sudden battery drainage

[blueslady]

Hi all, i have posted messages about my battery draining... Gone through 5 of them. But they seem to last a few months or so, and then all of a sudden go dead. What causes them to do this?? They are fine one minute, and the next thing you know, dead........Car is at mechanics......Unfortunetly..... Found like 2 major draws, and 2 small ones. the door locks were corroded, replaced them.. Now i need 2 struts for my back rear hatch window. Would that have anything to do with this problem? Also, my cruise control doesn't work. Could this be a draw??? He took the instrument cluster out, and sent if off to be repaired.What boggles me is that the battery's last a few months and then just do dead.

 

[bobmook]

Hi all, i have posted messages about my battery draining... Gone through 5 of them. But they seem to last a few months or so, and then all of a sudden go dead. What causes them to do this?? They are fine one minute, and the next thing you know, dead........Car is at mechanics......Unfortunetly..... Found like 2 major draws, and 2 small ones. the door locks were corroded, replaced them.. Now i need 2 struts for my back rear hatch window. Would that have anything to do with this problem? Also, my cruise control doesn't work. Could this be a draw??? He took the instrument cluster out, and sent if off to be repaired.What boggles me is that the battery's last a few months and then just do dead.

I tested my car this weekend and discovered something like a 10 MA drain, which I attribute to the various electrical devices which retain their settings. It is not normal what is happening to your car. My first suspicion would be a bad chassis ground, but usually that's accompanied by other symptoms such as dimming headlights/slower heater motors at idle. Another simple explanation is corroded battery cables, not where you can see it but under the insulation on the cables.
Having seen your posts on this subject and how long this issue has plagued you (I went back and looked at some older posts I haven't been here all that long) if it were me I'd seriously consider trying another mechanic. The stuff I've mentioned is all general type things, since my corvette knowledge is not all that deep (yet ).
The reason I mention another mechanic is this. My brother is a master electician and he knows nothing about vettes. However I know given a multimeter and an electrical diagram he could successfully diagnose your problem in less than a day, I've seen him do it on a Mazda RX-7 he knew nothing about going in. With that said I would hope a mechanic could do the same over a period of months.
Good luck and I hope you find your problem soon.

 

[Robert]

I am going to get a battery tender for my 84. I had one on my Gold Wing. They are a good investment for any battery that sits/sets more than it is being charged. Batteries will of they accord drain themselves so much everyday.

Battery tenders keep them at full charge which extends the life considerably.

Robert