms all off.

This morning, the battery is completely drained. BLAH! So we should rule out the alternator right? I drove it last week all day including at night and I wasn't loosing power. As far as I know that if the alternator is bad, the lights start to dim until everything looses power while you're driving. In my case, the battery gets charged all the time while driving but as soon as I don't use it, something is draining it.

We are thinking that the alarm is the culprit, my friend thought he heard a buzz inside the car so he is trying to disconnect my clifford alarm. I want to have it tested in Autozone today but work gets in the way. =(

nim
 
check and make sure the BRAKE PEDAL STOPPER (only $1.69) still on, if it came off your brake light will be on the whole time. It happened to me before
 
Hmmm. I just had a thought and this is sort of related to my alarm.

I used to have power door locks, it used to function great using my clifford transmitter but for the past year its been intermittently not working anymore. Not having a garage is sort of hard so I kind of just left it alone. So basically I can arm/disarm my alarm using the transmitter but I have to manually lock the doors. Is there a connection?

The NSX have standard power door locks right so even if I manually locked the door from outside using a key, both locks should lock/unlock right?
 
yes, your brake light will be on all the time without it, even when you turn off the car your brake light still on
 
jwc said:
By the way, Costco will replace the battery any time in the first 36 months for FREE, with no pro-rating like most battery retailers. That's exactly what I plan to do shortly. Gotta love Costco.
Click to expand...
Most batteries with a long warranty typically have similar terms - free replacement during the first 36 months, and pro-rating for the rest of the warranty period. This is not exclusive to Costco.

I still love Costco, though. They have great prices on their batteries, and they're high quality ones (the last one I got there had a 100-month warranty).

nimdivino said:
So my friend removed the battery from the car, fully charged the battery last night using a battery charger out (again a week old battery from costco). After a full charged, he hooked-it up in the car without starting it, left all doors, windows, trunk closed and the alarms all off.

This morning, the battery is completely drained. BLAH! So we should rule out the alternator right?
Click to expand...
Right. SOMETHING is draining the battery. It could be an alarm, or something else, or a short circuit somewhere.
 
Yeah, it's easy to test if you are using current when the car is off but hard to figure out what is causing the drain. Your alarm not functioning correctly would be the first place I would check. Have you tried to pull the wiring harness off the alarm controller yet?

Nadeem
 
The best way to trouble shoot a fast draining battery in to remove one terminal and connect a amp meter between. Normal NSX's are 45 to 70 ma draw sitting. If you are getting any more then that start pulling fuses until the current drops and then you will know where to trouble shoot further.
 
^^^ what he said (and I said it first:tongue:)

J/K Brian!
 
This may be a long shot, but my battery was draining due to the trunk light. For some reason, it would stay on sometimes with the trunk closed. I ended up pulling the bulb out and voila, no more battery drainage.
 
Guys.. Thank you for all these tips, I really appreciate it.. I didn't get to talk to my friend last night and I didn't get to see the car either.

Brian: I just have a question about the set-up of the amp meter. Basically I unhook 1 battery terminal (is it better if positive or negative?), then clamp in the amp meter positive and negative wires to the baterry's appropriate terminals and start pulling fuses if the draw is more than 70ma?

NA1VTEC: For some reason I thought about that yesterday too. I'll check that as well.

Thanks again guys for all your help!!!

Nim
 
nimdivino said:
Guys.. Thank you for all these tips, I really appreciate it.. I didn't get to talk to my friend last night and I didn't get to see the car either.

Brian: I just have a question about the set-up of the amp meter. Basically I unhook 1 battery terminal (is it better if positive or negative?), then clamp in the amp meter positive and negative wires to the baterry's appropriate terminals and start pulling fuses if the draw is more than 70ma?

NA1VTEC: For some reason I thought about that yesterday too. I'll check that as well.

Thanks again guys for all your help!!!

Nim
Click to expand...

Negative is always better less chance of shorting anything out. The amp meter goes between the battery terminal and the removed battery cable.
 
Nim,
Where are you located? If you are close, I could come by and check it out. Also, check the battery "stay" bar that holds the battery down. The coating could be missing causing a short. In other words, repeat the last test you did without bolting the battery down. I doubt this is the problem because the battery would be hot, but its worth a look.
Thanks,
Jay
 

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