Strange question - could my coolant level sensor be draining the battery?

[repenttokyo]

Does it draw enough to do this overnight?

[Tiger]

No, no power to coolant sensor when ignition is off.

Most likely your battery is weak/old. Have your battery tested. Or test it yourself... charge up the battery and wait a while... and then check your battery voltage... new is like 12.70V for full charge... I think like 12.2 is weak and 25% reserve.

Or do battery load test and see how low the voltage dip in 10 second.

[repenttokyo]

No, no power to coolant sensor when ignition is off.

Most likely your battery is weak/old. Have your battery tested. Or test it yourself... charge up the battery and wait a while... and then check your battery voltage... new is like 12.70V for full charge... I think like 12.2 is weak and 25% reserve.

Or do battery load test and see how low the voltage dip in 10 second.

it's not the battery - i've had it tested, it's an optima red top that's about 15 months old. that was my first thought as well.

i have some strange sounds in my dash that could also be stuff running with ignition off. this is a real bitch to track down, and it's worse when the weather is cold. I essentially have to drive the car once a day or forget about it.

thanks for eliminating that worry for me re: sensor.

[Tiger]

Didn't relize you got Optima battery.

It is easy enough to track down the draw. With a multimeter set to DC Amp... go to both fusebox and pull fuse out one at a time. When you pull a fuse out, measure the amperage draw and put the fuse back. Repeat until you find one that draw alot.

Most likely draw would be the radio and amp... if something is wrong with the radio... it doesn't shut down the amp and big draw.

[Mas (UK)]

Hi there,
I had the same thing a few years back and my car battery would go real weak or dead if the car wasn't used for a day or two. I tracked mine down to being the little torch in the glove box. I think after a while the rechargeable batteries in these torches become dead (or virtually dead) and if plugged into the charging socket in the glove box, the 'dead' torch just saps away power from your car battery. I just unplugged the sucker and guess what ... battery problem disappeared and battery strength would remain perfectly fine even if car was left unused for weeks.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
Mas

[repenttokyo]

my car did not come with the flashlight - but i appreciate the suggestion.

[Tiger]

Still having problem?

[repenttokyo]

yes, although with the weather being warm it is not as bad as before.

i have not had the time to track it down because my first track event of the season is next weekend at Monticello, NY, and my Miata track car is taking all of my spare time for maintenance and preparations

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

put a multi meter between the battery and the lead and measure the draw...then start pulling fuses and relays one by one to see when the meter drops...bingo! that's the suspect system.

[genphreak]

If the fuse tests don't find a culprit, check if the power protecton relay (PPR) is triggered. If so, you have to work out what is triggering it in the circuits it protects or is controlled by. It draws a fair bit of power (and gets warm) just holding itself open. Other relays may be faulty too.

Cat and mouse it is.