99 Toyota Solara- Battery dying

[mallory_odell]

I have a 99 Toyota Solara V6 SLE in pretty good condition. The only ongoing problem I have with it is an Oxygen Sensor Malfunction that I haven't fixed so my Check Engine Light is on. Recently though, the battery has been draining while sitting in the vehicle without it running. It did it once with the key on accessory, I jumped it let it run, turned it off, started it again, turned it off and sat in the vehicle without keys in the ignition and 45 min later it was dead again. We jumped it, got it home, checked the battery which was fine. It doesn't seem to be the alternator either. I drove it for about two more weeks, then one day while waiting in the car with the keys on the dash, not even in the ignition, in 1 hour the battery was dead... We jumped it again and haven't had any problems for a few weeks since. I just don't understand what could cause the battery to die while sitting in the vehicle, but not even having the keys in the ignition. It never seems to be an issue unless one of us is waiting in the vehicle...

[Lauer340]

Here's what I would do to start. Make sure all your lights are in working order. Your ash tray has a light, all dash lights, and the most important the trunk light. I would start with the trunk. I would pop the trunk while it is running and see if the light turns on and then lightly close the trunk. Hop in inside, fold down the seat and see if the light is off. It sounds like to me something is pulling energy from the battery that could be as simple as a light bulb. Now if your missing a lights on your console, it could be pulling energy just from using you're accessories and you just don't know it. If that's not the case, then your battery is just junk.

[Lauer340]

I'd go to a local battery warehouse and see if anything is pulling energy while you're shut down, but if it's hit or miss, chances are something wasn't shut tight or closed properly