# battery drain on stock car after washing engine bay?



## [email protected] (Aug 5, 2010)

this one has me confused 

i have a 2002 mitsubishi lancer es for a beater. i drive it every day for work, no issues.

recently, i decided to sell it. want something more fun. this was my wife's car before and i kinda commandeered it when she got a new rabbit.


so i decided to clean the engine bay. simple green, scrub brush, and hose at medium pressure. washed it and drove the car to pick up some parts.

next day i come out to find a dead battery. no biggie, it was 4.5 years old, figured it would need replaced eventually. got a new Everstart Maxx, put it in, boom everything is fine. 

next morning, car starts up, i'm on my way to work and it's idling at 500, and the oil pressure light is flickering. turn around and go back home. 

try to start the car after work and it's dead. i return the battery and get a replacement. hooked up - works great. let it run for maybe 3 minutes total. 

next day after work i go to start the car and it's weak. it turns over, but barely. i unhooked the negative cable and here we are.


the car is completely stock, with no aftermarket electronics, and has never been fiddled with. 

is it possible that a bad alternator is draining the battery that quickly? can alternators be killed that easily? (there's no tray underneath it to prevent road water from hitting it.


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## NFrazier (Jul 22, 2006)

[email protected] said:


> this one has me confused
> 
> i have a 2002 mitsubishi lancer es for a beater. i drive it every day for work, no issues.
> 
> ...


After any engine bay washing, I wouldn't drive, start, or even turn the ignition on to a vehicle until it's dry. Alternators are what runs the vehicles electronics when the car is running. If the alternator is faulty, it's not recharging the battery (when the battery is drained by starting, accessory power, etc.), thus will kill it. Most standard batteries, once they reach a certain threshold, cannot fully recharge.

I would have the battery tester using a hydrometer, and have the alternator tested as well. If you have a DMM, test the voltage of the battery without the car running (should be between 11.8-12.6vdc), and test it with the car running (13.6-14.4vdc).

Let me know what you have for results. You may also have a loose wire. I'd examine the battery's power and ground as well as the power wire from the alternator to the battery, maybe something got knocked loose.


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## [email protected] (Aug 5, 2010)

12.49 car off. 14.53 car running. 

i heard a buzzing when i started it today. that and the climate control unit being able to be turned on without the key in makes me think i have a bad relay.


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## Heathcliff Huxtable (Aug 4, 2011)

had to get a non-sponsor name 

- i checked all of the fuses. all intact

- im searching around for a blower fan relay. nothing in the manual or what i can find online calls it out. 

- i had replaced the climate control unit, but i put the old one back in and it's still able to be turned on with no key in. when i first hookup the battery, get in the car, the hvac wont turn on. good. as soon as i turn it to accessory, i can turn the fan on. i turn the car off, and the fan stays on. get out, close the door, lock it, get back in, the fan is still on.

i'll find that damn relay if it's the end of me!


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## NFrazier (Jul 22, 2006)

Heathcliff Huxtable said:


> had to get a non-sponsor name
> 
> - i checked all of the fuses. all intact
> 
> ...


Yea. Definitely seems Luke there's an issue w the car shutting off power to the circuit when te vehicle is off. I wish I could give u more insight but I'm not familiar w the overall electronics of a lancer.


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## Heathcliff Huxtable (Aug 4, 2011)

yeah the lancer forums are garbage. 


i think i'm starting to narrow it down.

the a/c light cannot be turned off. 

the recirc light cant be toggled either, it comes on only on the non-defroster settings. 

the fan stays on if the recirc light is lit. 

i'm going to try swapping around climate units to see if it's a problem with the unit, otherwise i need to track down the location of the relay.


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