have a 1991 N/A all stock. something in my car is draining my battery. i think. a couple of days ago i went to start the car and it was dead. so i jumped it and drove it for about 20 mins. i shut it off and tried to restart and it was dead. when i took out the key the lights on my radio began to blink and the subwoofer thumped, like a heartbeat. when you open the door or press the brake it looses power and stops but if you close the door it starts again.

i replaced the battery two days ago then didnt drive it yesterday and got it today and the battery was dead again. so the "heartbeat" is what's draining the battery but what is causing the heartbeat.

any ideas would be much appriciated.

 

EDIT:

You need to get your battery fully charged to do any diagnostic tests worth a damn. Disconnect the single Black wire bolted to the back of the alternator before charging the battery and then come back the next day and check the voltage on the battery and see if it is still holding a proper voltage of about 12.5 volts. If it is then come back and we'll give you further assistance.

 

Are you SURE there hasn't been any aftermarket wiring? How about at the radio? Do you have the original radio in there?

 

ok so i charged the battery and put it back in. got in and turned the key to the on position and it was reading a little bit above 12. as soon as i tun the key to crank, eveyrhting dies. even if you take the key out and back in its completly dead. then i disconected the battery and reconnected it, and the same things happened, all is good till you trie to start it.

so then i jumped it and it cranked like the battery was dead but did start after a few seconds. for the rest of the night the car acted as if it had no problems, turning off, restarting, everything works.

however i have a feeling that when i get bakc in it tomorrow the battery will be dead. im so lost so any advice at all is greatly appreciated.

i do have a aftermarket stereo system and subwoofer. but the only non stock wiring that i know of goes from the woofer strait to the battery, and yes i did try taking that connection off and it had no effect.

thanks.

 

As an example, a poor wiring connection(s) could well be the cause for your problem. Instead of relying on whether the car will start or not as conclusive evidence of the condition of your battery, be it good or bad, it would be more apt to rely on the readings given by a multimeter set to volts DC and measuring the output of the battery. There are plenty of cars that won't start with a perfectly charged battery. Doing the same thing in a repeated manner is just going to lead to you spinning your wheels.

 

^^Or not spinning his wheels, in this case