07 Graymax

hi guys, need to know what would cause my battery to drain if in fact it is? been gone for 2 weeks, wife went to start up the max, inside lights work, security lights work all work, but she gets a click clicking sound like a dead battery. i have a six month old optima red top,stinger terminals,etc....... nothing but security lights on when car is off. any ideas and or remedies? maybe a new upgraded alternator is in order? if so, what is a good recommendation for a higher amp output from what i guess is the standard 90 amps for my 07 max? don't really want to buy batteries every return from work deployment. thanks in advance.

oldngivout

iTrader: (8)

Optima batteries ain't all that. I read about the slow drain & outright failure of these batteries regularly on the forums. Sure, lots of people have good luck with them, but a lot of them seem to fail prematurely in one way or another.

DeusExMaxima

iTrader: (1)

Why not just disconnect the battery and have the wife hook it up and start it up every week. Would be good idea to drive it around some. U could also put a trickle charger on it.

po8pimp

stock alternator output for our cars is 140amps. I think the alternator is fine. would have absolutly nothing to do with draining the battery unless it was shorting or grounded from the wires connecting the two. Maybe the dome light was left on by accident. She found it left on and turned it off so you wouldn't get mad and is now being hushhush about it. My wife would do some sneaky a$$$hit like that. She knows to start it once a week and let it warm up to operating temp when I go out on deployment. Also if you have led interior lights make sure they are not polarized because if they are then they could be left on and you not know it. Happened to me. 2 weeks is not that long. try jumping it and let it run for a half an hour at idle, turn it off and check voltage. lock it up and leave it sit and check voltage again 1 hour later to see the difference. write it down and repeat for the next 5 hours and see if there is a trend. don't start the car during the test just get the voltage. anything below 12 volts will make it hard to start this car. At least that's my experience with the Yellow top. Also I always tell the wife to shut off the A/C when she turns off the car just because it makes the car harder to start. The music blasting will do the same and lights and so on. Also if you have a stereo with a CAP than you might want to test the Cap to see that it's working right and not draining your battery when it's shut off. If the CAP is not working right it could act as a pass through and drain the battery. Hope this helped.

07 Graymax

thanks for the reply, i will have the cap checked out and hopefully get the problem fixed. might even get a replacement battery and dump the optima.

oldngivout

iTrader: (8)

AC compressor is not engaged while the starting circuit is energized. Neither is HVAC, wipers, or radio. Try it sometime with all the items on, they will pause briefly while the engine is being cranked.

Lovemycar

Thats funny becasue I still have the stock battery and it works fine

Terrentius

I got the same issue, parasitic drain. I go from 12.6v to 12.0v over night and have hesitation in my start. Not sure what is......

SouthrnMDMax

I had a similiar problem that has now seem to stem into a new problem. I just replaced my battery after about two years, the battery was still under warranty, so they gave me a new one no charge. However, since then (past Monday) my car quickly cuts off when started unless I give it gas while starting... no check engine light, tested alternator, it was ok, no problems while driving either. I need to take it to the dealer, I wonder if the battery messed up the electronic throttle body or something.

lebanondon61

Try unhooking the negative on the battery when not driving for a while.

JMSports

iTrader: (1)

Inside lights would still come on even if the battery is drained. Enough power to light the lights but not enough juice to turn the car over.

07 Graymax

fixed the problem: installed selinoid(sp?) on amp/cap and voltage regulator. so now when i turn off, power is killed to both with no effect on remaining electrical items. turn on and alls well. dont know if this was a correct or whatever fixit, but it works for me

Maxy04SE

only problem i can think of is losing the clock and security system...