98R-1144

I've searched the forums and they all pretty much narrow it down to Battery/Alternator/Power Draw.

When the car is parked it'll generally start right up within 1-2 days. But if I leave it for longer than that... it chugs really hard to start the car.

The battery is new (April of this year) and the problems just started happening. I brought it back to the shop but they claim I have a 3A draw!

OK fine, so I go home to try to find out what's causing the draw. But when I hook up my multimeter, set it to 10A, and wait about 10-15min... I only seem to get these:

0.030A (car is off, alarm is not armed)
0.745A (dome light is on)
0.043A (car is off, alarm is armed)

These look within normal limits to me?

I'm not sure why they would tell me there's a 3A draw (unless I'm mis-reading the multimeter). Is it just a bad battery and they don't want to replace it?

Alternator seems fine... as soon as I start up the car everything works great (aftermarket amp/stereo).... no dimming or anything.

Will those free battery/alternator tests they run still be able tell if it's a bad battery? This problem has been going on a few weeks... I figure the battery is probably almost anyway if it IS related to a drain.

cannan

Could it be the starter? It sounds from your description that everything is good once the car is actually started.

98R-1144

maybe? but would the starter work w/no issues if the battery has a good charge? it starts up flawlessly if the car doesnt sit too long... or shortly after i park (like when i goto a grocery store).

I guess i can take it to autozone or wahtever... i think they test the starter/alternator/battery for free?

I don't really care as long as it's not a power draw (as the shop said)... cuz i just dont see the draw anywhere.

BumbleeBeeCRX

pepboys autozone check batteries free not sure about kragen and i know kragen recharges battery free
you can also have them check your alternator
also if you dont leave anywhere just go and turn on your car till its warm and let it sit a minute. then the next day IF you need to go anywhere it wont have trouble starting. i had somewhat the same problem with my 94 accord

Drive 4 fun

What happens to the battery voltage when you let it set a couple days? What happens to the battery voltage with the dome light on? With a good charged battery, most would still expect the car to start in the am if the dome light was on overnight. With your readings, the dome light would pull 7.5 amps in 10 hrs, and this would still start on a battery holding 25+ amps. It would still have 2/3 of its charge if you start fully charged.

Drive 4 fun

Forgot to clarify, did the shop load test the battery, or assume it was good because it was new. It seems like they would have tested it and other things to find the "3amp" draw. I am assuming that they tested and you do not trust them since they would have to replace the battery. If you test voltage with the dome light on, that is a lite load.

98R-1144

i dont think the shop load tested the battery... i think they assumed it was a power draw somewhere and blamed it on the 3A draw.

question is, do i have anything close to that?

using the 10A scale on my multimeter only gave me
0.030A (car is off, alarm is not armed)
0.745A (dome light is on)
0.043A (car is off, alarm is armed)

that doesnt look like much power draw at all. hopefully it's just the battery and i'll just end up buying a new (better) one and not rely on the shop.

Drive 4 fun

I assume that you know how to measure since those are pretty specific. You unhooked one side of the battery and ran the multimeter between positive, or possibly negative, and the battery. Confirming that everything was in the circuit. I have an old Toyota and it has about 1.5 amp draw and will drain a battery, but it is intermittent and at times is about a normal 0.05 amp. I keep it charges and quit trying to find the drain, seems probably in some wiring through the frame. It does not draw the 1.5 amps usually in the summer, seems it shorts or has the drain with moisture. I ramble through that to tell you that it can be intermittent and measure normal like yours, at times. Batteries can be bad at any age, and I still suspect that. Why a sudden short. Starters can be voltage and amp dependant, especially if the burshes in it are about shot. Go get load tested, battery tested, at an independent place. You can get an approximation measuring voltages as I suggested before.