On my 2005 eco auto sedan having issues lately if i dont start and run it every day then the battery will die or come pretty close to it. i have a sub/amp but it only turns on with switch power so that is not the issue and same setup for 2.5 years now with no problem. alt tested good at autozone and volt gauge reads a good 14 when driving. anyone else ahve similar issues before?

Oh and battery is only a few months old, also have big 3 and new power/ground bolts on battery when installed battery.

used to be able to let it sit for 3-5 days no problem, now more than a day it doesnt have enough charge to start.

What type of battery,It is possiable to have a bad battery out of the box..You can test it and it will show good because you just drove it to a shop..It could have a collapsed wall inside of it..If it is under warranty I would return it..If you have added nothing new to it except a new batt then I would say it could be a batt problem..

I know what your saying i have gotten bad batteries quite a few times before. but the battery itself is fine its been in the car since last spring. and my cars have never been to a shop other than for alignments, and never will, I even take the wheels off the cars to get new tires and bring them in becuase I dont trust them touching my cars, especially my 05.

Well what type of batt are you using..You stated you took it to a Auto Zone for testing so that is a shop is it not..If you are using a standared batt in your car with a big system you will screw it faster than using somthing like a Yellow top..And the big 3 what ever that may be,is going to do nothing much to save a batt...If you have added nothing new to the system or the car for electrical..It would tell me you have a batt problem..

When they tested the alternator did the test the amperage output?

idk about that one mitdr774 just tested good the machine said they didnt tell me what they testing it for amperage or voltage or both. they did it twice to make sure though.

jason its not the system! lmao sorry been through too many "systems" to not know how to hoo it up right especially since nothing has changed on my system in 2.5 years, and last battery was still ok just bought a new one to have warranty and it has more cca.

Then it must be a Batt...I am glad you have been through many system and know how to hook things up.....I know how to hook up systems also,15 years doing car audio,CCA does not mean a battery is better or not..I just trying to tell you that if You start your car and drive it to a place to test it if the ALT shows it is charging and then when they turn off the car they do a load test the battery will already be carrying a charge so it will show that it is fine..If you are killing a battery over night then you have 1 a bad batt,2 Somthing not turing off properly..I have a full system in my 05 Sunfire with a yellow top,And my car has sat for a month with no issues,So If the batt was the last thing changed it to me sounds like this is the issue..

Unhook your all your groung cables from your battery, make sure they are all connected somehow, and hook a one wire test light between the ground on your battery and the ground wires. Make sure the key is off or removed, if it lights up, you have something drawing power all the time. IE. Could be a broken power wire jumping to something else. Or a bad switch or whatever.....

If the light doesnt come on, i would say you have a bad battery.

so after 10 months the battery would all of a sudden start being bad? yellow tops are overrated i sold mine for 50 bucks as it was wayyy to heavy for my little j-body came out of my toyo minitruck, granted they last forever and can be recharged after sitting there for months, too heavy. Again the battery was bought and I installed it last spring so its not bad out of the box otherwise I would of had this problem then, so its something drawing power, idk be it a sensor, switch, or what, but ive been going through the car to check and nothing yet.

mr choo im going to try that with a test light later, and see how that goes.

A Yellow top is over rated..Thats funny..I had 10 years on mine and just changed it for a new one..And to heavy for you car????Are you kidding me..Your sub box subs and amp weigh more then the batt,And yes after 10 months a batt can go bad especally if you have been killing it and restarting it..A standared batt after being killed just once is basicaly had 50 percent of its life taken out of..That is why battereys such as red and yellow tops are better.

how is a red to better, only the yellow and blue top are deep cycle. and my yellow top I sold to my friend he is still using it in his 99 cav and I Bought it in 2002. I know there good for high loads etc. and you know what sub/amp/box i have in my car? do you have a spare key that I dont know about becuase none of it is listed in my profile.

