Hi! my 1991 Camry all of a sudden began to have a drained battery, and it won't even last a full day without dying. My dad is trying to figure out what the problem could be, but he is having trouble. there aren't any lights or anything else left on, my dad has disconnected the power antennae, and now he's basically just using the process of elimination to try and figure it out, but like i said, he doesn't know enough about cars to figure it out in any quick way. any suggestions?

 

Are you sure the battery is not just dying of old age?

Have you checked to make sure the trunk light is turning off?

If the car has an aftermarket alarm system or remote amplifier, these can cause problems.

On occasion the alternator can cause a drain if there is a problem.

Use an ammeter places between a battery cable and terminal to check for a current drain when the car is off. Should be low at around 50 milliamps.

If the currant drain is too high start pulling fuses until the drain lowers to within acceptable range.

There are also typically fuse boxes behind the left and right side kick panels. These are panels under the dash to the right of left of your foot would be depending on which seat your in.

 

My daughters 91 started doing that also I pulled the fuse for the lighter and all is fine.

Have not found what is causing the pull in that circuit but there is something.

 

thanks for the suggestions guys! my dad checked the lighter and said that it was not the problem, but someone i work with kinda knows cars and he also said something about the alternator. i'll make sure to tell my dad what you think and hopefully it will help him! thanks again, i really appreciate it!

 

my dad said that he pulled every fuse behind the kick plate and under the hood and it's still dying, so he doesn't know what to do next. the battery is only 2 months old. can you describe what the alternator problem is? that seems like a possibility. my dad doesn'e think it's the trunk, because my trunk is stuck shut, and he said that it is dark in it.

 

If he has pulled every fuse and it is still dying you my want to get the battery tested. Even though it is new is can still be bad.

Has he removed the fuses/breakers at the positive battery terminal. I know there are a few there.

If he takes the battery to get checked it would not be a bad idea to take the alternator to get checked also.