1999 Pontiac Grand Am

Tiny
POOR NICK
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 PONTIAC GRAND AM
Electrical problem
1999 Pontiac Grand Am 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic

we put a new battery in beacuse the car would not start. It had been sitting for about a week or so. We got the new battery in at 730 car started right up. We then had our son (its his car) go and start it up to get new tires. Deader than a door nail. What now?
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 AT 7:07 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
JASONRAY
  • MECHANIC
  • 213 POSTS
How long did it take for it to go down? The battery was installed at 730. When was it dead? Either way, it sounds like there's a bad draw on the battery. This can be a tricky problem to diagnose, sometimes. Let's try being more specific on how long it takes to drain the battery and so on. We can do this. Come back with a little more info and I'll help you figure it out. If it's draining like in half a days time, that's a bad draw. If it's taking it a week, then it's not so bad. We need to find out that kind of info.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Wednesday, July 29th, 2020 AT 10:03 AM
Tiny
POOR NICK
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
The battery was put in the car at730am When we went back out to start the car to leave at 930am it was already dead
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Wednesday, July 29th, 2020 AT 10:03 AM
Tiny
JASONRAY
  • MECHANIC
  • 213 POSTS
Goodness. That's quick. Something should be getting warm, if not hot with that much amperage draining from the battery. That's like leaving the lights on and even still, sometimes it would take longer than 2 hours then to completely drain a fully charged battery. You'll need to start unplugging things to see what's draining it. You'll need some type of amp meter connected between the negative battery cable and the negative post. (Cable disconnected) Be careful because it sounds like a lot of juice is being drained from the battery so a small, cheap amp meter will probably blow a fuse with that much amperage. Pull the power window fuses/circuit breakers, power lock fuses, etc. You can pull as many fuses as you like to start with. All at the same time. Just make a note of which fuse goes where. Once you get them out, reconnect the battery. Notice when you connect the cable, did it spark a lot or none at all? If it did a lot, there's still a drain. If not, leave it connected and start replacing the fuses, one at a time. Watch for sparks when you install each fuse. If one sparks a lot, that could possibly be the circuit at fault. I know this is kind of vague but it's a place to start. Try this and then repost. I'll do my best to help.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Wednesday, July 29th, 2020 AT 10:03 AM

Please login or register to post a reply.

Sponsored links