Battery Keeps Draining!

[mangiardi83]

ok heres the deal, it started last winter in michigan, i noticed my volts would go from 14 to 11.5-12 when the engine idles. and if i dont drive the car every day the battery will drain and be dead, i take the battery to autozone and recharge it and then it works fine. all the lights dim as well,as soon as i give it gas the volts jump back up. do i have a relay problem? i do have gauges could one of the grounds for those be messed up? maybe a fuse? please help!

[WRXDriver82]

Did autozone test the battery? Maybe its a bad cell...

[mangiardi83]

yep autozone tested it after they charged it.it is good it has to be something electrical.but i dont kjnow what .

[blarg]

did you by the car used?

could be an alternator underdrive pulley.

[TheJ]

did you by the car used?

could be an alternator underdrive pulley.

That's what I was thinking.

[mangiardi83]

brandnew 05 had this problem last winter, then in spring blew the motor(subaru voided my warrenty) and just got it back with a sti 2.5 short block. and its still doing this

[blarg]

brandnew 05 had this problem last winter, then in spring blew the motor(subaru voided my warrenty) and just got it back with a sti 2.5 short block. and its still doing this

you COULD have said that up front.

[TheJ]

i do have a underdrive pulley but that may explain the volts going up and down but why the batt draining when it sits for a couple of days

brandnew 05 had this problem last winter, then in spring blew the motor(subaru voided my warrenty) and just got it back with a sti 2.5 short block. and its still doing this

you COULD have said that up front.

+1

[mangiardi83]

i do have a underdrive pulley but that may explain the volts going up and down but why the batt draining when it sits for a couple of days

[blarg]

do your gauges operate when the car is off? if so, then you hooked them up to constant power rather than switched power.

sounds like you hooked SOMETHING up to constant power that shouldn't be...and the underdrive pulley is what's making your voltage drop at idle.

[mangiardi83]

you know what i think you are right, it has to be the gauges now i have mine hooked up through the center dash clock wiring is there a better place?

[blarg]

you know what i think you are right, it has to be the gauges now i have mine hooked up through the center dash clock wiring is there a better place?

the clock harness is the best place to do it..however, the clock harness has both switched and unswitched power...maybe you just tapped the wrong wire. you want the one that has no power when the ignition is off.

[mangiardi83]

ok would you happen to know the color, or i can get a voltometer and find it thanks