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Battery drains quick!

24K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  TexasArmadaPlatinum 
#1 ·
First let's start by saying I have a 2010 platinum. If I leave a light on in the car for more than 20 minutes, the battery dies. If I leave the car off and DVD on with kids in car, I've got 10-15 min tops. Is this normal? In other vehicles I can leave dome light on all day and still start car. I have a autocraft gold with 700cc and 130rc. I would've thought that with the 130min of reserve capacity 10-30 min wouldn't be catastrophic. I had battery tested the first time it happened, it checked out fine. The guy from advance said with all the electronics they drain fast. Seems like he's right, but 10-30 min and I'm stranded/needing jump? Really????
 
#2 ·
Definitely not normal. When a battery dies out in such a short amount of time as you've posted, it could be from a failing battery, alternator and/or some type of parasitic draw.

Would you happen to have a mulitmeter? You can use that to test the battery in several ways to rule exactly whats going on.
 
#3 ·
No, I don't. Should I have them test the alternator at advance? It's 1 mile away. What would multimeter tell me? Where would I measure the current besides the terminals? I only have one cigarette lighter plug in for iphone and it's in the one that only turns on with engine.

They said battery needs to be charged. 530cca vs the 700cca it should be. Everything else checked out great. Guess it goes to charger. Then he said they'll measure it again to determine battery pro rate if bad.
 
#4 ·
Yes, they should be able to do a load test at advance. And stay away from anyone at these retail parts stores that tells you that its normal for a battery to drain fast because of the "electronics" because its simply untrue.

I had my iPhone plugged in, playing music via the Belkin bluetooth kit for almost 5hrs while I was removing and installing a new rack and pinion. Started right up, no problem.
Just yesterday evening, my kids and I went to pick up their mom from work. We waited in the truck for almost an hr because a patient on her floor had coded. While waiting, I had all (4) screens playing their movie. Along with the 3rd row spot lights going on/off because my 3yr. old couldn't find his Lego toy. When it was time to leave, started right up.

I only asked about the multimeter because it can be used in several ways to test battery and terminals for amperage, load, draw, etc.

To get a general idea of what I mean, this video is a perfect example of how to test your battery for parasitic draw:
 
#6 ·
No problem.

A multimeter is a great tool to have around and most of them that cost less than $30 is more than enough to diagnose most AC/DC automotive related issues.

I have an Actron CP7665, cost about $25 and have used it check batteries, load testing, relays, ohms, etc.
Plus, the manual Actron includes shows you exactly how to setup the multimeter for all types of tests.
 
#8 ·
+1

When we bought our Armada, brand new, it had been sitting for a very long time on the dealers lot without being started. When we arrived for the test drive/purchase the battery had drained completely and had to be jumped.

Ever since, the battery would drain at the least amount of draw; even when just left sitting for a few weeks.

I finally put in a new battery and all the problems went away :)
 
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