Battery Drain

[FLYBOY]

Can't firgure out my battery drain problem for quite some time.
It's a red top optima battery 12.66V
But after a day or two it's dead again.
I ever have a cut off switch but that doesn't seem to help.
My Doors have been checked as well as dome lights are out and is radio off
What is the best way to diagnose where it's coming from?
I.e pulling fuses one at a time????

[NightFlyer]

Can't firgure out my battery drain problem for quite some time.
It's a red top optima battery 12.66V
But after a day or two it's dead again.
I ever have a cut off switch but that doesn't seem to help.
My Doors have been checked as well as dome lights are out and is radio off
What is the best way to diagnose where it's coming from?
I.e pulling fuses one at a time????

Start by confirming the functionality of your cut off switch - use a meter to see if the switch is actually operating as it should.

[Bitsyncmaster]

The old red tops were known to not work very well after you discharged them. What are you charging the battery with after you say it's dead?

As suggested, verify your battery cut off switch does cutoff all the load (one battery terminal is cut open).

[David T]

It *could* be the battery. Optima's have been known to fail. Take the battery out of the car for 2 days and see what happens.

[Kenny_Z]

I think my battery cutoff switch was causing my battery drain issue. I couldn't figure it out either but once I removed the cutoff switch it stopped happening. I have no idea why, it was just a couple of copper plates.

[Exolis]

Measure the current at the battery to see how much is being drained. Also, take the battery to a place like Autozone to get the battery tested. That is probably first step.

[DMCMW Dave]

I think my battery cutoff switch was causing my battery drain issue. I couldn't figure it out either but once I removed the cutoff switch it stopped happening........

That makes absolutely no sense at all.

To the first poster- if the battery is going dead with it disconnected, it's bad. No question about it. A good battery, fully charged, will start the car after 6 months. A good battery NOT disconnected may have a hard time starting the car after 4-5 weeks. There is some parasitic drain.

[David T]

That makes absolutely no sense at all.

To the first poster- if the battery is going dead with it disconnected, it's bad. No question about it. A good battery, fully charged, will start the car after 6 months. A good battery NOT disconnected may have a hard time starting the car after 4-5 weeks. There is some parasitic drain.

It *could* be the battery switch. If the battery switch is defective and not actually disconnecting the battery and there is a large drain on it and/or the battery is also bad. Physically remove the cables to the battery and then reconnect it in 2 days. See what happens. My bet is on a bad battery.

[DMCMW Dave]

It *could* be the battery switch. If the battery switch is defective and not actually disconnecting the battery and there is a large drain on it and/or the battery is also bad. Physically remove the cables to the battery and then reconnect it in 2 days. See what happens. My bet is on a bad battery.

I was assuming that if it wasn't disconnecting the battery the door lights would still be visibly on. Can't really account for all the really obvious issues, and if this was the problem taking the switch off and leaving it wired all the time certainly wouldn't fix it.

[FLYBOY]

I installed a new cutoff switch a few months ago
So that could be the issue. I will follow that advice and disconnect the
Cables and reconnect in two days time and see what happens.
I'll report back I think this has been an issue for a long time so we'll see.

Question though even though I know this jumping ahead of myself here but
If say after a week or so with the battery disconnected then
Reconnected and it starts would that isolate the battery as NOT the cause? And also
Where would I start to look for the drain?
Thanks for all the advice guys, really appreciate it because this is really holding me back
From having a realible Delorean!

[DMCMW Dave]

Question though even though I know this jumping ahead of myself here but
If say after a week or so with the battery disconnected then
Reconnected and it starts would that isolate the battery as NOT the cause? And also
Where would I start to look for the drain?
Thanks for all the advice guys, really appreciate it because this is really holding me back
From having a realible Delorean!

If it starts after leaving it all disconnected for a few weeks, the battery is good.

Best way to find the drain assumes you understand enough electrical theory to put an amp-meter in line with the battery. Then you can measure the drain. This is NOT a voltmeter that reads across the battery, it has to go inline with the battery so that all current flowing out of the battery is measured.

While reading the meter start pulling fuses and disconnecting things such as the lock module and see when the drain goes away. Zero is ideal but as long as you have a functional clock and radio it will not get that low.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Maybe I missed it but, how are you charging the battery? A fully charged good battery should be able to sit many months disconnected and still start the car when you connect it. Typical load on our D is around 20 ma. of current not running. If a good fully charged battery is left connected, you should be able to start the car within one or two months of sitting.

[FLYBOY]

Well looks like all you guys were right about the battery
12.8V charged after two days Out of the car it showed 10.59 so I had it tested and the report said bad cell.
Any suggestions on a new Optima yellow top instead?
Thats what im leaning toward.
I'm hesitant to put a regular dry cell in but am staying clear of those red tops.

Thanks appreciate it

[David T]

Well looks like all you guys were right about the battery
12.8V charged after two days Out of the car it showed 10.59 so I had it tested and the report said bad cell.
Any suggestions on a new Optima yellow top instead?
Thats what im leaning toward.
I'm hesitant to put a regular dry cell in but am staying clear of those red tops.

Thanks appreciate it

Save your money and buy a good lead-acid battery. The Optima batteries have their share of problems and I see no big advantage in using one in a Delorean.

[Exolis]

Well looks like all you guys were right about the battery
12.8V charged after two days Out of the car it showed 10.59 so I had it tested and the report said bad cell.
Any suggestions on a new Optima yellow top instead?
Thats what im leaning toward.
I'm hesitant to put a regular dry cell in but am staying clear of those red tops.

Thanks appreciate it

Yellow Tops are essentially the same as Red Tops, however the metal plates are different since Yellow Top is for Deep Cycle. You typically should never need to use a Deep Cycle battery for a car like the DeLorean. Any battery is subject to damage if not taken care of properly and any battery can fail prematurely too. So can go with Optima again or try a regular lead acid battery. But if you don't like the Red Top, I wouldn't recommend going with a Yellow Top, basically the same battery, minus how the plates are shaped.

[NightFlyer]

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?7511-Better-Battery-Option%28s%29-Than-Optima&highlight=battery

Optimas are currently all made in Mexico, and aren't as good as they used to be when they were made in CO, USA.

My current car battery of choice is an AGM made by East Penn Manufacturing Co., Inc. in Lyon Station, PA, USA. The best value for an East Penn manufactured AGM that I've been able to find is the Duration Extreme (a Blain's Farm and Fleet house brand) AGM Yellow Cycle for $124.99 plus tax with core. It's what I'm currently running in my car, and couldn't be happier with it. Looking at their website, it appears that Blain's no longer offers this battery for sale.

So, I would recommend the following, which are essentially the same thing as the Duration Extreme AGM Yellow Cycle:

Duracell AGM Automotive Battery (available exclusively at Sam's Clubs)

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/duracell-agm-automotive-battery-group-size-78dtagm/prod3590233.ip

DieHard Advanced Gold AGM Battery

http://www.sears.com/diehard-advanced-gold-agm-battery-group-size-78/p-02850778000P?prdNo=50