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V · 05-26-2019, 09:16 AM

ok, car is an '88 GTA, 5.7 auto, bone stock.

Installed a new battery in june of last year.
The car had pretty much sat outside from then to about a month ago.
I drove it maybe twice in july and august with no issues.
When I went to move it after the winter, battery was completely dead(which was expected). I jumped the car and it fired up after being attached to the cables for about 5 minutes. I drove the car to my new house about 10 minutes away where I let it run longer, maybe an hour, before I shut it off.

I pulled it into the garage that night and it had started up right away with no problem.

Two days later I went to pull the car out again, and the starter would just click, and wouldnt turn the motor over. Not a bad starter btw, battery was indeed low. So i jumped it again, started instantly. Let it run for a little bit.
parked it in the driveway. Went to move it the next day and once again, battery too weak to start the car. Same thing happened again when I went to drive the car 2 days later. After a jump, its fine. That day I drove around for about 3 hours, making a few stops and shutting the car off at those stops, but it started fine when I went to go again. I got home, parked the car, a week later, battery is low again, too low to spin the motor.

I took the battery back to advance auto, they tested it and said it was good and wouldnt replace it.

Car has no radio connected, no aftermarket wiring, and using a multimeter, I only found a 0.01A, or 10mA draw. Nothing changed with the car in the past year. So I'm not entirely sure whats going on. I was pretty sure the winter froze the already dead battery and killed a cell or such, but Advance swears its good. So now the battery is back in the car. I did more testing for a drain, and still only got 10mA(online they say up to 50mA is normal). As of now, I left the battery unhooked and everyday I'm going the check the voltage. If it somehow starts dropping then I know its the battery for sure.

The only other thing I can think of is that the headlight control module is on the fritz. I did cycle the lights before testing for a drain so perhaps it "reset" or fixed itself now.

I really don't know where else to look.

05-26-2019, 09:16 AM	#1
V Stalker Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 12,077 iTrader: (12)	Battery drain? ok, car is an '88 GTA, 5.7 auto, bone stock. Installed a new battery in june of last year. The car had pretty much sat outside from then to about a month ago. I drove it maybe twice in july and august with no issues. When I went to move it after the winter, battery was completely dead(which was expected). I jumped the car and it fired up after being attached to the cables for about 5 minutes. I drove the car to my new house about 10 minutes away where I let it run longer, maybe an hour, before I shut it off. I pulled it into the garage that night and it had started up right away with no problem. Two days later I went to pull the car out again, and the starter would just click, and wouldnt turn the motor over. Not a bad starter btw, battery was indeed low. So i jumped it again, started instantly. Let it run for a little bit. parked it in the driveway. Went to move it the next day and once again, battery too weak to start the car. Same thing happened again when I went to drive the car 2 days later. After a jump, its fine. That day I drove around for about 3 hours, making a few stops and shutting the car off at those stops, but it started fine when I went to go again. I got home, parked the car, a week later, battery is low again, too low to spin the motor. I took the battery back to advance auto, they tested it and said it was good and wouldnt replace it. Car has no radio connected, no aftermarket wiring, and using a multimeter, I only found a 0.01A, or 10mA draw. Nothing changed with the car in the past year. So I'm not entirely sure whats going on. I was pretty sure the winter froze the already dead battery and killed a cell or such, but Advance swears its good. So now the battery is back in the car. I did more testing for a drain, and still only got 10mA(online they say up to 50mA is normal). As of now, I left the battery unhooked and everyday I'm going the check the voltage. If it somehow starts dropping then I know its the battery for sure. The only other thing I can think of is that the headlight control module is on the fritz. I did cycle the lights before testing for a drain so perhaps it "reset" or fixed itself now. I really don't know where else to look.