18 captured repliesPartial discussion capture · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHBattery Dead - Can windows down do that??
Reported or suspected cause
only time i have parked it
Reported cause
No successful repair reported for this finding.
1
Identified cause
0
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
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Reported cause
It was the only time I have parked it with the windows down for more than a couple of hours.
Leading evidence: 'only time i have parked it' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'only time i have parked it' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check current draw, first you must have a fairly well-charged' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Check current draw, first you must have a fairly well-charged
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
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Suggestion
To check for current draw, first you must have a fairly well-charged
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Suggestion
This may seem weird but I drove my car the other day, drove just fine, put it away in the garage with the windows down for a change (wanted to let it vent out the vapors from sitting in the shop at Imagine Auto, you know the typical gasoline/oil/shop smell).
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Suggestion
Many multimeters will be damaged by current levels above a few miliamps so use a good meter and start with it set on a higher range scale.
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Suggestion
This may seem weird but I drove my car the other day, drove just fine, put it away in the garage with the windows down for a change (wanted to let it vent out the vapors from sitting in the shop at Imagine Auto, you know the typical gasoline/oil/shop smell).
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
18 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Planet-9: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
1 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Outcome without a verified action link
Trickle chargers will take more than 24 hours to get you back to normal.
This may seem weird but I drove my car the other day, drove just fine, put it away in the garage with the windows down for a change (wanted to let it vent out the vapors from sitting in the shop at Imagine Auto, you know the typical gasoline/oil/shop smell). Car sat for what 4 or 5 days and I went to start it today and the
battery
was almost completely dead. I did not leave the keys in the car, I did not leave the hatch open or any lights or stereo on, as I said the only thing different from what I would normally do is that I left the windows down. Any suggestions? I have the car on my trickle charger now (the one I picked up from Ralph Boothe last year - Ralph is recoving from knee surgery btw, please wish him well in that topic thread) and after several hours on the charger it doesn't seem to have built up any
battery
power, as if there was still a drain on the system. What the best way to check for how much drain is on the system, an
voltmeter
across the positive/negative terminals of the
battery
or something else?
Partial answer is that from my experience lowering the windows has no impact on
battery
life. Trickle chargers will take more than 24 hours to get you back to normal. I'd suggest a short somewhere as a WAG.
Funny you ask as I was pondering the same. I parked my car with the windows down for a few days and when I tried to start it all it gave was a couple of clicks and dead. I jump it with cables and it started right up. I shut it off and put it on the charger for a few hours and it has been fine since. It was the only time I have parked it with the windows down for more than a couple of hours.
To check for current draw, first you must have a fairly well-charged
battery
. Then disconnect either
battery
cable and connect an ammeter between post and cable. Many multimeters will be damaged by current levels above a few miliamps so use a good meter and start with it set on a higher range scale. You are looking for low levels of current, hopefully, so you may need to work down to miliamp ranges anyway. Does your car still have its original
battery
?
Yep still has original
battery
and there have never been any signs of
battery
weakness before, the only issue I've ever had in that regard is my
ipod
staying on and running out of
battery
power because the car shut off the most ring and the
ipod
stayed on for some reason (I suspect a flaw in the Dension software as others have reported same issue)
Oddly enough too when I took the batter cover off there was a piece of
duct tape
over the terminal on the passenger side. I took it off. I suspect it was put there by my dealership when they last worked on my car to see if I had pulled the
battery
cable off at some point or something, I don't know, but anyway I took it off because I didn't put it there...
Anyway still on the trickle charger, I am out of town tomorrow so it can charge all night tonight and all day tomorrow and I'll try it tomorrow evening and see what I get.
There have been a couple of threads on the forum about batteries discharging when the car was left unlocked for a few days. I have a feeling the MOST bus, and maybe the
CAN bus
, stay on or in a low power standby mode while the car is unlocked because more features stay "ready" to act for you to get in and drive away. For example, the window motors that lower the windows slightly when you pull the door handles. Also, the Dension is on an always-on connection, and gets switched signal from the MOST bus, so if in fact the MOST bus does not completely shut down if the car is left unlocked then it's possible it made the situation worse.
Also, the remote RF receivers don't turn off after 5-days when you leave the car unlocked... this is one of the
battery
conservation features the car has. I know that's not an issue here since you said it was only four days, but in the future, you should definitely lock the car when you plan on parking it for a while.
You know all this, but I suggest seeing if you have a cell going bad by having a diagnostic test at any facility capable of such a test. Not to wish it upon you, but that is my guess based on the probable age of the original battery.
No I think something is up, charger was on for 24 hours and it seemed weaker not stronger. I pulled the cable off the
battery
and my meter only goes up to 300ma it instantly pegged 300ma so it is drawing more than that. How much should it draw in a shutdown state btw, anyone know? So I left the cable off the
battery
and have the charger on the
battery
now. I will leave it on for another 48hrs while I am away and when I get back try slapping the cable on and driving it up to the dealership to see if they can find the short, but I suspect something has a short of some kind unless that kind of current draw is "normal", again I don't know what the normal draw should be, but it was more than my meter would measure.
Thankfully I am away on business for a couple of days and don't need the car for anything at the moment anyway...
Well we know my car is drawing more than the 15ma in the idle state the L8Apex measured on his car, more like the 1.7A or something. I wonder if something is the key switch is fouled up and it thinks the key is in the car or the ignition is on when it really isn't? Hopefully the
battery
isn't ruined and I can get it charged up enough to start and drive the car to the dealership and let them troubleshoot it. It's under warranty might as well make use of it...
Does your car have a Dixie flag painted across the roof? Ever use it to jump across rivers as you flee the law?
Sorry for the temporary thread jacking!
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