03 camry battery drain

[mablutman]

Im new, so bear with me... about a month ago, my car would not start, took the battery to napa, they told me it was fried so i bought a new one. threw it in and bam the car starts right up, no problems for about a month. yesterday, i get in and it wont start, only get the solenoid clicks from the starter. took the battery in again. they said it was good so i hooked it up to the charger. everything is pointing at the alternator now so i took it out and got it tested. no problems found. i have no dummy lights on inside and all the wiring (that i can see at least) looks good. all fuses check good too. it seems like an insidious power drain, but nothing is on... aye ya yi... any ideas? thanks

i already have 60k on it, so my warranty is out.

[mablutman]

some more info. battery wont take a charge, or my charger sucks. i am able to jump start and the voltage is between 14-14.5 with everything on, ac, lights etc. could it be 2 bad batteries in a row?

thanks

[Brian R.]

Sounds like it. I can't think of anything that would prevent your battery from getting charged except a bad battery or a bad charger.

Try charging the battery after removing both battery cables. See if that makes a difference.

[Bossman]

Miguel,
I'm sorry that I can't be of much help about your electrical problem for I'm sure Brian is right on with his analysis. However, I also have an 03 Camry LE 4 cyl. with 26,000 miles and I just gotta admire someone who has driven 60,000 miles in such a short time. May I ask: what kind and brand of oil have you used and at what intervals have you changed it? Also, have you changed your auto trans fluid yet, if so, at what mileage? My auto trans fluid is getting a little dark now but most people are telling me to leave it go to the 30,000 mile big service.

Thanks for the info.

[mablutman]

it was the battery again... i could get it to charge to 13 volts, but under load it would drop to just 11... it had a bad cell, got to like that battery warranty. thanks for the help.

bossman,

ive been using vavoline 5/30 at 5000 mile intervals. i just follow the mx guide for the rest. ive only had this battery problem, some scored rear disc's when i first bought it, and a new set or tires. a pretty solid performer. my ATF has always looked about the same (nice red color), im just under 60k now so i was planning on changing it out right at 60, probably a couple of weeks. never had a problem though, and of course the manual makes you assume you never have to change it ie: "inspect fluid"

[csaxon]

What brand batteries died on you? Do you have any electrical modifications to your car, radio, etc..?

[mablutman]

the first battery was the original toyota battery. I bought the car in SC and just moved up to NJ before the winter. we had a few freezes, so i assumed this may have killed the battery, it was just over 2 years old. the second battery was a NAPA gold. since they have a warranty, i just replaced it again with the same cell for free. if this happens again, then i dunno, i guess i will have to take it to the shop.