My 1999 Toyota Camry has gone through a couple batteries now -- the first time I just figured it was about time, and the second time (only about 4 months later), I was suspicious but thought it might be accounted for by my poor driving habits (frequent short trips). The battery indeed had minimal charge, both times, when checked with a voltmeter; I replaced it a third time, and after a week, the battery was dead again.
Now I suspected the alternator, but when I jumped the car while measuring the voltage across the battery, the voltage steadily increased and plateaued over 12 V even after disconnected from the jumper car -- so it appeared to be functional. At this time, I noticed that the negative terminal on the battery had been loose, so I thought perhaps the poor connection had been preventing some charging in the days before it died. I let the car sit for about 4 hrs, and the voltage across the battery was again down to about 2V (fatally low, I'm told, for a battery). Given the supposedly "catastrophically" low charge across the battery before I jumped and recharged it, I'm unsure whether or not the speed with which it discharged is any indication of a "drain" on the battery or whether it's now just inherently unable to hold a charge.
I have a hunch that it should have been able to hold its charge a lot longer, and that the discharge indicates something is draining, possibly the theft deterrant system. So two questions:
1) Has anyone heard of problems with faulty theft deterrant devices draining batteries? I've only owned the car since August, so I'd say it's conceivable that this problem might arise now despite several months of ownership during which I was in fact using the theft deterrant system without noticeable problems.2) Furthermore, does anyone know how to specifically disconnect the theft deterrant system on a 1999 Camry short of pulling out fuses?
Thanks!