Chevy Corsica battery keeps going dead

From the Chevy Cavalier and Monte Carlo to the Malibu, Lumina and Impala.
Ask our auto mechanics for help to all your Chevrolet car questions now.
riland

Chevy Corsica battery keeps going dead

Unread post by riland » Thu May 02, 2013 4:12 pm

I have a 1996 Chevy Corsica and i dnt know what is causing my car to keep draining my battery. i have changed the alternator 3 times and replaced the negative cable. What other options could be causing my battery to drain? PLZ help.

User avatar
ProTech
Posts: 651
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2012 10:08 am

Re: Chevy Corsica battery keeps going dead

Unread post by ProTech » Thu May 02, 2013 7:00 pm

Well, the alternator, and/or the negative battery cable will not cause the battery to drain. So, unless the alternator is bad, or you actually did need a cable for other reasons, neither of those needed replaced.

If the battery drains after a certain amount of time, that is called a parasitic battery draw. That means an electronic device, module, sensor, or wiring problem is keeping a draw on the battery and causing it to go dead.

The absolute best way to check for a draw is with a multimeter. You hook it up between the negative battery terminal and the negative battery cable. Set the meter on 'amps' and look at the numbers. Everything will power up as soon as you make the connection, so you will see probably 2-3 amps which is ok for that moment. Now let the vehicle sit, doors closed, key off, nothing else on. The reading will drop as things turn off, modules go to sleep, etc. Ultimately you'd like to see a draw of no more than around 0.050 amps, that is 50 milliamps. Up to 80 milliamps can be acceptable, but that's about as high as you can safely go without killing the battery.

Now, since your battery is draining, you will probably see a fairly higher amount of a draw on the meter. The next step would be to remove fuses from the fuse box and see if the draw goes away. You can also start disconnecting things as well.

If you've got any aftermarket items installed on the car, such as an alarm, remote start, radio, lights, etc, that would be a good place to start. Try disconnecting those and see if the draw goes away.

Once you've found the problem circuit, you can either fix the issue or replace the faulty part.
GM Dealer Technician For 18+ Years
In the automotive industry for 20+

  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post