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  • losing power when off

    i have what im hoping is a small problem. whenever the car is turned off the battery is going dead. i am hoping it is just a bad ground from the alternator or maybe the alternator itself i was just curious if anyone has had this problem and what are some possible ways to test being that i have never been very good at the electrical end of these cars.

    thanks ahead of time
    james

  • #2
    Re: losing power when off

    something is not turning off most likely. since your not good with electrical....good luck. you need to test for a parasitic drain on your battery with a multimeter. once you have it registered on the gauge, you need to begin pulling fuses to try and narrow things down. so on and so forth. you need to get exact directions on how to go about doing all this. one screw up will waste a bunch of time. good luck
    2000 3.8 A4 Pewter Camaro

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    • #3
      Re: losing power when off

      Do you have any aftermarket stereo equipment if you do i'd begin with check all your wiring on that like if you have an amp check the remote wire on that..

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      • #4
        Re: losing power when off

        Stereo eq, glove compartment light, console light, map light in mirror, dome light, start with the easy things. Maybe a switch is stuck and one of your courtesy lights is stuck on.

        Just in case, how old is the battery? Does it hold a charge all day after you first get it running or does it go dead as soon as you shut it off?

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        • #5
          Re: losing power when off

          i have no aftermarket stereo in the car. the battery is brand new. this is my third 95 v6 camaro and my sixth camaro total. i bought the car as a project car for the summer being that i have a couple 3.4 blocks sitting in the garage halfway thru rebuilds. my best bet i guess is just to start going thru the fuse box with a loop tester and check for drain but i was hoping maybe someone had the same problem or that maybe it could be a bad ground or bad alternator connection draining the battery. figured its good to ask people who may know a little bit more about these sort of things before i go tearing it apart. takes about 6-8 hours for the battery to drain btw.

          james

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          • #6
            Re: losing power when off

            Last time that happened to me, the mirror map light was left on. (not a whole lot of help, I know). Blldogg's got it right, just a process of elimination.

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            • #7
              Re: losing power when off

              What kind of voltage are you getting on the gauge when the car is running?
              http://www.bowtiev6.com/

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              • #8
                Re: losing power when off

                altenator

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                • #9
                  Re: losing power when off

                  Originally posted by 97burnout
                  altenator

                  bet it is too
                  WAWA-A-HOLIC

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                  • #10
                    Re: losing power when off

                    yeah im guessing its the alternator. its the orginal one so it wouldnt hurt to put a new one in anyway and im getting just under 18 vlts when shes running on the gauge to answer ur question.

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                    • #11
                      Re: losing power when off

                      Originally posted by seafoamgreenv6
                      yeah im guessing its the alternator. its the orginal one so it wouldnt hurt to put a new one in anyway and im getting just under 18 vlts when shes running on the gauge to answer ur question.
                      You need to check it with a voltmeter. Why would you think it is the alternator if it is charging correctly? There is something draining the battery, I am not thinking that it is the alternator. Have you checked all of the things previously mentioned?

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                      • #12
                        Re: losing power when off

                        ive had the same problem with mine as well only it could be the nitrous or the amp.. I think i'm going to disconnect both and see if that gets me anywhere.
                        Mystic Teal Metallic
                        ET:15.1 NA 14.3@96 MPH 75 Dry Shot

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                        • #13
                          Re: losing power when off

                          may not be the alternator but that is a common thing to go out. if the battery keeps going dead then that means the alternator is not charging it... Could be alot of things..

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                          • #14
                            Re: losing power when off

                            Originally posted by nascar24jd
                            You need to check it with a voltmeter. Why would you think it is the alternator if it is charging correctly? There is something draining the battery, I am not thinking that it is the alternator. Have you checked all of the things previously mentioned?
                            dude if there is a bad ground from the alternator then the battery will drain when the alternator is not spinning. the positive cable acts as an open circuit.

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                            • #15
                              Re: losing power when off

                              Originally posted by seafoamgreenv6
                              dude if there is a bad ground from the alternator then the battery will drain when the alternator is not spinning. the positive cable acts as an open circuit.
                              So was that it, the alternator was bad? I have never seen that problem with an alternator before.

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