HELPPPPP!!! Battery draining.

andy

I bought a lemon car. It was probably flooded. Giving me tons of electrical problems. Here is a major one:

After some heavy rains, couple days ago, my battery started draining. I used a multimeter and pulled the fuses one by one. No luck!

I connected the multimeter between the positive head of the battery and the positive battery cable. Engine is turned off, doors are closed.  It is pulling more than 2.5 amps. I can start the car with a jumper and it runs ok for hours so I am assuming it is not the alternator.

Any suggestions?

Thanks a lot.

.Since there are no suggestions to my problem yet, let me write more information and updates.

My car would not start now. I tried to jump start with a friend's car, the starter is running but the engine would not start.

I am thinking that there is a bare cable touching the body, which I will test tonight. But if that really is the problem, will it prevent the engine from starting?

By the way, the battery is a brand new one.

Another question is: If my battery is fully drained, will it prevent the engine from running although I am jump starting with another car?

Thanks a lot for any input in advance.

.
Originally Posted by GXE2001If my battery is fully drained, will it prevent the engine from running although I am jump starting with another car?

Unfortunately, I can't help you much, but to answer this question:

The answer is NO.  The battery is only needed to start the car, it is not needed to run the engine.  That job falls on the alternator.  If the electrical demand becomes too great for the alternator to supply, then the battery will assist, but that is the only other time, aside from starting the engine, that it is needed.  Once the engine is started, the battery sits idle.

Sorry I couldn't be much help.  Good luck though.

.dmroberson, any input is appreciated. Thanks.

I found the reason, why the car is not starting. Looks like I blew the fuel pump fuse while trying to find the reason of battery drainage. Replaced with the spare, that problem solved.

My battery is still draining. I connected one end of the multimeter to the positive cable (battery disconnected), I touch the other end to anywhere on the engine block and there is a short-circuit. Look like I have a bare wire somewhere. Any idea where it could be? Anybody had this problem before?

I read the other threads, could not find anything similar yet.

Thanks a lot.

.Before you waste a lot of time and money you need to take the car to someone who has wiring diagrams for that particular car. You can buy a Chilton manual but they aren't cheap, and if you don't know much about electrical wiring, you're still wasting your time.

The only folks who will have the wiring diagrams probably are either a dealer or a high volume import repair shop. If there are any import clubs in your area, ask around. Yes it will probably cost a lot of money, but you don't have a lot of options.

If the car is salvage because of an accident, try to find out what area was damaged and repaired. That will help narrow it down to what area the problem is in anyway. If it is salvage because it's been in the water there is not enough money in the world to fix it. Cut your losses now. It only gets worse.

.maybe carfax would have been a good idea eh?

did you buy it privately or from a used lot?

.
Originally Posted by MrCriticalBefore you waste a lot of time and money you need to take the car to someone who has wiring diagrams for that particular car. You can buy a Chilton manual but they aren't cheap, and if you don't know much about electrical wiring, you're still wasting your time.

The only folks who will have the wiring diagrams probably are either a dealer or a high volume import repair shop. If there are any import clubs in your area, ask around. Yes it will probably cost a lot of money, but you don't have a lot of options.

If the car is salvage because of an accident, try to find out what area was damaged and repaired. That will help narrow it down to what area the problem is in anyway. If it is salvage because it's been in the water there is not enough money in the world to fix it. Cut your losses now. It only gets worse.

Screw buying the repair manual. You can find a PDF copy on here or the quot;otherquot; board I forgot where I got mine. But yea, if you dont know what you are doing, then it is a waste of time, because it can get kinda confusing if you dont know how to read stuff.

edit:
link for the manual
from : localhost/forums.thevboard.com/viewtopic.php?t=68517

.SuperAkuma, thank you for the link. Manuals are not hard to folllow at all.

Mr. Critical you almost made me suicidal.

It is schocking but my alternator was draining the battery. I found a used one on ebay for 40 bucks. Works perfect now.

Thanks all for the suggestions.