Dead Battery in the Morning

I have a 88 Ford Tempo that I've recently been having a problem with. In the morning when I go to start it the battery has drained out overnight. I can jump start the car and it starts up and drives just fine. Drive it around for awhile and the battery seems to charge back up. I can start the car numerous times throughout the rest of the day.

However, when I come back out in the morning the battery is dead. I put in a new battery two months ago so it's still new. I've checked to make sure nothing is being left on overnight. Does anyone have any ideas what could be draining the battery out overnight? How do I go about fixing this?

Thanks for any thoughts...

Reply to
AdMan
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Reply to
Sharon K.Cooke

Ditto that!

Reply to
sleepdog

Sharon K.Cooke opined in news: snipped-for-privacy@cox.net:

Make sure that's a clamp-on DC Ammeter... most you come across are AC

Alternative, a test light made up of an interior bulb, installed between pos term and its cable. If it glows, drain is active - the brighter, the higher the current drain.

Disc alternator first, then check doors/trunk glove box, then fuses

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

Either the battery is failing, or something is putting a load on your battery when the car is at rest. Have the battery charged and tested. If ok, then check for current draw with an ammeter at the battery "POS" terminal. Make sure the doors are closed and all accessories are off. Connect an ammeter between the post and the cable. The draw should be .05 amps or less. If more, remove all of the dome, courtesy, hood, truink, and glovebox light bulbs. Recheck your current draw. If one of these lights is staying on it will drain the battery, although usually not overnight. Also, disconnect any aftermarket lamps, radios,amplifiers, or other add on accessories and recheck. A very likely culprit is the voltage regulator on the alternator. They often short internally and cause a drew when the engine is not running. An easy check for this is to unplug the connector on the side of the alternator when you park the car for the night. If the battery is ok in the morning, the regulator is shorted. Tom

Reply to
Tom Adkins

Might have a 'parasitic' loss somewhere. It's easy enough to check...

Remove the negative battery cable, and install a 12V incandescent test light in series between the Neg battery post and removed cable.

Be sure the key and everything is off, and doors closed. The test light should be off.

Should it be on, remove fuses one at a time till it goes off... the problem is powered by that fuse. Don't forget about keeping the door/s closed during the test/s or the dome light will give you a false positive.

Glove compartment and trunk lights that stay on are prime candidates.

You could have a bum battery too... new doesn't mean good.

Good Luck!

Erik

Reply to
Erik

Erik, You have to be careful doing it this way. There will always be parasitic draw from the PCM, Radio, Clock, etc. memory circuits. Many test lights will light brightly when in series with even this low current. That's why an ammeter should be used.

Reply to
Tom Adkins

I'd agree with all the above - check for a draw, but don't be surprised if you don't find one.

Better to find a shop with a Midtronics battery tester and have the battery tested. I've never seen a Midtronics fail a good battery - and only ONCE saw it pass a bad one.

I tested what I was sure was a bad battery (same symptoms as OP) and it showed bad - but little brother, being the dealer, needed to verify. He tested it and it passed - so I put it back into the miserable Pontiac TransSport - and it failed to start the next morning. I dragged little brother's ass out into the cold to test it again, and lo and behold, it failed. Changed it under warranty, and the problem has not returned.

Reply to
nospam.clare.nce

Reply to
Ibspun

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