Battery drained twice in three days. Heard clicking noises by the passenger side

f00d4tehg0dz

Hey All,

Monday my battery was holding 6-7V when I test on the multi-meter. My neighbor was able to jump the car for me, and I took it to Nissan dealership thinking the battery was dead. They tested it and said it was perfectly fine. I had also used my OBDII adapter with torque to check for any error codes. Everything was normal.

Tuesday I got in my car and it barely started up, but was fine to the gym and back after that.

Today I go to start and its dead. Sitting at 8V. I decide to wait for my neighbor and leave it there dead for a few hours. I come back and I noticed this clicking sound coming from the passenger door. Possibly the window trying to go up? (it was already up, so not sure) I'm thinking perhaps that clicking sound is what caused the battery to drain?

I unplugged everything in the cigarette lighters and removed my OBDII for the time being. I figured I just need to disconnect the fuse that ties to the windows. However I couldn't find that particular fuse.... I'm missing the Fusebox diagram. Anyone have that?

I also went and tested each fuse ohms (except for one, literally impossible to reach) under the drivers side and they came back just fine.

Anyone have any ideas on what could be going on?

JARblue

I would first try resetting the windows. Search for window reset procedure; its super easy to do. If that doesn't work, I'd take it back to the dealer and point out the clicking noise.

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Tick64

A window reset might help if the window is to blame. Did you install a new stereo recently? If that's the case a battery tender will help when the car is sitting overnight.

SouthArk370Z

If the window reset doesn't fix things, the fuse positions and box locations are in the OM and FSM (link in my sig). Fuse positions are printed/molded on the box covers. The IPDM (fuse box next to battery) can be a PITA to remove - the DIYs on this site (search for "ESCL" or "steering lock") will be a big help.

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f00d4tehg0dz

Alright, I got my car jumped. The in dash battery meter is staying at 14V. So that's a good sign. I reset the windows (several times) so well see about that.

I see the battery meter move over the 14v dash mark to the left and right slightly. Depending on if I have a/c on, stereo etc.. turning them off the meter moves to the right more. So that's a sign that the alternator is working I believe.

f00d4tehg0dz

http://imgur.com/fDEne9o

I went and bought a 1.5amp charger to let it charge the battery over night. Will post back with hopefully positive news in the next few days. Thanks everyone and @southark370z that's exactly what I needed for fuses.

SouthArk370Z

I forget what the minimum voltage is supposed to be but it's close to 14 and a half volts; range will be in FSM. I'd double-check the voltage using an OBD/CAN scanner and/or a handheld voltmeter. If the voltage is OK, I'd check the battery posts for corrosion, looseness, &c.

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f00d4tehg0dz

Appreciate it. I can't imagine why the dealership didnt' notice this when I took it in Monday for service regarding a battery issue...

I just went to start this morning. Its still charging. Sitting at 10V right now, can't start it up. So waiting for it to fully charge still.

SouthArk370Z

If you have the charger connected to the battery post connectors, that sounds like a bad battery or bad connections at the posts. Clean the posts and connectors (you can find a tool at most auto part stores that has male and female brushes of the proper size). A very thin coat of bulb grease on the mating surfaces will lessen corrosion in the future.

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Mankind has progressed past the need for war but we haven't evolved that far. - NachoMahma

f00d4tehg0dz

Alright, I'll go and get brushes at autozone to clean it up once I can start
Nissan on Monday said the battery and cells tested just fine (ugh, its a 4 yr old battery now). Should I just go buy a new battery from autozone at this point? Or go to the dealership and buy a battery there

SouthArk370Z

I'd check the electrical connections and verify that the alternator is putting out correct voltage first, but, yeah, it's quite possible that the battery is bad.

I've heard of cases where a battery would pass the test but still not function properly in the car.

You should be able to get a battery at an auto parts store cheaper than what a dealership will sell you one. Same for most other parts.

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Ghostvette

Time for a new battery. Factory batteries at that age are just waiting for a good excuse to quit. I put an Optima RedTop in mine not to long ago, then stuck a tender on overnight.

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f00d4tehg0dz

Good news. Let the car charge some more, and it wouldn't' go past 10-11V. (Obviously battery is dead at this point then). Get the car jumped, drive over to Autozone. We disconnect everything, and test the battery. Reads bad. So now we know the big culprit! Also funny thing. On red tag for the positive connection is a warning label about windows and other items not properly initializing due to bad battery or low volt.

Anyway we remove the old battery and go to install a new one. I was planning on an Optima... they literally only had one battery, a duralast in stock for my car, the ****? Ah well... we installed the battery, cleaned the connections and everything is good now. In the future I'll order an optima Redtop online and be done with it. FYI the guy told me that batteries in FL only last around 44Months typically. Good thing to know.

Thanks everyone for the help! Fingers crossed no other issues arise.

Silly Rabbit

Don't worry about it, Duralast Gold batteries are good batteries. Unless you plan on adding high end audio, it will do the job for you.

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SouthArk370Z

Glad to hear you found the problem and that it was an easy fix.

A few things to keep in mind after removing power from the car: windows may need to be reset, radio presets will probably need to be reset, engine may run rough for a while as the ECM re-learns the engine, you won't pass an emissions check until you've gone through several drive cycles.

PS: I wouldn't go to the trouble/expense of getting another battery. But that's just me. YMMV

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Mankind has progressed past the need for war but we haven't evolved that far. - NachoMahma