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Late to the party, but Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Fri, 21 May 2004 07:33:09
In Reply to: latest data, Jeffrey Schuh, Thu, 20 May 2004 16:31:09 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
That is pretty normal. You're seeing the draw of the clock, radio memory, and alarm, if there is one. 30-40 ma is normal.
Battery discharge comes up on the BB often, and folks spend a lot of time trying to track down mystery current draw. Rarely somebody does find one, usually the trunk light. Very rarely it's some component that fails.
I think you're working very hard to avoid the obvious. The battery is shot. Car batteries aren't designed to be fully discharged. They permanently lose a significant percentage of charge capacity when fully discharged. This usually causes them to completely discharge in a few days, and that second (or third, or fourth) discharge takes away even more of what little that's left. In the end, you can charge the battery all you want, but it won't hold the charge for more than a day.
The first thing to do is to check your charging system. A weak charging system will kill the next battery (this one is already toast). Start the car, and with all electrical loads off (headlights, fan off, etc), measure the battery voltage. This is actually the alternator voltage. It should be above 12.8 volts. Hopefully it's well above 13.0, like 13.5 or so. But that varies with temperature. Now, turn on the headlights and turn the fan blower to HI. The voltage should drop. As long as it stays above 12.6, things are OK. Hopefully, it stays above 13.0. If it doesn't, then chances are you need a new set of brushes. Replace the voltage regualtor - it comes with a new set of brushes.
My guess is that the battery wasn't new to begin with. Something discharged it in 6 weeks. All batteries lose about 1% of charge per day. Older batteries (more than two years) lose it faster. Most leakage is internal. Most batteries have vents, and these periodically vent a little battery acid. This condenses on the battery case, and combines with dirt to form a weak conductor on the battery case. This provides a minor leakage path between the posts, which no amount of meter measuring will find. Simply cleaning the case with a weak solution of water and baking soda does the trick. But again, too late for this battery. It died, and permanently lost a chunk of life. It self-discharged again, and this took away more.
How old is this battery?
posted by 192.249....
, Fri, 21 May 2004 08:26:38, Fri, 21 May 2004 07:33:09 <-- Viewing This Message, Fri, 21 May 2004 09:53:51, Thu, 20 May 2004 09:46:36
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