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Wipers and light draining battery when car off and/or battery's dead?
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tomanychoises32
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Nov 10, 2012, 5:28 PM
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Wipers and light draining battery when car off and/or battery's dead?
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98 6 cyl mercury mystique or ford contour. Basically the same car. Mine's a mystique.
4 months ago: the battery died overnight every once in a while. The wipers went on while driving sometimes but the switch was off.
Then the problem turned into: i would close the door after turning the car off, but a light on the door stayed on or sometimes turned on after I walked away from the car and would drain the battery overnight. I had to kick the door to turn the light off. I only had to jump it maybe twice in this stage though.
Then, the problem's this: None of my interior light work. The dashboard light works. I jumped the battery, it starts in two seconds. The wipers always go on right after starting but then turn off. I drive around to charge it up but it loses power overnight. If i start it a few hours after jumping, it would almost not start but did.
now: it won't start or even click right after turning it off after driving around after jumping it. Hopefully it's just the original battery, but the wiper and interior light issues point elsewhere. The battery + side was full of green powder stuff. It's a 40r battery, what can i use in place of that since I can't find a 40r used cheap if it's the battery?
I'll cut wires to interior lights, glovebox, etc if I don't really need them if it makes an easier fix.
Should I bring it to autozone for free testing and charging?
thank you so much.
(This post was edited by nickwarner on Nov 10, 2012, 6:05 PM)
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nickwarner
Veteran
/ Moderator
Nov 10, 2012, 6:11 PM
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Re: Wipers and light draining battery when car off and/or battery's dead?
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Don't cut any wires at all. You can take the battery to Autozone for testing, but don't even bother telling them about your electrical gremlins or they'll try to sell you a ton of crap that won't fix anything. They are counter monkeys, not mechanics. They know not what they speak of, their job is to get you to buy as much stuff as they possibly can. Heavy corrosion neads to be dealt with immediately. Poor connections can and will cause all sorts of nighmares.
I will only say this once, NO used batteries. Its a waste of money and asking to have trouble. Buy a new battery with a warranty. Your car doesn't take something that goes on NASA missions, its a standard group sized battery and for sale everywhere that sells them. Don't buy one at Wal-Mart, they have the highest failure rate and poorest performance I have ever seen.
Fully clean your cables, have the battery checked and if needed replaced, coat the hell out of the terminal connections with dielectric grease when you put it together and post back. If any of these issues remain we can troubleshoot it from there with a known good power source and contacts.
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tomanychoises32
New User
Nov 10, 2012, 10:08 PM
Post #3 of 9
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Re: Wipers and light draining battery when car off and/or battery's dead?
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ok. thanks.
i already cleaned the corrosion and put vaseline on everything.
(This post was edited by tomanychoises32 on Nov 10, 2012, 10:15 PM)
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Nov 11, 2012, 7:08 AM
Post #4 of 9
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Re: Wipers and light draining battery when car off and/or battery's dead?
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Vaseline? Where did anyone suggest that?
Dielectric grease ................. Vaseline ...................... not the same
You don't put grease on your ass and you don't put Vaseline on your car.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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tomanychoises32
New User
Nov 11, 2012, 11:58 AM
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Re: Wipers and light draining battery when car off and/or battery's dead?
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many use vaseline with no problem, but it can melt and cause probs.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
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Nov 11, 2012, 12:01 PM
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Re: Wipers and light draining battery when car off and/or battery's dead?
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Many who? People that don't know what they are doing?
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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nickwarner
Veteran
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Nov 11, 2012, 12:21 PM
Post #7 of 9
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Re: Wipers and light draining battery when car off and/or battery's dead?
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For now I'm not too worried about the vaseline deal, lets see what the results are of that battery testing. I do recall the old school farmers used to do the vaseline trick, it was better than nothing to keep corrosion off the terminals. But these are the same people who swear a concrete floor will drain a battery, which was true 80 years ago but isn't now, or that to quiet down a noisy manual trans you put a handful of sawdust in it. I could go on with more, but I think the point is made. When you go to get the battery taken care of, grab some dielectric grease and use that from now on.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
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Nov 12, 2012, 5:29 AM
Post #8 of 9
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Re: Wipers and light draining battery when car off and/or battery's dead?
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No puns - Vaseline is not for automotive uses. What is important is the corrosion that did exist was examined and corrected including battery tray and all wiring in that area inspected, any connectors may be troubles.
A dirty battery for any reason when damp to wet will drain between terminals or over the top hold down hardware (metal if used) and shorten life of battery being low too much and they don't like that.
Nick - Too funny with battery on cement floor. Within my time cases were not plain plastic and could drain. You could also take a hot nail and remove the whole top at edges like a rubbery caulking and replace just one cell bolted together in series, dump out junk at bottom, put in new electrolyte, reseal the top and be on your way!
T
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tomanychoises32
New User
Nov 18, 2012, 5:51 PM
Post #9 of 9
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Re: Wipers and light draining battery when car off and/or battery's dead?
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two shops tested the battery to be dead. I got a new battery. It's been in for a few days and no problems, so hopefully there's no wiring issue that drains the battery.
thanks
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