Car battery died in about 2 months

[FutureTrackStar]

1996
Volvo
850
2.3 or 2.4 L, not sure, I5
about 80,000 miles

I brought my car to college for the first year (my home is about 200mi away). After about a month my battery died, so I bought a new one. Now, about 2 months after installing the new battery, I walk to my car to go shopping and the battery was COMPLETELY dead (it couldn't even unlock all the doors, no lights, no radio, nothing).

After getting a jump start from my university's public safety I brought the car to AutoZone. A guy ran a few tests and said the alternator was working correctly. He also checked to make sure the battery wasn't discharging too quickly while the car was off. Overall, he said all the measurements were in the acceptable ranges and he didn't know what to tell me.

I don't know too much about cars, so I have no idea what could have happened. My only guess is that my GPS slowly drained the battery. I leave my GPS plugged into the cigarette lighter 24/7 (so it was plugged in during the entire 2 month period), but the GPS was completely OFF during this time (except when I drove). The light on the GPS car adapter was off as well, so I don't think it was drawing too much electricity, but I heard that it still draws a small amount.

[aleekat]

http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-90...tteryDischarge Did you turn everything on when he checked the alternator output? Lights, radio, etc

[danielsatur]

Check for similar threads @ the bottom of yours, also see
http://www.lincolnforums.com/forums/...showtopic=7282