serious battery drain

[Djpuck]

What up kids, i've got a 91 buick lesabre, the alternator is about 2 yrs old, battery is 6mths old, all tests come back as good(battery, alternator, starter) If i take 4-5 quick trips the car wont start, no clicks, lights ect seem bright and fine, with a jump it starts fine, i tried recreating the problem, started the car about 15 times in a row, (on/off) then it wouldnt start. Just so happen a guy with a chev 1500 was pulling out in front of me and offerd a jump. no love, wouldnt start, i laid on the couch for about an hour, went back out and it fired right up. resistance in the wires?? Also there is a device i cant identify right side (from front of vehicle) of transverse v6, it looks like a little compressor but i cant see anything coming or going besides small wires. it intermittently comes on(brrrrrrrrrr sound)even when the car is turned off. I plan on selling this car but dont want to screw someone. It was sitting for 3 days and was so dead it took me about 30mins to jump it. any thoughts??????

[Alibi]

yes, that noise is a compressor for the dynaride air shock system. You have one of a couple problems:

1. Crank sensor failure
2. Faulty coils or ICM
3. Leaking air bladders, causing the compressor to kick in and run your battery down attempting to air up the shocks.

Any diagnosic codes?

[Djpuck]

No security codes, my bet is that its my bladders. what happens if i disconnect the compressor?? I know the suspension is a little worn, but will it be dangerous??

[Alibi]

Hmm...Well, if you disconnect the compressor then it will probably solve your battery drain problem. And yes, the rear end of the car will be relying on springs alone....

As far as a safety concern, I doubt it...but it should still be fixed. I know it is feasible to replace the air shocks with standard shocks but like you said you're just wanting to sell the car.

Try disconnecting the compressor, and if that solves your problem then I wouldn't worry about it but definately tell the prospective buyers. This is a fairly common problem with the air ride suspension, BTW.

If the problem persists, then you've got a parasitic drain somewhere, prolly in a wire bundle in the cabin. This issue has come up before (I can't remember which forum tho...) so you can try to search the forums.

[Djpuck]

thanks

[goodills5]

Help, going through the same kind of thing. 94 lesabre custom. New battery, alternator and starter checks out ok. Over night, the car goes completely dead. Remote door opener won;t even work. Car was at the shop for 4 days and could find nothing. Any other suggestions?

[maxwedge]

Originally Posted by goodills5

Help, going through the same kind of thing. 94 lesabre custom. New battery, alternator and starter checks out ok. Over night, the car goes completely dead. Remote door opener won;t even work. Car was at the shop for 4 days and could find nothing. Any other suggestions?

Welcome to AF. Not much info to work with here, did the shop find a marked drain on the battery, this can be tricky as there are some modules that take time to go to sleep, the rap module comes to mind here. Post some pertinent info for more comprehensive help.

[goodills5]

The car had the battery, alternator and belts replaced within the last 6 months. About 2 months ago, the battery went dead. After jumping in 4 days in a row for school, my son replaced it, not knowing that it was only a few months old. For about a month, it was ok. Now it is dead every morning again. The engine light came on and the throttle needed to be replaced. We have checked the fuses, they are ok. We have checked for any lights staying on etc..., none. The shop checked for any power draw while the car was off, and could not find any. They had the car for four days and went through the all the basics that they could think of. We had the starter tested just incase. The only possible thing that the shop came up with was a possible soleniod staying engaged in the starter and drawing the power from the battery.

[Whoaru99]

Originally Posted by goodills5

The car had the battery, alternator and belts replaced within the last 6 months. About 2 months ago, the battery went dead. After jumping in 4 days in a row for school, my son replaced it, not knowing that it was only a few months old. For about a month, it was ok. Now it is dead every morning again. The engine light came on and the throttle needed to be replaced. We have checked the fuses, they are ok. We have checked for any lights staying on etc..., none. The shop checked for any power draw while the car was off, and could not find any. They had the car for four days and went through the all the basics that they could think of. We had the starter tested just incase. The only possible thing that the shop came up with was a possible soleniod staying engaged in the starter and drawing the power from the battery.

You need to put an ammeter in series between the battery and the negative battery post and note the draw with nothing running (besides the normal stuff - ecm battery power, radio memory, etc.).

I don't know the exact number, but I'd guess something on the order of 30-50 milliamps maximum "no load".

Once you get the ammeter in series and see the load, start pulling fuses until you at least identify the circuit.

If you don't have an ammeter then a test light will give you a good idea. It should glow VERY dimly, if at all, with normal parasitic load. In your case it would not surprise me for the test light to come on at near full brightness.

If the battery is going dead overnight there has to be a pretty high load, several amps, at least.

It's impossible for there not to be a load and for the battery go dead - unless the new battery is defective...

[maxwedge]

Whoaru99, on the money.

[goodills5]

WEll, the car had been in the shop for a week and weekend. They were sure it was the rfa module. They said there was a draw and they unplugged the module and plugged it back in and no draw. They kept it over night and checked again, no draw. I drove it Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. On Sunday, dead car.