Last Friday I drove the car to a store a few miles away and when I returned to it, the car wouldn't turn over. Had just enough juice for the gauges but nothing more. Luckily a friend was able to come and give me a jump. I went straight to the auto parts store and had the battery replaced, despite the fact they said it was still good and coming up as needing a recharge. With the new battery the car started a lot quicker than before and I was happy with it.

Fast forward to today and I went to start the car in the garage and this time no power whatsoever. Only the clock works and I have no idea why. I left no lights on or anything that could have drained the battery. Do I have a short somewhere? How would I diagnose this? Keep in mind I know nothing about repairing cars and rely on my mechanic greatly

Just seems so strange this would happen suddenly and go thru two batteries in one weekend!

Thanks,
Bill

 

You need to check the entire charging system, from belt and alternator to battery cables to starter solenoid to voltage regulator. Just putting a new battery into a non functioning charging system will ruin each and every new battery you put in. Start with the easy stuff- battery cables and take the alternator to the parts store for testing- could all be a s simple as a bad battery cable to many, many other things. For the diy'er start like that and use the process of elimination to figure it out.

 

With the information so far, you have a parasitic drain! There are several posts with the same issue. Fully charge battery.

Diagnosis is simple make sure all power is off i.e. overhead lamp, key in the off position, take off the negative battery terminal and hook a test light in series if you have a drain this will show as current flow and the lamp will illuminate, go to your fuse block and remove each fuse one at a time to see which one turns off the light, this only isolates that circuit with the issue.
At this point anything related to that circuit could be the problem unhook each accessory one at a time to find the culprit!

If you have an after market stereo make sure that it's not draining the battery also.

Pat

 

[QUOTE=1970cs;497060]With the information so far, you have a parasitic drain! There are several posts with the same issue.

Not necessarily.....if the charging system is not functioning the battery will not charge- obviously, he put a new one in and it too died could be the alternator sucking the life out of the batteries, checking the system before trying to track down a short or drain is doing the hardest stuff first......

 

[QUOTE=boese1978;497062]Not trying to start an argument here you are correct by checking the charging sys. A bad alternator could drain the battery along with slipping belt! but how far did he drive with the new battery and was it at night with the head lights on?

But now he has some good information on diagnosis what ever the problem is.

Pat

 

My question to eliminate the parasitic draw theory is did it drain the battery before, or was this the first time. I would start the car, and with it running and the lights on disconnect the battery cable and see if it stays running. If it does then the charging system is fine. Shut it off reconnect the battery and start chasing whatever is loading the battery.

 

"Loading up?" - I think you mean draining.
I had the same problem on my '69 442 years ago.
After chasing everything for a couple weeks, found corrosion in the positive battery cable.
Replaced them both, cleaned and hooked-up the ground straps from the firewall, and never had another problem.

 

Thanks guys. The soonest I'll be able to test all this is Friday, when I'll have time to get it out of the garage and give it a jump. Really hoping its something minor considering I already wasted $120 for a new battery (arrrghhh)!

Edit to include: the first battery was fine from when I got the car in August until last Friday 1/11.

 

Ok, I edited it to loading, lol.

 

It sure sounds like a drain on the battery-a short somewhere. It could be anything even a glove box or trunk lite on. For a new battery to go dead sitting there has to be a drain or another bad battery (unlikley). I would first check to see if the battery is being pulled down by using a volt meter or even a test lite. I would not take any parts off until I found the problem. Proper test procedures will find the problem. I would not recomend disconnecting the battery when the car is running.
with limited knowledge of mechanics, testing will have to be done 1 step at a time. Do you have any test meters or even a test light? In the mean time disconnect the battery as soon as possible. If possible, have it recharged as soon as possible. I can walk you thru some test procedures when you are ready, but you will need at least a volt meter or a test lite to get started. You can call me Friday or Sat if you want day time 412-563-2100 Mark

 

Everyone has an opinion so here's mine, and why.
If it was fine then suddenly it isn't, the first things I would look at is the alternator and the regulator. In my town the Autozone can test both, free. I would remove them from the car and carry them to the testing location. These two items have caused 99% of all battery drain type problems in over 300 cars I have owned through the years. They are the parts which are working constantly any time the engine is running. If these are good then I start looking for other problems.
Checking for loose fan belt is pretty easy also, but that is not going to drain a new battery sitting in the garage.

Best luck,
Mike