Car doesn't start after sitting overnight

2001 OLDSMOBILE AURORA
180,000 MILES • V6 • AUTOMATIC
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BGHOMASHI
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Hello, I am having problems with my car not starting in the morning. I have replaced the battery twice and taken it to a mechanic a several times now. They claim the alternator is fine. I have also hooked up a multimeter and the voltage across the battery while engine is running is ~14.2 which I think I satisfactory to keep up the charge. I checked the drain while the car is off by wiring the multimeter in series with the negative side of the battery. The draw was about 30mAmps and I set in the car about an hour just to make sure it didn't fluctuate.

The battery voltage does decrease substantially overnight. I cannot think of were the current is flowing if NOT into the rest of the charge. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Bejan
Jan 19, 2016 at 6:37 AM
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JOHNNYT73
  • AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR CONTRIBUTOR
  • 924 POSTS
Disconnect the positive cable. Attach the positive cable to the positive cable and black cable to the ground. First look at the voltage and amps. If high then begin pulling fused till you see the volts or amps drop. That way you can pin point the circuit that is causing your draw.
Jan 19, 2016 at 7:39 AM
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BGHOMASHI
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Yes sir. I already did that. The current never drops below 30 mAmps. Is that that too high to remain charged overnight? Doing some research says a draw of 50 mAmps is normal. The problem is it STILL some how dies overnight. The battery has been replaced twice, one be me and once by mechanic.

Thank you for the quick response.

Bejan
Jan 19, 2016 at 7:45 AM