1. Home
  2. Saturn Cars Forum
  3. Sporadic Dead battery 2001 SL1

Sporadic Dead battery 2001 SL1

My son has a 2001 Saturn SL1? 96,000 miles. In early November we put

new battery in his car because he would have to jump start it ever time he wanted to leave. After two weeks, he started having th following problem: About once per week he will go out to leave fo college and the battery will be dead. Last week when it did it, I put volt meter on it and it had less than 7 volts (my memory can?t recal the exact number :confused: ). No lights, horn, nothing at all. We hooked up to a portable power pack and it jumps up to 12 volts an starts right up. Once running it is upward of 15 volts. We took the battery back to AutoZone. They charged it for 30 minute and then tested it. The battery is good. We thought maybe the amp wa staying on so we unhooked the main power cable to it. Today it die again?.? No alarm or other added equipment.

Mar

-- havenfun2da

----------------------------------------------------------------------- havenfun2day's Profile:

formatting link
this thread:
formatting link

Reply to
havenfun2day
Loading thread data ...

Sounds like the alternator is bad so it is not charging. The "new" battery ran down ...

Bob

Reply to
Bob Shuman
15 volts is a bit on the high side. 13.8v is optimum. Maybe a problem, maybe not.

Once the battery is charged to the proper level, turn off engine and all accessories, dome lights, etc. Disconnect either battery cable. Using an amp meter across the open circuit, check to see what kind of draw it has. My guess is that it should be below .1 amp. Much more than that, will draw down a battery in time. Check to be sure your glove box or trunk light is not staying on. You can do the same thing with a voltmeter but I prefer an amp meter for accurate readings.

Sometimes a defective alternator can cause a draw when shut off. That would show up when doing a draw check.

If you find an amp draw with everything shut off, you need to start to eliminate circuits by pulling fuses one at a time. Even pull relays one at a time while watching the meter. Eventually you will get to the bottom of it.

James

Reply to
James1549

Have the alternator checked out, it could be bad. Also, if you have a Delco battery, get rid of it and get another brand, they are troublesome.

marx404

Reply to
marx404

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.