'97 neon - been through 3 batteries! help?!

[Lara]

Hopefully someone can offer some advice on what might be draining my battery in my 1997 Neon "sport"?

The car has now gone through 3 batteries in as many months. I'm frustrated! I know little about cars but can take your suggestions to my mechanic.

Also....has Dodge done a recall on the paint on Neons? My paint is peeling fiercely on the passenger door. This doesn't seem right at all.

[growe58]

Originally Posted by Lara

Hopefully someone can offer some advice on what might be draining my battery in my 1997 Neon "sport"?

The car has now gone through 3 batteries in as many months. I'm frustrated! I know little about cars but can take your suggestions to my mechanic.

We could use a little more info. The obvious answer is that driving your car is draining your battery, and if your alternator is weak or dead, it isn't recharging the battery back up as you drive. You can have your alternator checked for free at many auto parts stores, just look for one that advertises "free alternator testing".

Good luck!

[vamc]

If one of your cells in the battery went bad it could make the altanater go bad. with that said, if you replace w/new batt. the new batt will go bad because it that altanater is drawing to much from the batt, and thats probley what is going on. or could be a short w/ a ground.

[Lara]

Hi and thanks for the suggestions. If anyone is interested, my mechanic figured out what was draining my battery with the help of an electrical guy. My daytime running light modulator was pooched and it was draining an amp of power from my battery even when the car was shut off. So they disconnected my daytime running lights for me and everything has been working great....no more dead battery!

Also...the guy at the dealership told me that they had some probs with the trunk lights in some neons....that the trunk light would come ON when the trunk was closed! My mechanic did check that first, but it was fine.