[JDH61]

My wife's 2001 93 has a problem something is draining the battery, if she doesn't drive it every couple of days the battery is completely dead. I was wondering if anybody else has had a problem like this and could point in the direction to look. If I have to I'll take it to a shop and see if they can run whatever is draining the battery down, but I thought this problem may be common enough for somebody to say check this first.
Thanks

 

[jvanabra]

Are you sure it's not just an old battery that won't hold a charge?

 

[JDH61]

Are you sure it's not just an old battery that won't hold a charge?

It's brand new.

 

[TheMole93]

Hatchback or convertible? Proper way is to pull each fuse and measure with a voltmeter. This is a crapshoot, but I had a friends Lexus who's memory seat button was inadvertently stuck down and it caused a battery drain.

 

[JDH61]

Hatchback or convertible? Proper way is to pull each fuse and measure with a voltmeter. This is a crapshoot, but I had a friends Lexus who's memory seat button was inadvertently stuck down and it caused a battery drain.

Convertible... I've never used a voltage meter. electricity is one of those things that escape me.

 

[jvanabra]

You're definitely gonna need a digital multimeter for this.... there are a fair number of electronics in the car.

 

[deyrag]

I have the same thing and just put a trickle charger on it if i know it won't move for a day or two. Maybe one day i will get around to trying to trace it.

 

[TheMole93]

Any aftermarket electronics in the car? What's the voltage of the battery when it's dead and when it's running?

 

[BobSaabit]

Any aftermarket electronics in the car? What's the voltage of the battery when it's dead and when it's running?

Also check battery voltage after driving around for over 20 minutes and just before starting (or not . Report back.

You're going to need a digital multimeter. You don't need a stellar one, but don't go too cheap.

The next step after checking voltages (and maybe reporting back here for comment) is to shut the car off and remove the red battery cable. Put the multimeter in line to measure current between the positive terminal and the red battery cable. See how much current is flowing. After an hour, look again (don't open any doors or do anything with the car, just look at the meter after an hour). Let us know what the current flow is initially and post-hour.