paqman

So the battery in my 2010 Maxima is only 2 years old. (Granted it is a walmart battery, so take that into consideration) Anyway it showed no early signs of dying, but the other morning it was COMPLETELY dead. like 4 volts dead. My jump starter wouldn't start it, but I did get it started by jumping it with my mini van. Then I took it for a good 30 minute drive. Got it home and put it on the trickle charger over night. It was fully charged by morning.

I took it straight off the charger and drove it to autozone to have them check it. They say the battery is good, but it was at about 50% charge. Which is amazing because It was fully charged when I unplugged it and drove it straight over there. Alternator is charging fine.

Anyway, so I'm thinking I must have a power draw. About a year ago I had Best Buy install a remote start system. Which as been fine, and never caused any issues. Although if there is a power draw I would guess that would be it. I don't have a fantastic multimeter. It only goes to 2 amps. I'm guessing if there is a draw more than 2 amps, then the meter would read 0? I tried to measure the draw and just got 0. Maybe I blew my multimeter lol. Anyway, I'm picking up a higher amp multimeter today to test it out.

But my question is, what should the power draw normally be on this car? (not counting the Compustar remote start system obviously) I'm guessing it should be around or less than 50mA, but just curious if you all know a more accurate number?

maxipower

walmart batteries are a nightmare to these cars..i suggest an interstate battery...very dependable

paqman

Yeah that is what I'm starting to think. I don't even know why I went to walmart for this one in the first place.

paqman

Well I confirmed it. I bought a multimeter that can handle up to 20 amps. I tested again and it is pulling about 2.5 amps. So I definitely have a draw from somewhere. Now the fun part of finding it.

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

Start pulling fuses one by one until you find the culprit. At least it will get narrowed down by a lot.

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

Because where else can you get a car battery for $50? LOL
I tried Walmart batteries, never again. I'll stick to Interstate batteries sold by Costco.

User1

Walmart doesn't make batteries, they brand them and sell them. Whatever you're getting from wally world you're getting elsewhere under a different brand. Nothing wrong with batteries these days whether SLA, AGM (which is still lead acid), or whatever. OP has a parasitic draw. This has nothing to do with the battery.

If anyone wants a cheap, easy, and accurate method to test for the existence of a parasitic draw, get this meter:


or a similar meter that is capable of DC CLAMPING (this is a must, most popular/cheap meters clamp AC only), put the car to sleep, and simply clamp the ground cable at the battery. This is the cheapest, easiest solution for folks not interested in understanding the fundamentals. Nothing has to be removed or taken apart.

This will indicate a draw if one exists, then as The Wizard mentioned, it is as easy as pulling fuses until the culprit circuit is identified. Up to 50mA is acceptable, anything above that and you have a problem.

My bet for OP is the Compustar system.

Captive8

Ditto.....with traditional lead-acid batteries, there are only 2 or 3 manufacturers for all the different brands. Johnson Controls is one, I think Exide is another, and I can't remember the third.

Richard66

East Penn

paqman

Ok so yeah I agree with you guys on the battery. I don't think the battery is the problem. There is a definite power draw. I concluded that by hooking up the multimeter to the negative terminal and cable. Upon first hooking it up, it shows about 2.5 amps, but after about 30 seconds or so, it seems to settle down to 1.5 amps, then finally about .17 amps. 170 milliamps I guess. So it seems not a huge draw. However I have another problem now lol.

So I started pulling fuses from the engine bay fuse box one at a time, none of them made any change. (dropped my puller and a 10 amp fuse into the fuse box which is now unretrevable lol) Anyway, I pulled one fuse in the driver side compartment, and put it back before determining that it was going to be a huge pain in the butt to pull those. Because apparently when they installed, Best Buy had to run a bunch of wires there, and made it nearly impossible to put the fuse back in. Anyway, while I was doing that, I found a wire that had some exposed wire, with some electrical tape barely hanging onto it. I pulled the tape off (it practically fell off), and it's basically just an exposed portion of this wire, not tied to anything else, and just about an inch of exposed wire. But not the end. Just the middle of the wire. Then end of it goes into a connector. So it doesn't seem to be what would be causing the short. Howeve at that moment I decided, screw it, this has to be the compustart system Best Buy installed, I'm going to let them deal with it.

So I scheduled an appointment for today at 3:30 to have them look at it. Well when I went to start the car to take it to Best Buy (I hadn't started it since I pulled fuses trying to find the draw), It won't shift out of park now. It starts up fine, but now the traction control and ABS lights are on, and it won't shift out of park.

And of course it's IMPOSSIBLE to get ahold of anyone at Best Buy without waiting on hold for an hour to let them know I'm not coming lol. So now I'm not sure where to start looking. All I did was pull the fuses in the engine bay one at a time, and put them right back.

I did find it interesting that the fuse in the passenger compartment labeled "eng push start" does not have a fuse in it. I didn't pull it, it just doesn't have one. I'm assuming they had to bypass it when they installed the remote system? I figured I'd ask them when I brought it in. But who knows how or when that's going to happen now.

User1

Sounds like a cluster****.

paqman

Ugh I know. Thing I don't get is it was fine, I didn't make any changes or do anything, then the battery dies. Then literally all I did was pull some fuses to try to find the draw. I put each one back as I went along. Don't see what would cause this.

User1

What's your voltage sitting at

paqman

Well I've kept it on a battery tender this whole time so if I take that off it's right around 12.5v or so. But I'm pretty sure I take it off the tender it'll be pretty darn dead in the morning. Suppose I could try and see. I'm going to get a new battery, but wanted to solve this draw before I do.

User1

Start the car

User1

Your alternator is probably on it's way out now. Which means battery and alt need to go. Start it now and see if you can put it into gear with decent voltage.

