4th replacement battery this week???

[260sexways]

I've had 4 replacement durlast batteries :bs:and my car doesn't even run... Kinda confused on this situation, does that mean the power is grounding out/arching to something? battery is relocated to the trunk and everything powers on fine.Just to double check how should the battery cable/alternater cable be hooked up?

[OLDSCHOOLRICE]

Are you not able to charge the battery up after it dies? A battery should be able to charge up if it only dies once.

Are you sure the battery is dead?
Does the engine crank?
What do you mean when you say the car “doesn’t even run”?

[260sexways]

My car is a work in process, and i take it up to autozone to get the battery charged and they said its messed up. So warranty covers it, but its happened 3 or four times this week.The only time i use my battery is to try and crank it to see if it sparks, my fan constantly runs with key on.Could that cause the battery to fry?

[OLDSCHOOLRICE]

Yes, if the fan runs constantly with the key on and you’re leaving the key on it will kill the battery.

[260sexways]

Ya i understand that, its common sense. The issue is the battery is unusable period, i don't understand how a battery can be trashed so fast.Seems to do it when the car is off since i can only use it one day if that help anyone

[Prime]

Sounds like you're grounding out someplace unfused. Either that or you've got a constant drain that drags the thing down with nothing on. Check any circuit that has 12V+ constant, make sure it's connected properly and doesn't have broken insulation.

[OLDSCHOOLRICE]

If your battery is dying in a day or two with the car turned off, you have a decent sized draw somewhere in the car. Get a hold of an amp clamp or a DMM and a person who knows how to use them. Then start unplugging things (fuses then components) to find out what's causing the draw.
Untill you get someone to help you find the draw disconnect the battery when you're not trying to crank the car. This will keep the battery from dying while the cars sitting.

[OLDSCHOOLRICE]

Sounds like you're grounding out someplace unfused. Either that or you've got a constant drain that drags the thing down with nothing on. Check any circuit that has 12V+ constant, make sure it's connected properly and doesn't have broken insulation.
Components with fuses can cause draws that will kill the battery in a day or two. It only takes about 1-2 amps to kill a battery overnight, sometimes less depending on the battery. 1-2 amps will not blow the average 5+ amp fuses found in cars.

[260sexways]

I'm probably going to go with prime on this since a constant drain would not damage a battery you could still charge it.I'm unwrapping the entire engine harness tonight and found multiple wires (like 10) that were un-tapped/un-capped WTF.Some connectors that were cut and just left there and tapped into the whole harness,Guess i'll try it tomorrow.Also i wish i could get a hold of an amp clamp and some other tools but for now its the long irratating process. Thanks for the help

[Prime]

Components with fuses can cause draws that will kill the battery in a day or two.

S'why I said either. ;)

found multiple wires (like 10) that were un-tapped/un-capped WTF.Some connectors that were cut and just left there and tapped into the whole harness

I'm betting that's it. All it takes is one of those to touch ground or two of them to touch each other (kinky). Happy hunting.

[260sexways]

Ya most likely, always gotta check for the previous owners mistakes :facepalm:

[240sx-pat]

I got a question , I have some what of a similar issue if I leave the car on for about 3-4 days. This is my 3rd battery, the first battery was a wesco battery that I purchased online it was fine then I had an incident where I fried an ECU because maf wile got caught on the pulley. 3 days later I find out the car is completely dead and will no crank because battery is dead and verified by autozone that it's not charging.

fast forward a year later I now have an SR20 , got a duralast Miata sized battery, my car running fine I got to my GF house for a week I come back and my car is completely dead I go to autozone they charged it for 2 hours and said it's charging at 11 percent said it's not bad but its charging very slowly.

They gave me another battery free because of the warranty. Now I'm afraid to leave this thing on.


What I currently have in my car is 3 gauges that for oil temp, coolent temp, and oil pressure and I've got a boost gauge. The oil temp and pressure is not hooked up but they run on the same wiring go to a 10amp fuse wire that goes to the battery. I also got a 1000 watt amp and a 12" sub.Now I'm wondering what you guys think of this working along with the Miata battery could this be my problem?

[260sexways]

Nacho Nismo-Might be a ground. check all ground points that you had to create, put a volt meter on the ground side to another good ground(bare car metal) and if there is any voltage the ground is not good. start there.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFCT-YZbU5o&feature=related

Gt-z -A bad or leaky diode in an alternator is a very common source of overnight battery drain.

Also try Parasitic drain test to see if you have voltage drop and pull fuses to see if it still exists. Always test stuff before you replace/start getting into something long and difficult.Honestly i reccomend tearing the entire engine harness apart and visually inspecting every wire to see if its grounding out or making contact with any other wires.
I'm assuming that was my issue since i never had this problem til i switched to the new engine harness.I know its tedious but it'll save your ass from having major wiring problems down the line or you could replace the whole harness lol

Did you replace the wiring for the maf? Seems like that could cause a break in the wiring anywhere being pulled on like that that. So try those to test and let me know what you find out. Your really local, i'm located in Plano just thought i'd point that out

[260sexways]

I'm having 2.72 milliamps for some reason, explains why my battery dies fast as shit, i'll start pulling connectors/fuses and see where i get.Most everything is factory electrical, i don't even have a radio.

[240sx-pat]

Hey 260 were you talking to me? I'm pretty much a newbie at this kind of stuff, I got a question when we turn out key off is the clock on the cluster suppose to stay on? because I see it on when I turn my car off

[OLDSCHOOLRICE]

I'm having 2.72 milliamps for some reason, explains why my battery dies fast as shit, i'll start pulling connectors/fuses and see where i get.Most everything is factory electrical, i don't even have a radio.
Hmm...

What chassis are you working with?
Quite a few years ago I had a draw on my previous S13 that was caused by the seat belt control module under the center console. It’s a long shot as I haven’t heard of it being a common issue, but it’s worth a shot.

[260sexways]

Its an s14, it never did this til' i swapped to a newer ob2 ka.So it has to be something in the engine bay.

Well... assuming at least.

I have no radio, so thats out of the picture.How does something cause a draw without being on? would that mean something shorted?

[OLDSCHOOLRICE]

Its an s14, it never did this til' i swapped to a newer ob2 ka.So it has to be something in the engine bay.

Well... assuming at least.

I have no radio, so thats out of the picture.How does something cause a draw without being on? would that mean something shorted?
If a control unit or a component has some sort of electrical fault internally (most likely a short) it can cause it to consume power without it being on.
It could be wiring, but but components are usually at fault. The best way to find out is to unplug components and fuses/relays one at a time. When you disconnect the “consumer" that is drawing the power, you’ll have it narrowed down to that component or circuit.

It is very unlikely that you have a short circuit to ground on an unfused circuit, usually that would have already resulted in some burnt wiring or worse. If it is caused by a short it would likely be a cross short to power (a constant power wire touching a switched power wire) or ground (a switched ground wire finding it’s own ground).

You already stated that your fan runs constantly with the ignition switched on. I would start with trying to eliminate that circuit, as you already know that there’s a problem there.

Good luck.

[260sexways]

The only reason the fans are like that is because the previous owner messed with the relay box so they have to stay on unless i buy a switch that changes with engine temp.As far as i can tell everything is in working order except... the coilpacks, so i'll start with fuses then move on to engine components.

Thanks for the detailed response should help out some

[260sexways]

Amperage draw jumped from 2.7 to 3.2? i haven't even messed with anything yet

[Vernal]

make sure you have waited 10-15min for computer to shut off before checking on the amp drain. I picked up a $25 preset radiator probe style thermostatic relay kit from summit and now my fan only turns on when i come to a stop; Well worth it.