Jen '92hatch

So, the first week I got down to school, my battery died! I just got the car, so OK, maybe it needed to be replaced anyway. I went & got a new one installed...two weeks later I go to start my car and it's DEAD. Got a jump, another week goes by...same thing!

I took my car into the place I got the battery, they checked it and said my battery was charged fine. Checked my alternator, that's OK too. I swear, these people looked at me like I was lying.

What could be draining my battery?! The ONLY thing I can think of is my radio/XM player - my boyfriend set 'em up so that the car wouldn't need to be ON to play 'em. However, I turn the radios OFF whenever I turn off the car.

Anyone else ever had this problem? OR can anyone give me some insight into what it might be?

civiccpedx

Well I would say get a new battery. Also if a non proffesional set up the stereo there could be a short that is drawing extra electircity no matter if the radio is off or not, I would say check the radio first and make sure that no 2 wires are touching that shouldn't be and if it still does that try a new battery

Ricey McRicerton

Sounds like you are either leaving your lights on or your boyfriend didn't wire that radio up right. You should have him rewire it correctly and see if you end up with the same problems.

Is it only dying when you leave the car off for prolonged periods of time?

BTW, each time you kill that battery your reducing it's life.

JDM Like Whoa

He didnt wire them right. Wire them up so it up so the car has to be on... Its not that hard to turn the key to ACC.

Jen '92hatch

It IS a new battery. 1 died > got a new one.


He said he'd diagnose it today, but crap came up. bleh.

billyhoe

do you have any other accesories installed such as neon underbody kits, fog lights or whatever. Also check and see if the radio comes on without using the key. Maybe it's your starter wiring, does the car turn over when trying to crank?

If all else fails get a new boyfriend.......

ABK

nasty case of parasitic current drain, or loose batter cables. If you had your alternator checked out then it's one of the above causes.

there is way to check for those things. all you need is a good voltmeter and a jumper wire.

if you don't wonna do this yourself, you will prolly need some cash.

EDIT: sounds like your radio is wired up fucked up, so it drains your battery like crazy. It shouldn't be on all the time.

01-1293

perhaps its your alternator......battery not getting charged

black sohc civic

a new battery that dies instanstly is probably not being charged properly by the alternator, so i'd check that asap

peterg

I had the same problem with my 92 hatch SI I found the problem was the stereo and moonroof were taking power even though car was off and everything. I just followed the problem to a little fuse directly behind the ashtray box which is for the stereo and moonroof. I now have it connected to a switch that i just turn on and off when im in or out of car.
Hope this helps

Good ol' Screwtape

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by black sohc civic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">a new battery that dies instanstly is probably not being charged properly by the alternator, so i'd check that asap</TD></TR></TABLE>

funny how people don't read the original post.
According to the first post...

1.) The battery was changed after the problem began and is NEW now.
2.) The alternator was checked

SRCivic97

I would just buy a new car, problem solved.

jaycapz

Ok. First off. YOU SHOULD NOT wire the power to bypass the harness straight through to the battery. IT WILL suck current. My guess is your BF went and connected the constant (yellow) to the power (red) and ran a straight through to the battery. If not, then answer this:

1. Do you have anything but stock speakers? (meaning, a tube, subs, amp etc.)
2. When you play your radio with the car off, how long do you listen to it for?
(If you do listen to it for more than an a half hour or so at a time, your slowly killing your battery... NOT good).

and finally..... how long did you have the car before your bf did the install? and did the car do this before he installed the headunit?

May sound dumb, but its the little crap that makes the big splashes =]

Tad

hook up a voltmeter to ur battery and make sure you're getting like 13-14v with the car running,
if its less than that, like 12's and below,
then your alt probly isnt charging the battery.

either the alt is shot, or theres a problem with the wiring somewhere. theres a fat white wire that runs from the top of the alt, thats the charge wire, make sure thats in good condition.

and check all ur ground wires.
I had my tranny ground wire LOOSEjustLOOSE it was on , and i was getting no charge,
******* went through EVERYTHING before i realized it was that.

argh.

jaycapz

Yea. But the question is. Did it do this before or after the headunit install. If it happen before - then i would say go nutz.... get a voltmeter, check battery voltage levels, check grounds... start with the obvious. Its probably the way the headunit is wired. And if its not, then move on to process of elimination. That is providing you know how to use a voltmeter/multimeter =]

OHhh yea, p.s. How long does it usually take between jumps? A day? A Week? If a day, then Yea, i would lean towards what tad is saying, but if more then your just draining and beating up your battery.

ABK

there is a thing called parasitic current drain (since alternator and battery were testested). Just get that done, and check the resistance of battery cables.

It will point out your problems.

black sohc civic

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by syntax_error &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

funny how people don't read the original post.
According to the first post...

1.) The battery was changed after the problem began and is NEW now.
2.) The alternator was checked
</TD></TR></TABLE>

lol whoops, my bad.