Battery Drain

[jschunke]

My dad's battery in his '93 LS400 goes dead after

the car sits for a week or so and then it won't start.

It has a 3 year old DieHard. Does the LS typically

draw a substantial current when the ignition is off?

Is there a specification on a typical current draw?

Thanks.

[bartkat]

Perhaps he doesn't drive enough to keep it fully charged. Have you tried giving it a full slow charge?

[silvermate]

if its a 3 year old battery, its just time for it to be replaced

there could be another problem thats drawing charge out ie......glove box light on, an interior light that stays on, or if an aftermarket Cd player is installed, it could be hooked up wrong, and the Cd player is still drawing power even when the car is off.

[SW03ES]

Yeah I agree, if its 3 years old it just needs to be replaced. Batteries can only hope to last ~ 5 years, and having the car sit a long time without driving it shortens the battery life. I always replace batteries as a maintenance item every 3 years.

[flanker271]

Does the LS typically

draw a substantial current when the ignition is off?

No it doesn't. In fact any car shouldn't do this. These are NiCd batteries. After years of use they'll develope a memory effect, which prevents them from being fully charged. Also intermediate, short drivings prevents the alternator from fully charging them up, which can also cause the memory effect.

I live in Arizona and the summer heat also shortens the battery life dramatically.

[lovlex]

if he has his lights to come on automatically when it gets dark, the manual will tell you, if you don't drive the car for a week or so, turn the system off because it can drain the battery. that could be the problem if the battery is 3 years old.

[flanker271]

Also make sure that you turn off the remote keyless entry switch located under the left side of the steering wheel. This could also drain the battery.

[SKperformance]

I had the same problem years ago

i replaced my battery all the wires for grounds and to the starter

and now it sits for weeks at a time with only occasional boosts

found the cables were degrading and not giving the battery a full charge so it was very easy to die once it sat

[jschunke]

Mucho gras for the constructive replies. Auto lights, remote

keyless entry and ground are great suggestions. Maybe there

are other automatic features that draw juice? Changing

the battery every three years is a bit cautious, no?

[silvermate]

well the keyless entry shouldn't draw any charge just sitting there.

i beleive the only thing that should draw any charge is the OE alarm blinking light, and that wouldn't be enough to drain your battery, but i guess its possible if the car was sitting for a substantial amount of time, especially on an already weak battery.

Changing

the battery every three years is a bit cautious, no?

no, thats about right for an average battery, some say 5 years, but i've found thats really pushing it, 3 years is about right,

just get her changed out and you'll be good to go. ;)

also take SK's advice and clean/replace terminals, corroded battery cables and such, the corrosion eventually will spread like cancer, underneath the plastic cable housing, it might look clean but when u cut back the plastic, it will reveal a very corroded cable,

that in itself, would cause a weak power supply

its really simple to do, so i would reccomend doing that as well, as preventitive maintence, anyway. ( i did all that last year, its cheap and takes no time)

good luck

[lexus400]

I just had a similar problem on an ES. Are you sure the battery is drained and doesn't just "sound" like it is ? My symptoms were "click, click" after sitting for several days. Sounded just like a dead battery but turned out to be a bad solenoid on the starter. Funny because this car has a 3 year old Diehard too... but it checks out fine.

Bob