Whats Killing my Battery?

[gilbert85295]

To be honest I don't know a lot about cars so I am really hoping someone can give me some good advice. Approx 8 months ago my battery died. I had AAA come out and they put a new battery in the car and told me the alternator wasn't charging properly. Took the car in for service and they agreed that the alternator was going bad so I had that replaced too. For 8 months everything was fine. Last week I had a company come out and they hardwired a dash cam into the fuse panel. They said they used an available space and that the slot was one that the power to it would be cut off when the ignition was off. Three days after the dash cam was installed I received a warning on the Bouncie device I had on the car that the battery was at critical level (I've had the Bouncie device in the car for 3 years, no issues). I hooked the battery up to a charger and the charger showed the battery was down to 20% of power. Charged the battery and left it on trickle for a few days. After disconnecting it I left the car in the garage (didn't drive it) and 36 hours later received another message the battery was at a critical level. I opened the fuse panel and unplugged the dash cam and charged the battery again. 2 days later I get another message the battery was at a critical level. Sure enough, it was down to 24%. Any ideas as to what could be happening? Could it have killed the battery and now it needs to be replaced again? Maybe just need a better battery? By the way it is a 2014 LT2 RS. Any help or advice is appreciated. Thanks everyone.

[lbls1]

The battery is toast. In general, once a modern battery (especially ac delco) dies then it is basically garbage. This is because its power retaining abilities have greatly diminished. It doesn't matter whether you have it on a tender or not, as the battery will not hold the power long. You probably should get a new battery.

Aftermarket devices, in general, will have a minimum parasitic draw on the battery. It doesn't mean that it will kill the battery, but it does mean that there will be a slightly higher draw on the system power than normal. Bear in mind, that due to the increase in use of electronics in modern cars, that its own system will have a negligible parasitic draw on the battery. The best thing to do if your car sits for long periods is to use a battery tender. Battery tenders monitor the power and will automatically start trickle charging once it senses that the battery level has depleted.

Good luck.

[k0jdd]

Originally Posted by gilbert85295

Last week I had a company come out and they hardwired a dash cam into the fuse panel. They said they used an available space and that the slot was one that the power to it would be cut off when the ignition was off.

And exactly who has verified that what they said and what they did are one and the same? Take it back to them and tell them what is happening and make them PROVE that is is not the dash cam drawing power.


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[gilbert85295]

Thanks IBLS1. That was kind of what I was thinking also. Nice that a fellow New Yorker was able to help me out. I am originally from Baldwin Nassau County

[lbls1]

Originally Posted by gilbert85295

Thanks IBLS1. That was kind of what I was thinking also. Nice that a fellow New Yorker was able to help me out. I am originally from Baldwin Nassau County

Hey nice to know ya!!! Anytime that I can lend a hand to someone going thru issues that I went thru (believe me...........I should be an expert at this lol) I am happy to assist.

[Dasklo468]

Check the alternator.