skwidstyle2

hello all ... my battery drains every 3-4 weeks since purchase about a year ago. i never attempted to take care of it until now that my battery finally would not come back to life (after a regular charge &/or a 3 day trickle charge) & i purchased a new one, - obviously because i do not want this new battery to be dead in a year also! so i traced it to a small light right above the 50mph mark on the odometer that never turns off & is associated with a very light chirping noise coming from the odometer/dash area which also chirps 24/7 while the car is off. "solution" is to pull the backup clock fuse, which stops both.
... so do i have any other option other than just leaving it out all the time or taking it out every time i turn off the car, which both are yielding me the same result of resetting the ecu every time i drive ? ... ALSO - i have an aftermarket stereo & amplifier installed, in case anyone knows if either would cause this

ErickUa5

This one is tricky, have you tried removing the radio fuse or removing the radio to check the wiring ?
The multiplex unit might be shot or it can be a wire thats touching somewhere

skwidstyle2

- will try radio fuse ... radio was wired/installed by a trustworthy friend whose been installing stereos for 20+ years, but anythings possible. i will have it checked out for sure.

ErickUa5

If it was happening before the radio was installed it may not be the radio but still try the fuse.

01tl4tl

how many days does the car sit unused?
if more than a week, I would get either a battery maintainer/trickle charger that has a quick disconnect plug you can hide in the grill, plugs in to 110v power
plug it in when its going to sit for long periods and it will be full when you return
Most motorcycles use one of these all the time bike is parked at home- to keep the very small batt full of its 16amps

if you leave the car away from home and power for weeks, a small solar battery charger placed on the dash will offset the alarm light and other power drains so its always ready to go

have buddy ck for draw amount when engine off to make sure nothing is amiss
also run alt output test

Are you running a MARINE/boat camper battery- many cars with big stereo tend to sit parked and use a lot of power from batt, then alt has to work hard to recharge
a regular car batt doesn't like that- its supposed to always get instantly refilled by the alt while driving
Marine batts sit for months and maintain power, get some charge and sit again- powering stereo and boat or camper equip all weekend, Deep Cycle is the term for them - they like abuse

skwidstyle2

^^^ daily driver never sits more than like 8 hrs ... maybe 24-30 on a weekend if i'm mostly at home. just a regular 600 cca battery not a marine one (man i was contemplating getting one too i might just get one if within 30 days this one gets fully drained again!). amplifier as far as i know is fully powered off when car is off, & its nothing too big just 300 watts rms. & what should my current draw be when the car is off to be where the battery should not be being drained -- .05?

fsttyms1

You need to address the issue of the light and chirp. Dont go wasting money on different batteries. Find the cause of the problem and fix that. You need to find out exactly what light is on and what is making the noise, and why its drawing current.

3.2TLc

Yeah, the chirping light isn't a normal thing. Was it doing this before the stereo install ?
Make sure that the amp set-up is completely powered down when the car is turned off.

Groovemaster

Is it possible to take a video of the light and the chirp? Is it audible? I'm thinking maybe the ignition switch it allowing a ciruit to receive partial power when turned off. I read that certain years had ignition switch issues, so it is a possibility. What year is your TL?

01tl4tl

allright! groove is catching on and already knows of the dreaded 99 ign switch failure (which may extend to later years)

Groovemaster

To be fair, I actually have years of experience in the 12V industry (more than I care to share), and I like to learn, especially about potential issues in something I own. Thanks... Once I get the hang of these TL's of ours, I should be quite helpful...