Battery drain problem.

Lownslowlsc

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Got alot done today..registered it, insurance reinstated, fixed a flat and new battery..She's happy again.

Only bad thing is that it has a little bit of a rough idle. It's got 87 in it cause thats all we had in the can..No cel's..

Also it seems i go through batteries(1000ca/850cca) like no other. I go through atleast 2 a year. It was the same with my marquis aswell. All my accessories are on a switched 12v and i have a system.I rarely listen to my stereo w/ the car off. Any common problem areas on marks for drains?
 
Sounds to me that something in the accessory area is constantly drawing.Something you missed or did not check to ensure complete shutoff. 87 octane is not what I would recommend nor the manufacture. If it has been sitting awhile, may need to run some sea foam thru the tank and or clean the injectors, replace the fuel filter. Pull the plugs and witness what they look like burn wise.
 
plugs have about 5k on em. Fuel filter maybe 2.5k. I had to put 87 in cause thats all we had and i have to have enough to make it to the gas station for some good ol' 93. I did put in some fuel deicer stuff as its been super cold here. I wouldn't be surprised if the fuel lines were patialy frozen as i had like no gas in it before. idk about that part though.
 
As for the battery i have no f'n idea. The previous owner had a not so new battery(interstate) which leads me to believe it was fine before i got it. I replaced it(for more power) with the same battery i have to keep replacing(duralast gold).. I put another new batt(under warrenty) in oct. I havn't driven it since sept. I did occassionaly listen to my stereo w/ my car off between oct till now. I tried to start it once a week.. Also, i got a small 1.5a batt charger thats been on it since x-mas. It still managed to die..Which makes me think the draw is around 1.5a's..But at the same time the charger would randomly stop charging..Take note that it's also a maintainer.

lol, I've had the same battery "warrenty" for 9 years. All i've had to pay is a total of maybe 60 bucks during that time (out of "free" replacment period/prorated) and have gone through countless batts.
 
nopers

I'm beginning to think god doesn't want me to own any flm's..

p.s. I have my amps remote, fm modulator, radar and gps on the same switched 12v. All turn off w/ the car.
 
Did abit of research on tracking parasitic drains and ima give it a shot.

Also, do marks have a problem area when it comes to common drains? Alarm maybe?
 
Well you can do a dead test of the battery with a multi-meter when the car is done for the day, and shut down. Then come back that next morning and do another dead test and see if there is a drop in your original reading the night before. This could tell you if you have a draw during shut down.

Even though you used de-icer in the fuel tank during the long duration of non-use, you may still had precipitation somewhere in the lines, tank or fuel rail, or filter. Would not past the possibility up as the de-icer is not 100% guaranteed to work. And not to mention that the fuel you took from could of been tainted with H2O. I would still replace filter and run some sea foam thru it.
 
The gas was fresh from the gas can via the pump. And the de icer went in with it so there could be some frozen h20 in there i spose. I'll be starting a job next week so i cant drop 10 bucks on some seafoam right now unless i def need to.


Would it be a better idea to test the milliamp draw using the disconnected neg teminal idea instead of the check volts at night then when you wake up?
 
Call me stupid but i need help figureing out how to set my meter...I allready tested volts and i'm reading 12.5 at the battery. Also i have the plugs set up the way in the pic...Or should i put them to 10a unfused? I guess this is a prime example of why i failed auto elec in college.

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Got to Sears and have them do a fuel injection service...best $75 plus tax you will spend.
 
I made the mistake of not leaving the meter connected long enough for the car to go into sleep mode..I'll be checking it in the morning..

How long do the 8's take to go to bed?
 
when checking for a draw its best to use a test light, a dvom will have you chasing a ghost, pull the negative cable and put the light between the terminal of the battery and the cable you just disconnected so it completes the circuit if there is a draw the light will be lit. now sometimes the pcm etc see the loss of voltage and it coming back when you install the light so it might "wake up" for a bit so the light might be on. i put the clip on the batt and clamp the end of the test light in the batt terminal and throw a rag or something down so you can leave it sitting there and start pulling fuses one by one and see if the light goes out.

note: after you open the door latch the latch with a screwdriver or something so the dome light isnt on. to release the latch pull handle and slide the latch open
 
I've connected an ammeter in series with the battery on my 94's. I made sure to turn the air ride switch in the trunk off, and didn't touch the car for an hour.

At first, it draws around 100 mA. after about an hour, it was down to 33 mA.

I'm not sure exactly when it dropped to 33, but after an hour it should be there.
 
I could be wrong but I was thinking the Mark went to sleep at 45 min. I have heard mine start pumping air 30 min after shut down but it ended up venting before 45 min was up. Also, if doors are left open for 45 min, the interior lights go out. I don't know for sure though.
 

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