Battery Keeps on Dying

First off I own a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee limited; I have had it for two years, and about 3 months ago I changed the battery that came with my jeep with a red top optima I have had for about three years. The reason I changed the batteries was; my old battery even after being on a charger all night when I put it in my jeep it would barely turn it over.
In the past I have had my battery die all the way only on a few occasions and thats usually only due to the fact that I leave something on in my jeep. But now if I park my jeep on friday and I do not drive it all weekend when I go to start my jeep monday; the battery will either be all the way dead to where it will not turn my jeep over; or it will struggle to turn my jeep over. I have been having this problem for about a month now. My battery dies so quickly it has gotten to the point when I park my jeep over night or at work I always unhook the battery.

I do not know if this would cause it; but my battery terminals on my jeep are worn out I need to replace them. They are actually so bad every couple days I need to clean the terminals on my battery and jeep due to all corosion. The connection gets so bad between the terminals if I do not clean them; after a couple days sometimes when I try to start my jeep it will barly turn over, then when I go clean my terminals on my battery my jeep turns over fine. I allready ordered new terminals for my jeep I just need to wait till they get in and I will put them on.

I have checked everylight I can think of on my jeep(glove box, the hood light, all the interior lights) and when I shut the key off none of them stay on. I know my altenator is fine; because if my battery is completely dead and I have to get a jump, I let my jeep run a little while and it charges my battery.

Any suggestions period would be appreciated. This is driving me crazy trying to figure out what the problem is. I have tried everything I can think of; I got a new battery, I checked to see if any lights are staying on, I have searched this forum looking for an answer, I have asked serveral different mechanics and tried several different suggestions; I even unhooked my trailer lights to see if they could be draining it. The only other thing I can think of that would be draining the battery is my alarm and I have not figure out yet how to unhook it, so thats what I plan on doing next

Get a test-light and check the fuse panel for powered circuits with the ignition off. Some will have power all the time such as the clock, but most of the wont and shouldnt, I had a similar problem on mine, and found out that my rear htd window circuit, which doesnt even work was drawing power all the time.

Also, if you have a multimeter you can check to see how much current is being pulled from the battery with the engine off, remove your positive cable and connect the leads of your multimeter between the positive battery terminal and the positive terminal on the cable, there is a slight amperage draw at all times, but its not very much, any severe draw should be noticeable on the multimeter.

Also it could just be that your battery is bad, you might want to have it tested just to rule it out.

Mine did the same thing. I went to a parts store that does free checks and had them check the alternator and battery. Both were bad. I replaced them and it works like a champ.

Hi maximumquake, I’m sorry to hear about the problems you’ve been having and I’d like to help. LittleHoov’s advice is sound and it might be worth checking for a high “key-off” load in your vehicle. This video explains how to do that, along with some other information on batteries and charging systems- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yPlx4MBNRU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yPlx4MBNRU)

I should also mention that if your battery is discharged to the point where it needs a jump, you should fully-charge your battery with a battery charger as soon as possible. Relying on an alternator to recharge a deeply-discharged battery can lead to a cycle of dead batteries and jumps until either the alternator or battery fails. If you have any other questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries (http://www.facebook.com/optimabatteries)