Weird device connected to battery? Can anyone identify

[BitchinCorolla]

This harness is killing me. I’m feeling around it, I can’t find anything to push down. I’m using all my strength to try and unplug it and it won’t budge. Guess the only solution is to keep trying.

 

[BitchinCorolla]

So close.

 

[BitchinCorolla]

I got it out, but I don’t think the premium amp was the source of the draw. I’ll check tomorrow but my battery already went down to 11.70 in the 15 minutes I had it off. I guess I’ll have to start pulling fuses now. And who knows how hard it’ll be to reinstall this amp.

 

[07GtS197]

My bet is the alternator. But as Scott said, try the amp draw test while pulling fuses.

 

[ttocs]

if you took that battery down to 0v there is a good chance that even with it new that it might not be so good anymore. Something is drawing some current there or that battery is really really dead

 

[BitchinCorolla]

if you took that battery down to 0v there is a good chance that even with it new that it might not be so good anymore. Something is drawing some current there or that battery is really really dead

It was sitting dead for a while, about a week. I checked the drain, I think it’s about -11 amps according to my multimeter. It would be great if the battery was just shot, I’ve got a warranty on it, but I don’t want to get a new battery only for it to drain again. I think if it was showing a drain there probably is one. I’ll just have to jump it again, charge it up, and then test all the fuses before it runs flat.

 

[ttocs]

11 amps! That would be like leaving your headlights on are ya sure you don't mean .11 amps? Also to confirm to measure amps/current you need to disconnect the battery and then put the meter between the battery and the battery lead, you can't just measure it on the - and + of the battery.

If the battery was dead for a weak disconnect it and drop it off at the store you got it at to have them charge and test it.

 

[BitchinCorolla]

My bet is the alternator. But as Scott said, try the amp draw test while pulling fuses.

Alternator is brand new and seems like it’s charging the battery fine. I do wonder if I got a bad one though.

 

[BitchinCorolla]

11 amps! That would be like leaving your headlights on are ya sure you don't mean .11 amps? Also to confirm to measure amps/current you need to disconnect the battery and then put the meter between the battery and the battery lead, you can't just measure it on the - and + of the battery.

If the battery was dead for a weak disconnect it and drop it off at the store you got it at to have them charge and test it.

Yeah with my multimeter I put the positive on the negative terminal and the negative on the part that goes around the negative terminal. I was watching a Chris fix video on it and that’s how he did it. I’m pretty sure it was 11 amps. I’ll check again tomorrow but I’m almost certain it was 11.0 on the multimeter. Battery does drain pretty quick so it’s probably a high number. I got the battery from AAA so I don’t have a store to visit, although I could call them out and have them check on it (although it’d use one of my limited free calls)

 

[07GtS197]

Alternator is brand new and seems like it’s charging the battery fine. I do wonder if I got a bad one though.

Just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s good. I had a bad alternator in a crown vic I had. It would charge just fine but would drain the battery overnight. I replaced it and the issue was gone.

 

[ttocs]

if you really have an 11 amp drain and you paid a mechanic to find it and he could not, I would ask for your money back. One that large should be pretty easy to find.

 

[BitchinCorolla]

if you really have an 11 amp drain and you paid a mechanic to find it and he could not, I would ask for your money back. One that large should be pretty easy to find.

He replaced my alternator, which was definitely broken. It was charging the battery, but it wouldn’t increase the charge when the battery needed more power. I’ll definitely test the alternator more tomorrow, I’ve heard a lot about them going bad. As far as I could tell it was working, but I could test more. If it is the alternator I’ll probably ask him about getting one and then just install it myself since it’s an easy job.

 

[BitchinCorolla]

Went out this morning to check on the car. It still won’t turn over, but unlike previous times the battery is not completely flat. It was somewhere around 10 before I tried to start it, now the battery is at 9.45. I will check later today to see if the voltage has dropped. I am thinking it might just not hold as much of a charge anymore since I jumped it and had it dead for a while. I should probably get it tested somewhere as well

 

[ttocs]

I would test that battery before you start chasing fuses. You have bottoming it out so many times I have a hard time believing it is still good. Take the battery out of the car, take it to where you got it and tell them to charge and test it and then just leave it there for a few hours. It only takes 20-30 mins if it is in good shape but I have seen before where batteries will come off the charger and just barely test ok but then if you do not hook it up, it will start to slowly lose voltage = bad battery.

 

[BitchinCorolla]

I would test that battery before you start chasing fuses. You have bottoming it out so many times I have a hard time believing it is still good. Take the battery out of the car, take it to where you got it and tell them to charge and test it and then just leave it there for a few hours. It only takes 20-30 mins if it is in good shape but I have seen before where batteries will come off the charger and just barely test ok but then if you do not hook it up, it will start to slowly lose voltage = bad battery.

Yeah that’s my plan

 

[BitchinCorolla]

This is so strange. I’ve been measuring the voltage of the battery and it has increased. I unplugged it from the car, pos and neg, at 9.5 volts and now two days later it is at 10.2… what does this mean? Is my multimeter shot or do batteries do this?

 

[ttocs]

it could be a bad meter. It might have just been because of the draw the car has on the battery. I still say the battery is bad, drop it off at the local shop for a charge/test

 

[BitchinCorolla]

I think the issue is fixed. Battery isn’t in perfect shape but the car started next day without a jump. I think as long as I don’t keep the car sitting it’ll start so I’m not gonna worry too much about replacing the battery. So my new question is, what’s the best way to restore working radio in this car?

 

[BitchinCorolla]

Ideally I’d be able to still use the factory radio but I guess I’d buy a new radio if I had to.

 

[ttocs]

well lets throw caution to the wind and see if it starts after 2 days.

as for getting the radio working, are you still using the stock speakers as well as the amps(more than likely but I have to ask). The stock speakers will not work with out the stock amps, so your choice is to either source another stock(and hopefully working) amp or replace the speakers and bypass the amp