Why did my new battery go dead?

20

Asked by Steven Jan 23, 2016 at 07:42 PM about the 1988 Volvo 240 GL Wagon

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I was just up in Elko, NV where the temp dropped to 24 degrees...and
zapped my battery where I needed a jump start. I drove down to Tooele, UT
and put in a brand new battery. I thought the problem was solved but the
new one was dead in a couple days and I need to jump it every time I go
somewhere. I tested the alternator by removing the neg wire and it kept
running so I believe that's ok. There isn't a lot of corrosion on the battery
terminal and none in the cable. I'm running out of ideas. Any thoughts?

4 Answers

205

new batterys can b bad/, If not with key off doors shut ect remove neg.batt. cable and test with a 8$ multimeeter for amount of amperage draw it should b very low, if not start pulling fuses one at a time to find the circut with the short or too much draw on it.

1 people found this helpful.
7,855

There may be a drain on the battery. Eric the Car Guy has a good video here on diagnosing battery drains: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF1gijj03_0

2 people found this helpful.
20

Both good answers...thanks. We looked in the top of the coil and found a lot of corrosion. This seems to have fixed the problem as the battery stays strong after several engine starts. I'll know more after driving it for awhile. Thanks again!

1 people found this helpful.
20

To be clear, we replace the coil and that seems to have taken care of the problem.

1 people found this helpful.

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