The battery on my 1997 Volvo 850 when it is not driven for a few days. We have replaced the battery cables and gotten a new battery 4 times. The dealer can't find anything wrong. What should we do?

Asked by vista Oct 13, 2013 at 08:16 PM about the 1997 Volvo 850 Sedan

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I cannot tell if the problem is more likely to occur when the headlight switch is on (the lights are supposed to go off automatically and they do).  The service department at the dealer checked the alternator and all of the rest of the electrical system.  However, it seems that something is draining the battery when the car is off.  Can there be a sort somewhere in the system that would do this?  The dealer said that the battery is charging properly when the care is running. Otherwise the car drives fine!  Help!

2 Answers

There were 2 shorts--one in the glove box and one in a door light due to slight corrosion of electrical elements. it took the local mechanic 6 hours to find both and he fixed the car for $250 (a bargain compared to the price of new battery cables from the dealer which did not solve the problem!) The mechanics at the dealer did not seem to know what to do, but since this last repair, we have had no further difficulty.

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