Dead Riviera?

[Smor316]

I have a 95 Riviera that runs fine as long as it's not raining. If the car is sitting in the rain the battery will go completely dead. No lights no horn no nothing. I always have to jump it. It has a brand new batery as well as a new alternater. Can anyone help, because I have no idea.

[boarder50]

Check you wires, and distributor cap for cracks. If so replace, if not you have a draw somewhere. Better check it out anything else PM me

[Doug Rodrigues]

Border50 is correct: Something is drawing the battery down when the engine isn't running. You may have to do the trial and error test. Connect a volt meter to the battery. Have someone watch that meter very closely while you pull one fuse at a time until the meter voltage increases very slightly. Whatever that fuse goes to, disconnect it. Now you have a better idea where to focus your attention to. What add-on electronics are in your car? Are you sure that the battery is receiving a full charge? Are the battery cables corroded? Are the connections clean and tight? When the engine is running, does the voltmeter indicate at least 13.5 volts? Disconnect the battery connections and charge it with a battery charger. What is the voltage? Maybe that new battery is defective...rare but occasionally happens. After sitting around for a few hours, check the voltage again. Is the battery maintaining the charge? You'll just have to hunt the problem down. That's what the guy in the shop will do. Do it yourself and save a bunch of money. Cheaper to just go buy a digital volt/Ohm/RPM/Dwell meter from the auto supply and do your own testing than paying big bucks to a shop. I'd do that first. If you still can't find the problem, then be prepared to pay whatever time it takes the shop to locate the problem. Electrical problems have no "flat rate." It may take the repairman three hours to find and replace a 10 cent connection! You pay big bucks for those 3 hours. What's the average shop rate?....60 bucks per hour?

A second benefit to doing your own trouble shooting is that you get to know your car intimately. Future problems become easier to fix. This problem could be a good learning experience for you.