Hi, I have a 1999 Cavalier, 2.2L ohv, auto, 55k miles on it, owned it since june '05.

Since January 2006 my cav has just died, not started, 5 times. The first time I thought I just left the door open all night and my dome light was on and the battery drained, I just had it jumped and everything was fine.

Since then it has died 4 more times, including yesterday! I have taken it to a shop, had a friend look at it, taken it to a body shop where my mom works, everyone tells me its the battery, so I got a new one, it has only died once (yesterday) since I got the new battery.

Some odd things about when the car dies are that it ONLY dies in my garage, my moms Cobalt is parked right next to my cavy and has never died. The car will do it when I have a full tank or barely any gas, if I don't drive it for a day or 2 or if I just used it 12 hours ago and it has done it in the winter and the summer.

I have been told by the shops, etc that it is not the alternator or the starter, like I said the battery was replaced by the bodyshop where my mom works in june 06, another shop told me they have no idea what the problem could be, I have some gauges in my car but I don't think it's possible they could drain that much power, I always make sure my dome light turns off because I'm paranoid of it!

I don't know what else to do but replace the battery again, I don't want this to happen again in 2-3 months though, any ideas anybody? any help is appreciated, anybody else who has experienced this out there? I don't have the most knowledge of cars yet but im learning so I'm just looking for any ideas! , Thank you! ~Sarah

Take it to a professional. Tell them thesituation.

Likely what's happening is there is a short. This is causing a drain on the battery, even when the car is off.

I have a car that keeps draining the battery if I leave it sit for a day or so. Though, my cav can sit for weeks on end in the freezing cold, and still start just fine. Difference is the other car has a 'new' battery.

Also check to make sure you dont have anything else running. I have an XM reciever in mine that I always forget to turn off, and that draws some power. And I found out the cord for my cell phone was messed up, and I think that was just sitting there eating the battery. The light would say it was charging when there was no phone hooked to it . Little things like that will help.

Thanks for the idea, I did have a radar detector i kept plugged in and on 24/7, when i got the new battery i stopped using it, thinking it may have been the detector, since it has died again i doubt it ever was the detector.

I do have a air/fuel gauge that has a tiny light that always stays on, it is still on even though my dome light will not go on or is very dim if it does, so i don't think it's that light from the gauge, i have the factory radio/cd player also, no upgrades there that would draw anymore power.

SHOoff, is there any way I could check for a short myself, i have a friend very experienced with cars, he may know what do to or is it something i can't do myself? thank you for your help, it's getting frustrating!!!

i've known a few instances where the stock GM radio takes a crap (even though it still funtions properly) and drains the battery pretty fast! i'm not saying to go out and rip out and replace the stereo, but just another thing to keep your eyes out for, maybe pull the fuse over night and see if it does it. check to see if the trunk light stays on.. is there anything i mean ANYTHING that you do differently the night/day before the car dies (think about it hard, do you pop the trunk, go for a short drive, or long drive, have a passenger, go into the glove box, play a cd?)


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** Flat Broke Racing Inc.**

Have you checked that the Negative Battery cable has a good contact to the chassis and engine block.

I have come across quite a few cars that have had the same symptoms as yours and the fault has been a bad ground connection. Once started they will run OK for quite a while then fail again as the "bad contact" is restored.
You would need to disconnect the Negative then Positive battery connectors at the battery, then disconnect the ground points at the other end of the Negative cable and make sure they are "shiny clean". Then connect everything up in reverse order.


Alont

All gauges should be wired to a 'Switched' source, that only turns on with the key. Any voltage drain can drain a battery.

If your handy with a dvom or test light, you can check the fuse panel for circuits that stay powered after the key is turned off. Then trace down what those circuits are for, and see if any are powered that are not supposed to be.




SPD RCR Z - '02 Z24 420whp
SLO GOAT - '04 GTO 305whp
W41 BOI - '78 Buick Opel Isuzu W41 Swap

easiest way to test for and trace a power drain is to disconnect the negative terminal and use a continuity tester between the battery and the terminal. If you have an abnormal drain the light will be on. Then you just go through and pull fuses one by one until the light goes out.


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'96 Cavalier Good ol' Pushrod 2.2
-24X,000 miles on factory build
-Some oil loss between changes, me thinks it be rings.

Sorry, then whatever is connected to the fuse that causes the light to go out is where the drain is coming from.


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'96 Cavalier Good ol' Pushrod 2.2
-24X,000 miles on factory build
-Some oil loss between changes, me thinks it be rings.

Thank you everyone for the ideas, the car is back and running, after christmas i have someone who is going to check all the fuses and i am also going to get done what SpeedRacerZ said, so no lights on the gauges will be on unless the key is in, i also have an o2 sensor and some stuff to take care of then anyways. Again, thanks everyone!!!

My gf had this problem on hers, sometimes she'd turn it off then try to start it up 5 mins later, all the dash lights and the radio would work, but the engine wouldn't crank. Finally we found a little black ground wire that had finally broke (down by the bottom of the radiator), replaced it, and she hasn't had a problem yet.


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2000 Cavalier Coupe, 138k miles, 2.2 Auto, Silver (alive)
1999 Cavalier Sedan, 237k miles, 2.2 Auto, White (dead)