dead battery caused by?

[hoe_nah]

so about to leave for work today I went to unarm my alarm system and nothing happened, opened the door manually and tried to start the truck, no crank to noise nothing. it was storming pretty bad last night but idk what caused my battery to drain down to 6volts.

not sure if this is the cause but my windshield wiper control was still in the "on" position. would that cause the battery to drain? I park in my driveway on a slight hill...the rain was so bad my driver side floor had some water and when I drove my truck down the ramp there was like a gallon of water stored somewhere that came pouring out lol...

any ideas on what caused my battery to drain overnight? it was parked at 11:30pm and dead at 12pm today

 

[Socco]

My money is on the gallon of water that "poured out of somewhere." Water, being conductive, could have caused a short circuit thus drawing current.

Your windshield wiper switch does not energize anything when the truck is shut off, so that wasn't it. You can even leave the headlight switch on all year long, but as soon as you switch off the key and open a door, they shut off too.

 

[hoe_nah]

jumped it and now its fine...gonna tear apart the dash in the morning tho

 

[OTB]

Take the battery up to the parts store and have them run a test on it.
Could be a dead cell. Had that happen before and it the vehicle will jump off ine and even restart. Then when you think everything is ok, it won't start lol.

Could be you left a dome light on, door not closed properly, etc.

Could be that gallon of water shorting something out.

 

[hoe_nah]

so I checked it again when I got home from work and the batt is dead. I'm wondering if my alarm has anything to do with it? I looked into my truck and my alarm light was flashing. I go to unlock my alarm and everything cuts out. no flashing led nothing. alarm doesn't even chirp. gonna look into first thing in the morning.

had my gf pick up a new battery while I was at work. so we shall see.

 

[BlazeRunner]

I would have at least tested the old battery before buying a new one. Also, is it a factory alarm or aftermarket? I've had problems with an aftermarket one in the past (different vehicle that previous owner installed), and removing it fixed my issues.

Regarding the battery; If your old battery had tested good, I would go right to the alternator and test the output. If the alternator is bad you'll just end up killing that new battery fairly quick. Most auto parts stores will check both for free. Either way if you use the new battery you should still test the alternator.

 

[hoe_nah]

got the new batt in. voltage at the alt is around 13-14 when running. drove to work 11miles and all seems well so far. gonna keep an eye on my batt every few hours to see if the voltage is dropping.

it is an aftermarket alarm. I'm going to tear into it and re-splice/solder whoever installed the alarm used a lot of those crush splice connector things.

 

[Socco]

it is an aftermarket alarm. I'm going to tear into it and re-splice/solder whoever installed the alarm used a lot of those crush splice connector things.

Before you start playing with the alarm...Wait to see how your battery fares over the next couple days. A "scotch lock" connector wont kill your battery. I installed thousands of alarms and stereos in my previous life. There is nothing wrong with them if installed correctly and for the right application.

 

[hoe_nah]

I was looking over some of those connections and some look like the other wire that needs to be connected to it is missing. unless it was cut or something. those connections drive me nuts.

 

[hoe_nah]

well I just checked my batt and its now at 10.8...something is draining it and idk what it is. it was at 11.2 around 5:00 so I ran the truck for a bit...it was sitting at 12.2 then I just checked again 10.8...truck won't kick over..I hope its not gonna be stuck at work...I might just disconnect my battery till I get off work

 

[Socco]

well I just checked my batt and its now at 10.8...something is draining it and idk what it is. it was at 11.2 around 5:00 so I ran the truck for a bit...it was sitting at 12.2 then I just checked again 10.8...truck won't kick over..I hope its not gonna be stuck at work...I might just disconnect my battery till I get off work

Grab a DVOM and start checking to find what is actually drawing current. Pull the fuses from your alarm first and check its amp draw. If the alarm is in the low mA range, move on to the rest of the fused circuits in the truck. Keep in mind that some circuits will normally draw a small amount of current. Anything (not on) thats pulling over say, 500mA (0.5 A) would be suspicious.

 

[BamaDrewski]

I had the same problem on my 2000 T4R Limited. The battery kept draining out even though it was new. I disconnected the DRL (Daytime Running Light) harness in the driver side fender - up near the battery. That fixed it for me.

 

[hoe_nah]

my drl are disabled. although something else is wrong wifh that. I need to flash my high beams before the low beams come on. thanks another issue lol...

my day off will be finding this damn parasitic draw...wanted to go fishing dammit

 

[hoe_nah]

tried to trace it down. I unplugged my alt wire and my amps dropped...not much but it was the only thing thst dropped amps. ran my truck for 15mins, voltage running was 13.9, shut it down and unplugged the alt wire n let the truck sit overnight. woke up this morning and all was good. went out n got a new alt. so hopefully its gonna be cherry now