Still battery has checked out good for holding a charge, took it to shop today to have it run on there battery tester. so as I said its something parasitic taking from the battery. Just have to figure out what it is exactly. figured maybe someone on here has had similar problem, maybe not. most people on here just assume what your talking about without reading carefully or thinking before answering. thanks for stating one of the most obvious things to check first jason, and being of no help at all.how is autozone an automotive repair shop and how did I take my car there when I drove the battery there in my 1998 j?

If you find that there is something running when its not supposed to be, start pulling fuses. If the light goes out, its something in that circuit. I forgot to add this earlier.

I'm just throwing this out there, but is the battery clean between the two terminals? I'm assuming its clean, but you never know. I've seen them barely dirty and run a battery semi-dead.

Wow once again another person who does not know anything...Blue top is the only deep cycle batt,Red and yellow are best for everday use,But I guess you working in a kitchen would know more than me dealing with batteres and @!#$ty installs,And people comming to my shop with @!#$ questions of why there @!#$ does not work and wanting the real resone behind the problem, If you read anything at all mabey you would understand what I am getting at...So I wish you all the best in your venture of tring to find your problem..

this coming from optimas own website...
Make sure you’re getting every ounce of performance out of your electronics by giving them enough power to annoy everyone around you. The YellowTop deep cycle capabilities allow you to amp it up longer and drain your battery deeper than traditional batteries. That comes in handy at DB drag competitions. It also provides cleaner power with higher voltage output and 16X more vibration resistance than traditional batteries so your battery can bounce to the beat and not lose power over time. Its leakproof design allows you to mount it anywhere, in any position.

anyways check the sig if you cant tell what battery I have in there. also I must add I would hate to have someone who cant spell anything dealing with anything electrical in my vehicles to not set it a blaze. good thing I install everything myself, why my system has held up so long with no problems, same amp/sub/box/speakers/wiring only change was last year a new head unit I installed around same time as battery if not a little after.

thanks all for suggestions anyways.

Wow just because you cant understand what I am talking about I am the problem...Ok..

Use an ammeter to see if there's a parasitic loss. If there is, keep it attached and start pulling fuses to determine which system is responsible for the draw.


2002 Cavalier 2200 5spd

if your so experienced jason, how do you not know what the big 3 are?

15 years of doing stuff wrong isn't "experience"

Sorry I have not heard of the big 3..Just because It is some new gay ass term...If I have been doing so much wrong why have I had cars in Performace Auto And Sound Mag..Because my stuff is @!#$ and does not work..If you know so much please do tell what is wrong with this guys ride..Also I do wonder what was wrong with this guys car..Due to the fact he has never replied back to let us all know what the problem is..You work at Lowes as a nobody so when you actualy can talk about how to do somthing then please get back to me...Thanks

Jason Burten wrote:Sorry I have not heard of the big 3..Just because It is some new gay ass term...If I have been doing so much wrong why have I had cars in Performace Auto And Sound Mag..Because my stuff is @!#$ and does not work..If you know so much please do tell what is wrong with this guys ride..Also I do wonder what was wrong with this guys car..Due to the fact he has never replied back to let us all know what the problem is..You work at Lowes as a nobody so when you actualy can talk about how to do somthing then please get back to me...Thanks

the big 3 is just getting a larger gauge wire for battery to ground, alt to ground, and replacing the wire from alt to batt with larger gauge wire and inline fuse as well.


i havnt been having the problem anymore, I had a faulty votlage regulator, since ive taken care of that it has been ok.

Glad to hear it worked out for you...I figured thats what it was for the big 3...

I had this problem right before my alternator went out.

Mine did the EXACT same thing turns out it was an illumination wire on the head unit that was causing the problem.....had it running hot all the time instead of when you turn the lights on.......there are 2 wires on the harness that are orange, make sure you have the right one hooked up.......after i changed the wires around i didnt have the problem anymore....and you stated that this started right after you hooked up a head unit.....ding ding we have a winner