hvzgg

the history
2002 4WD 4runner battery died July 2008, AAA confirmed death, replaced with brand new battery under three year warranty.

may 2009: car won't start, clicking coming from what appears to be "traction control box" on passenger side of hood. let sit overnight, then no response from battery at all (key alarm remote won't even work.)

the present
had the truck towed to a certified toyota dealership. they confirmed dead battery, replaced it and ran a diagnostics.
results of diagnostic
1) P1135 code: Fuel sensor, bank1 sensor 1. check engine light, VSC TRAC and another light are on dashboard.
2) alternator is charging good
3) air filter
4) replace 6 spark plugs
5) noisy water pump
6) center brake light burned out (but it's not, i tested it)

let sit overnight, tried in morning and "car started ok."

i had AAA take toyota battery out, since they tried to charge me $300 for the whole thing, and replace it with new battery. test it and it was charging ok BUT there was an energy draw while car was off. somewhere in the .100 range (i don't know the units, the AAA person showed me the draw.)

i thought it was ok, not significant enough to kill battery. took home, let sit overnight, tried this morning...battery dead (lights dim, somewhat responsive but engine will not crank.)

got the truck jumped, no problems. i'm assuming if i don't run the truck every six hours or so the battery will die again due to the energy draw/drain.

the questions
what in the hell may be causing the drain? i refuse to take it back to that dealership after this past experience. i called around and no other mechanics believe it to be that O2 sensor which causes my dashboard to light up like a christmas tree. they don't think it's the water pump or spark plugs either.

do you think it could be the O2 sensor since that's really the only code that popped up in the diagnostics?

what would be the best way to go about fixing this?

take it to mechanic and have them check electrical??

thanks a lot. i'm not very good with cars so this is very frustrating and bewildering working with these mechanics who i feel are trying to drain ME of my energy (and money) haha.

RMA

start by checking the draw on the battery like the AAA guy did, then start pulling fuses one by one until its not drawing anymore .
You can atleast narrow it down a bit, like that .

hvzgg

thanks rma!

update
truck sat for about two hours today after running morning errands. it needed a jump in the morning and after the two hours needed another one. dealership, after installing new battery days ago, let truck sit overnight and it started "OK." at this point i can conclude the draw must be significant and variable.

took truck back to aforementioned dealership, they will perform electrical system check. $96 then parts/labor if i choose to fix it there. i will let everyone know the diagnose of the draw tomorrow.

hvzgg

been doing some reading online and the list of possible causes is long. a thorough, systematic process of testing connections during the electrical check may be required. some people are also having alternator problems that require replacing. the dealership initially said my alternator was "OK"-says so on the invoice/order/bill.

i hope it's something relatively cheap, alternators can be pricey.

BajaRunner

You can easily test the alternator when the car is running. Just take a multimeter and check the voltage at the battery terminals. The voltage should be in the 14 to 15V range. When the car is not running, the voltage should be at least 12.5V at the battery terminals.

Assuming the .100 reading is in amps, thats not that much current to be draining the battery that much.

I would check to make sure that the voltage is indeed being upped by the alternator while the car is running at the battery terminals. If its not, then either the connection to the battery from the alternator is disconnected/old/corroted or the alternator itself is bad. Alternators don't usually go out that fast since its a pretty tried and tested mechanical device.

akaphilly

well have you hooked any electronics up latly? before the whole battery dieing started?

hvzgg

no.

toyota called me today and said they did a thorough test and have print outs for me. cannot find any drain.
diagnosis: BAD CELL ON BATTERY REPLACE BATTERY
(again)

i have no idea where to take it from here. toyota says they haven't dealt with AAA batteries before but the battery, according to them, has a dead cell. i'm not sure why AAA would give me a dead battery.

even though AAA saw a draw on the truck, toyota did not

alternator and all other electrical system is "fine."

question
is it possible that AAA batteries (not sure brand/stats) just get poisoned in my truck? the dealership previously installed their own battery in my car (toyota authorized battery) and it didn't have any problem working the next day whereas the AAA battery couldn't keep charge for just a couple hours.

what brand of batteries is good for 4runners? price range?

what do i look for in a battery? 650 cranking amps, right?

akaphilly

i have a diehard platinum. you'll spend abour 160 on it. but great warrenty. and its a rebadged odysssy battery. the tests may say your alt is good, but.. try starting the truck and unhooking the neg cable. if it dies the alt is bad.

hvzgg

update
walked to dealership, had them jump the car and i drove it home. they didn't charge me anything this trip. going to test to see if truck starts up after sitting for 1hr.

from toyota print out
perform drain test. no draw on electrical system. test battery, battery failed load and cranking amps test. result: needs new battery.

BAD CELL-REPLACE
RATED CCA: 650
MEASURED CCA: 0
MEASURED VOLTS: 7.87
DEGREES F: 79
STATE OF HEALTH: LOW

what to do next
going out to buy a new battery and install it myself! (or at least have a friend do it haha.)
will update.

fireteacher

dont be such a cheap ass!

buy a GOOD new battery and test it out. if it dosnt work, return it!

THAT SIMPLE

hvzgg

update
called AAA again to have them come out. i have a three year warranty on the battery i bought from them in July so i exercise that.

tech came out and checked the battery, indeed BAD CELL, eligible for replacement. he installed a new one and checked, minimal drain.

it's been two full days with many errands but the truck is now mobile! battery seems to be holding charge overnight and no sign of battery weakness!

conclusion
new battery