If this is the case, your Compustar system ruined your charging system and battery.

paqman

I've already tried that. I have no problem starting it, and it is normally right after taking it off the charger so it has a full charge. I don't think it has done much to my alternator, it died over night, and I have just kept it on the tender this whole time, haven't been driving it much. Only once to autozone to have them check the battery.

User1

Parasitic drain caused by shltty Best Buy monkeys>Constant battery drain>Causing alternator to pull double duty>Ultimately resulting in the premature demise of both components.

That's my theory.

paqman

Ah I see. Yeah you could be right. Although it does seem to be charging ok at about 14.4v. So fingers crossed it'll be ok. How is an alternator swap on this car anyway lol.

Richard66

Disconnect your fully charged battery from the car overnight. Read the voltage in the morning. If your voltage is low then the draw down is caused by a bad cell.

paqman

Great idea. I'll do that tonight, thanks.

User1

You don't need to. I already diagnosed your problem complete with history and contributing factors.

User1

I'm joking. Do that. It'll be fun!

paqman

Ha I think you're probably right. But this can't hurt. I just disconnected it, it was at 12.6v. One side of the battery the acid levels were very dry. I definitely think this battery is toast at least.

paqman

:d

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

I checked he current drain on my 2014 SV. Initially when I place the ammeter between the negative lead and the battery terminal it reads 0.5 amps. In about 10-15 seconds that drops to 0.12amps or 120 milliamps and appears to stay there. It's odd that your vehicle starts out at a much higher amperage but I expect your 170 milliamps reading is probably OK. If you suspect the remote start I would try and disconnect power for the remote start and see how the car behaves.

If your Maxima was functioning properly for a year after the remote start was installed more than likely that is not causing your problem. Probably best to try a new battery, I think you can return it if does not fix your problem.

User1

This is precisely WHY I suspect it to be the problem. This kind of issue progresses over time, not overnight. Leave this stuff to the pros, bro.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

It's smarta$$ responses like yours why I don't bother to post on this forum much any more. How do you know I'm not a pro............ bro? I took the time to give the OP an accurate measurement of the current draw he should expect from his vehicle. What have you contributed to this thread?

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

If the remote start is causing the issue that can be easily determined by simply disconnecting it from the vehicles circuitry.

User1

You are sitting at 170mA, which means you have a short. Try fixing your car first, learning from that experience, and then contribute actual knowledge.

Responses like yours are why 99% of forum content is BS and speculation.

User1

My "contribution?" Well, my "contribution" is my diagnosis, which is 100% correct.

See post #18 for the definitive diagnosis and repair solution.

Then, come back and see me if you need any help with your car after the OP determines that I was indeed correct. I'd be more than happy to help you out too.

User1

Yeah, like, just unplug it, it's totally that easy.

Jesus, ffs you have no idea what you are talking about. But please, continue with your expert advice.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

It's easy if you have a clue about what you are doing.

paqman

Ok well I left it off last night at 12.6v, and today it is at 12.3v. It's a drop, but not near the drop to 4v like the first night it died. So there's definitely there's a draw. And I really do think it is the remote start system doing it, even if I haven't found real evidence of that yet.

I've done electrical installs on my other cars, multiple stereos, back up cameras, etc. But never done any electrical work on this one. The reason I had Best Buy install this was because it was part of the deal when I bought the system. Came with free installation. Do I wish I knew more about the system so I could troubleshoot it? Yes. Could I more easily troubleshoot one of the many stereos of backup cameras I've done in the past? Yes. Unfortunately I have no idea how this was installed, so I'm not sure exactly how to just unplug or disable it. I'm going to make them look at, but for now I gotta figure out how the hell to get it out of park. It has to be something simple. Not much has been done to it. However I do think I might go try to get Walmart to replace the battery under warranty. That way I can at least try things with a new battery.

User1

This is why I spent $1400 on my Compustar system at a local, independent shop owned and run by ONE dude, and ALL he does is this kind of stuff all day, every day. But I understand about being sold on the free installation. It's a selling point that the less informed jump on without realizing the high probability of it causing more problems than not down the road.

Don't bother with the battery until after you ID the short. Try to keep a logical process. Battery SOC looks good and may still have some life in it, and if the alternator isn't dead from working so hard for so long, you may be good for a while. My money is on a replacement of both, but that should be done at the same time.

I don't know about your park lock. Gotta be something stupid.

paqman

Yep I could never afford $1400 for a luxury like a remote start system. I guess uninformed = not rich.

User1

Time = money, yet very few people actually do this: determine what your time is worth! Apply it to every decision you make!

$1400 starts to make sense once you calculate whatever you spent on the system, plus the total number of hours (at whatever rate you decided your time was worth) you've spent on the issue it caused once you became aware of it, plus whatever actual dollars you've spent on the issue since that point, plus whatever the time not having access to your car has cost you.

Uninformed = not rich is untrue. Lots of rich people out there with no brains.

User1

Get it out of park and get it to Best Buy. Go from there. The course of action from here on out should be heavily weighed upon what you can accomplish with them, especially if you need an alternator and battery.

paqman

Yeah I understand, but knowing those factors I would just choose not to have the remote start system. Because I could never justify $1400 for it. I enjoy working on my cars, so even though this problem is an annoyance, I don't mind spending a bit of time figuring out what the problem is here. Especially with you nice folks to help. Yeah if I have to buy a new alternator that sucks. Still wouldn't have chosen to spend $1400 on remote start. I'll deal with the cold.

Also, lucky for me I'm working from home due to covid, so my car sits most of the time these days. Not putting me out at all. I just borrow the wife's mini van if needed.

User1

You're probably already close to $1400 was my point. Alt and bat may still be ok. Don't sweat it just yet! Let us know when you get it out of park. While you're at it, what's your charging voltage?