Battery drain problem

Tiny
KMAN494
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 BUICK RENDEZVOUS
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 217,479 MILES
Hello, I recently bought a brand new battery (1 year ago) for my car and it keeps on draining only after sitting for a couple days. When ever I would go to start it the radio would always make a bunch of sound (clicking whining, CD changing noises) but the car wouldn't turn over. I believe I need a new better because it's now frozen, but this happened in the summer as well. It is not just a winter problem. Would also happen when I first bought the battery.
Saturday, January 11th, 2020 AT 8:29 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
AL514
  • MECHANIC
  • 4,795 POSTS
Hello, so a parasitic draw on the battery can be diagnosed with a multi-meter if you have one. There is a maximum draw of .050 milliamps with the car off, to run the test you will put the multi-meter in series with the negative battery cable and you will see the draw, then start taking fuses out one at a time until the draw disappears. There is also another way to find a draw, with the meter set on 20 volt DC scale, with the car off go through and check every fuse, the fuse that has any type of reading (voltage drop) is the current draw.
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-battery-dead-overnight
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-a-voltmeter
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/symptoms-of-a-bad-car-battery

It's definitely not good if the battery froze over night, that can be dangerous. You don't want the battery to explode.
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Saturday, January 11th, 2020 AT 9:08 AM

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