EDIT:

Well I think I found the problem

One battery is garbage, the new one, wont even charge up in my truck

But this small battery is mint, stays 12.6volts and in the truck the alt powers it to 14.5V

So I throw the good battery in the car, connect the ground, connect one end of the multimeter to the positive terminal and one to the positive cable wire (there not connected) and I get a 12.5volt reading on the multimeter

That means something is draining some serious power right?

How do I find the ******

The car is an 88 Crx si. Just got it back on the road from a overwinter build.

The car ran mint 2 weeks ago when I took it for a few hour trip out of town, electrical system was fine.

2 days ago I start driving it again and noticed that after a while of the car idling and me turning it off an on (no driving, I was tuning idle and such) that the battery was getting weaker. Eventually the car didnt start

I figured my battery went dead or I got a bad one (battery was BRAND NEW 2 weeks ago). SO I grabbed the dinky small one out of my truck and threw it in and it fired right up. Went for a 30 min drive tonight without turning the car off and came home

Went out 2 hours later and the car wont start, barely has enough power to light up my gauges and start the fan.

So now Im stuck, the battery is brand new, could be bad but I swapped it with a known working one that I drive daily in my truck and it still killed it.

I also read that if you get the car running and then disconnect the negative battery terminal that if the alt is bad the car would die, well the car kept running when I pulled the negative terminal.

The alternator was replaced about 14 months ago, sat through winter, worked just fine a few weeks ago on my trip. but my battery isnt getting charged

The car is obd0 and the motor is a d16a6. I need some help on how to diagnose this **** please. I need this car


Modified by PINKS at 1:55 PM 6/2/2006

 

Maybe you have a bad alternator, sometimes they don't last even though they new so...? have you got it tested?

On May 30, 2006, i woke up and decided to drive my car. So i try to crank the car and nuttin, i got scared for a sec but i thought to my self no power usually ends up being the battery. So i go on and jump start my car and boom it starts. Thinking the battery was dead. i washed my car while leaving the motor running (car on) i took about an hour and twenty minutes to wash my car clean the inside bla bla and i turn off the car assuming it's charged up and boom no power, i was like ok... since my battery still had warranty i jump started my car again. To the auto parts store i go and slap on the new battery and it was the battery. haha what a story.

Cliff Notes: Car didn't turn on (no power) recharged, turned off, no power, replaced battery. started up

 

The battery is new

Then I swapped with a used known good battery that is in my truck and it killed that one to from a full charge in 30 min of driving

 

Check your grounds. Tighten them all, then check them again. If you pulled the neg cable and car still runs alt is good then the battery is not getting the charge. Some terminal is loose and you just have take your time to find it. Good luck.

 

A terminal is just loose? I did a tranny swap recently

The ground is there and goes to the right spot on the clutch cable brack on the tranny

Im stumped

 

I think this is the problem, the wiring itself. I had similar electrical trouble with both my old '91 Prelude Si and my '91 Civic Si, and both times it was a corroded cable.

Peace
policy

 

does it have the OEM type negative battery cable on it? the OEM cable grounds to the clutch cable bracket and about half way up the cable, it has another ring on it that bolts to the inner fender panel below the battery tray - it attaches at 2 places because the engine and transmission is sitting in rubber mounts which don't provide a good ground to the chassis - if someone put a negative cable on it that just connects to the transmission, it may not be getting a good ground - if it has both, try cleaning it where it attaches to the fender panel

 

I have the battery grounded to 2 spots, one goes straight to the tranny bracket, and another smaller 12 gauge cable grounds to the headlight shell/external housing

What else could it be?

 

Well I think I found the problem

One battery is garbage, the new one, wont even charge up in my truck

But this small battery is mint, stays 12.6volts and in the truck the alt powers it to 14.5V

So I throw the good battery in the car, connect the ground, connect one end of the multimeter to the positive terminal and one to the positive cable wire (there not connected) and I get a 12.5volt reading on the multimeter

That means something is draining some serious power right?

How do I find the ******

 

My battery is definetely being drained by something

I cant figure out how muhc is being drawn though, what does the sign look like or say on the multimeter, i dont understand this thing

Thanks guys

 

I am havin a similar problem as well. Bump for some help

 

 

your going to read 12 volts form pos termanal to pos on starter or fuse block without the pos wire hooked up to the main starter/fuse block. You hooked up the ground terminal and are effectivly reading the ground at the main pos term.

Now start pulling fuses. Take out the ones you know are in use always. (Clock,radio, amp, alarm). Read for 12v same as in last post (neg connected pos not, meter hooked to pos post on battery and main pos terminal) When you stop getting 12v then thats your load.

Side note: When you turn the key do you hear the fuel pump prime and shut off?

 

yeah the fuel pump primes and turns off after 2 seconds

I dont get why I should always be seeing 12v though, many people have told me I need to check how many milliamps are being drawn from the battery, anything more than 50 ill kill the battery quickly i was told

I dont know how to check for that correctly