91 camry dx battery?

[kingkakyle]

this is not urgent as this car sits in the driveway most of the time
but the battery keeps dying as if something is draining it
new battery and alternator is fine and connections are clean
when we jump it and run it every other day it works fine, little struggle but no problem
then we can start running it about twice a week is good, but after 1 week the battery goes completely dead
i was wondering what could be draining the battery? at first it was the trunk light, so we removed the bulb and everything got better, but now same problem again....
any suggestions?

[WVcamry3sfe]

are you turning the car off completely? If you're using the master key to turn your car on, the car will allow you to remove the key from the ignition withouth powering off all the electrics. If you are using the regular key, the car will not allow you to pull the key out of the ignition unless you press the unlock button with the car completely off. One way to tell for sure if you are turning the car off completely is the cig lighter outlet will have no power going to it at all.

[white90dx]

Originally Posted by WVcamry3sfe

are you turning the car off completely? If you're using the master key to turn your car on, the car will allow you to remove the key from the ignition withouth powering off all the electrics. If you are using the regular key, the car will not allow you to pull the key out of the ignition unless you press the unlock button with the car completely off. One way to tell for sure if you are turning the car off completely is the cig lighter outlet will have no power going to it at all.

You aren't supposed to be able to remove any of the keys... it just means your keys are worn.

Your point is still valid though - whenever somebody drives my car, they accidentally leave it in "ACC" mode which can drain the battery... (heck, I can take my keys out when the car is running!)

-Charlie

[Ancientwolf13]

I'm not sure if you car has the lighted mirrors like my 89LE does but that is one thing that is always overlooked. flip up the sun visor and see if it is on.

Check all the other acessories too. If its none of them you might have a bad switch or a bad connection somewhere and you might want to find someone to run a electrical diagnostic on it if you can't find it yourself.

Well good luck and i hope its just something simple.

[monito]

Originally Posted by Ancientwolf13

Check all the other acessories too. If its none of them you might have a bad switch or a bad connection somewhere and you might want to find someone to run a electrical diagnostic on it if you can't find it yourself.

+1

If you can't find the source of the drain, take it to Autozone or Kragen. Both offer free electrical diagnostic.

[Dave's]

JMHO, but the most common problem I've seen is a clock either in the dash or a radio (usually aftermarket) which is wired to a circuit not killed by the ignition being off.

[Mike Gerber]

You may have what is called an "excessive dark current draw". "Dark current" is the current used by the car after it is shut off. This is to maintain things like the computer's memory and the radio's station presets. The normal dark current draw for most cars is around 20-25 milliamps. You can test for dark current draw with a digital multimeter by removing one of the battery cables from the battery with the engine off. I suggest the negative cable. Set the meter to a milliamp scale and place the 2 probes between the battery post and the battery cable terminal. The reading on the meter will be your cark current draw. If it reads way above the 20-25 milliamps mentioned previously, you have an excessive dark current draw that is killing your battery. To find the excessive draw, you pull one fuse at a time from the fuse box and repeat the test. When the dark current drops to something within the normal range, you have identified that the excess draw is connected to some component that fuse protects. Now you must go back and individually check each of the electrical items associated with that fuse. In my experience, most excessive dark current draws are caused by aftermarket alarm systems that no longer fuction properly. It may be a wiring issue or the alarm itself. If that is the case, removing the inline fuse from the alarm will solve the problem.

Mike

[kingkakyle]

thanks guys
i almost forgot i posted in here =P i frequent another forum more about my current car
so ill try some stuff out this weekend and hopefully ill get this thing figured out
thanks again for all ur guys' help
-Kyle