I am having troubles with my fiance's 91 camry. it seems to have an intermittnet drain on the battery, at times we can go for about a week without a problem other times it is only about 4 hours and the battery is dead. I have gone thru most of the wiring systems and not found anything that looks as if it could be an issue. any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
If the battery is more than 5 years old, it may need replacement. There should be some kind of code on the label or molded into the top of the battery case that indicates when it was installed. If the battery was ever left in a discharged state for more than a couple of days, the battery may be sulfated and has lost its ability to hold a charge.
Check the quality of the connections at the battery clamps. The clamps should be clean and free of any buildup and tight. If there is any acid effervescence built up on the terminals and/or clamps, while wearing old clothes, gloves, and goggles, use an old toothbrush or battery terminal brush, clean with a poultice of baking soda and water, making sure you rinse the battery case, clamps, cables, and any surrounding metal thoroughly with fresh water. A commercial battery terminal cleaner will also work. After the terminals and clamps are clean, invest in some felt battery washers, available at auto part stores, under the clamps. Then coat the clamps with battery terminal protectant, also available at auto parts stores.
As far as intermittent drains, the first things I would check are aftermarket accessories like audio, security, and remote starter systems because they are common culprits. If there are any aftermarket accessories connected directly to the battery, try disconnecting them Also check interior lights, including glove box and map lights. There are 2 ways to check for a drain - with an ammeter connected in series or by pulling 1 fuse at a time until the problem goes away.
During cold or bad weather, using multiple high-draw accessories while the engine is idling can result in parking the car with less than a fully charged battery. For example, using the heater fan, rear defogger, and headlights while idling uses a lot of electricity, and during short trips, the battery may not get topped off. Try turning off the rear defogger a few blocks before reaching the destination.
"Seem to," you say, but do not describe your diagnostic procedure. Are you certain the battery is dead? Could the problem be contacts in the starter?
I have concidered the possibility that it is the starter but the car stats after a booster pack is attached. I have checked for a drain with a test light and the light flashes (allmost like a blinker is on). I have cleaned all the battery terminals an so forth. the batery is only
3 years old but we are unsure if it sat uncharged for any amount of time since the car was purchased about a year ago.
I think that the next step is to have the battery and charging system checked out. If you do not have a volt/ohm meter, I think it would be worthwhile to invest in an inexpensive one. You can get a digital volt ohm meter for under $30 at Radio Shack. There are some items that place a normal drain on the battery, like the clock, radio pre-set memory, and engine and transmission computer memory, but the draw should be in the milliamp range. If the test light is flashing, try disconnecting any aftermarket items in the car and remove the bulb for the courtesy light in the trunk, if there is one to see if the flashing goes away.
Aftermarket alarm system, perhaps? If my brother-in-law installed it, that could definitely be the problem! I like your idea of pulling fuses in combination with the test light...
In my experience, aftermarket accessories cause more parasitic draw problems than anything else in the car, with aftermarket alarms being the most common culprit.
I have a nice Snap-On test light but I can't remember ever using it. A test light's biggest shortcoming is that it will indicate the presence of voltage but does not give an indication of what that voltage is. For example, 9 volts is enough to illuminate the test light but not enough to start the car. I much prefer a volt meter for diagnosis.
Pulling the fuses in combination with a volt meter or test light is an old trick for finding identifying the circuit with a parasitic draw. Once the circuit is identified, then you have to find out what loads are on the circuit and start checking each load. Since aftermarket accessories are the most common cause of excess draws, I start looking there.
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