Why is my car battery constantly draining and how can I fix it?

I have an '89 Dodge Shadow that has been needing fixing up. It's been sitting in my driveway for well over a year.



The main problem with the car is that the battery is constantly draining, even when it's turned off. I haven't the slightest clue when it comes to car stuff, and my car-savvy friends don't know the source of the problem either.



Any ideas on why it's doing this and how to fix it?|||1. The battery is no good. If it has a dead cell or two it will go dead over time if you don鈥檛 start it up once in a while to charge it. Even a good battery will die if you let it sit long enough.



2. Something is drawing current all the time. You can stop that in the short run by disconnecting the positive (+ sign) battery cable. That may give you problems if the power draw is something designed in (like a clock, maintaining the programmed settings on your radio or a security accessory like a burglar alarm).



Short solution: invest in a "trickle changer". That will keep the battery charged up over long periods without frying it.



Longer solution: Get it into the shop and let somebody who knows how trace the current draw to determine if it鈥檚 normal or some kind of fault.|||The most likely cause of constant battery drain is a short in your wiring. This kind of problem is a hard to find, easy to fix once found problem. Someone would have to scour your entire wiring harness to find the source of the short.





Other possibility would be that you just need a new battery.





Also, a bad combination could be if you had a bad battery AND a bad alternator, hence the alternator is unable to charge your battery as well as it should.





There is a tester that you can get that can tell you if the battery is bad or if it is your alternator.|||If it's been sitting for a year, it's very possible the battery has died from lack of use.

It may take a charge but lose it due to internal leakage.



So First I'd determine if that's the problem. Simplest way: charge the battery up somehow, either by a looong drive (at least an hour), or with a battery charger. Unhook the ground clamp from the battery, so you're sure it's not being drained by the car somehow. Come back in 24 hours, put the clamp back on, and see if the car will crank. If it cranks well, the battery may be okay. If it does not crank, it's certainly a battery problem.



Another way requires you to have a multimeter. Remove the ground clamp and put the meter on its 10 amp range between the clamp and the battery post. Any reading over 0.1 amps indicates a problem, something drawing power in your car. You can narrow this down by removing a fuse at a time from the fusebox until the current draw disappears.|||Any vehicle that sits for a LONG time will have a dead battery.I bought a new battery to replace a 4 year old one,the car sat for 3 weeks (my fault) in the HOT weather and the battery drained out since there is still current being drawn even when not in use! PLUS...hot or cold temps will shorten the power of a battery. I charged it back up to full power and i drive the car to keep it charged up now.It's a spare car now so it doesn't normally get much road time.


Nobody should expect a battery to work when sitting for a long time.


Your battery could just be very old.weak,tired.


RUN the car and maybe drive it to keep it charged OR get a battery trickle charger that will keep up the amps in it.


(1)How old is the battery?


(2)Does the car get driven at all?


(3)Make sure the battery cable ends are CLEAN before you install the new battery.|||I'm sure it was doing this before it set up for a year, it could be almost anything that's causeing it to drain down,it could be as ease as a light left on to a short in the wiring,check the battery and alternator first,then check the starter to see if it might be shorting out.