2013 battery drain worsening
#1
06-01-2021, 11:07 AM
2013 battery drain worsening
2013 Mazda 3 i touring
I got this vehicle back in 2014. Under 80k in millage. Its driven roughly an hour each day.
Ive had issues with the car but this one i dont know. Short version I have a drain on the battery. At first it use to be if left alone for a couple days now its dead after 12 hours. All domes lights are turned off and nothing is plugged into the cigarette lighter.
Full history:
after the recall on the dash about 6 years ago I think ive had an error. Error code b2bcd. A small sensor in the center dash. I complained to mazda that the light occurred when I got back the vehicle. I told them the error comes from the center console which you removed when you did work on the dash (this is what they said due to keep the car for a week to replace). They denined any wrong and in turn blamed me for having a obd plugged it. But the light went away for a week then came back. It never caused issues.
Three years ago I started having an issue where the car thinks the doors are open while driving. At this point I turned dome lights off automatic to prevent battery drain. If it starts the the door is open I unlock the doors and it stops. This does cause issues with locking the car sometimes due to it thinking a door is open. It has its bad days but lately the problem hasnt been as bad.
this month thr battery has been drained. First was after a three day weekend. I forgot the trunk light was set to auto so figured that drained the battery. It wasnt dead dead but not enough to start. Two weeks later the vehicle was dead dead. No nothing after 2 days. It took almost 20 minutes to jump it. I aasumed it was my cell charger, as it has leds, plugged in (grasping at straws). A week later its down again. At this point its been 4-5 jumps this month.
The battery was tested at autozone and was told it was fine, but may test again today. The alternator is fine ran the car on just the alternator for 20 minutes no issue. I put a call into Mazda to see if they can look it over. But I've been leary of them since one time they did work on thr car that was unapproved and tried to bill me for it.
What I'm thinking is due to the door senors its making the vehicle drain all night with the alarm. Is there a fuse I could pull temporary? If not then I'll have to disconnect the battery till I can resolve it
Any advice would be great.
I got this vehicle back in 2014. Under 80k in millage. Its driven roughly an hour each day.
Ive had issues with the car but this one i dont know. Short version I have a drain on the battery. At first it use to be if left alone for a couple days now its dead after 12 hours. All domes lights are turned off and nothing is plugged into the cigarette lighter.
Full history:
after the recall on the dash about 6 years ago I think ive had an error. Error code b2bcd. A small sensor in the center dash. I complained to mazda that the light occurred when I got back the vehicle. I told them the error comes from the center console which you removed when you did work on the dash (this is what they said due to keep the car for a week to replace). They denined any wrong and in turn blamed me for having a obd plugged it. But the light went away for a week then came back. It never caused issues.
Three years ago I started having an issue where the car thinks the doors are open while driving. At this point I turned dome lights off automatic to prevent battery drain. If it starts the the door is open I unlock the doors and it stops. This does cause issues with locking the car sometimes due to it thinking a door is open. It has its bad days but lately the problem hasnt been as bad.
this month thr battery has been drained. First was after a three day weekend. I forgot the trunk light was set to auto so figured that drained the battery. It wasnt dead dead but not enough to start. Two weeks later the vehicle was dead dead. No nothing after 2 days. It took almost 20 minutes to jump it. I aasumed it was my cell charger, as it has leds, plugged in (grasping at straws). A week later its down again. At this point its been 4-5 jumps this month.
The battery was tested at autozone and was told it was fine, but may test again today. The alternator is fine ran the car on just the alternator for 20 minutes no issue. I put a call into Mazda to see if they can look it over. But I've been leary of them since one time they did work on thr car that was unapproved and tried to bill me for it.
What I'm thinking is due to the door senors its making the vehicle drain all night with the alarm. Is there a fuse I could pull temporary? If not then I'll have to disconnect the battery till I can resolve it
Any advice would be great.
#2
06-02-2021, 12:13 AM
You are telling A GREAT STORY BUT LITTLE REAL INFORMATION , i.e. voltage numbers , that are really what is needed to help with this story..
but I can post this....
If what you are saying the battery voltage is reduced that it will not turn the starter over then you need to check the stabilized voltage about 10 minutes after you shut the engine off and then again in a couple of 15 minute intervals. Then after your 12 hour report.... check the voltage again. If the battery did in fact go from about 12.35 down to at or below say 10.07 volts or less then you have a component that is not shutting off as it should. That much of a voltage draw over your 12 hour period are the easiest to find.
I suggest to go on the internet and watch a few HOW TO FIND A BATTERY DRAIN you tube videos. Before you do you will to need at least a medium quality Digital VOLT/ohm meter.
I also suggest in the future to try and remember that the car you are working on was design to have a battery in the charging system. Running on the alternator alone is not a good idea. This ain't the 67 Impala station wagon.
Diagnosis Electrical problems of any kind requires some basic knowledge of the 12 volt electrical system on a car. And even more so with many vehicles that the ECU has control over the charging system.
My advise is to find an Auto Electric shop in your area and have them look at your MAZDA. From the info/story you posted a good auto electrical Tech can at least find the problem in an hour or less.
If you don't have one of those in your area then find a shop that has a current certified ASE Auto technician.
ASE
but I can post this....
If what you are saying the battery voltage is reduced that it will not turn the starter over then you need to check the stabilized voltage about 10 minutes after you shut the engine off and then again in a couple of 15 minute intervals. Then after your 12 hour report.... check the voltage again. If the battery did in fact go from about 12.35 down to at or below say 10.07 volts or less then you have a component that is not shutting off as it should. That much of a voltage draw over your 12 hour period are the easiest to find.
I suggest to go on the internet and watch a few HOW TO FIND A BATTERY DRAIN you tube videos. Before you do you will to need at least a medium quality Digital VOLT/ohm meter.
I also suggest in the future to try and remember that the car you are working on was design to have a battery in the charging system. Running on the alternator alone is not a good idea. This ain't the 67 Impala station wagon.
Diagnosis Electrical problems of any kind requires some basic knowledge of the 12 volt electrical system on a car. And even more so with many vehicles that the ECU has control over the charging system.
My advise is to find an Auto Electric shop in your area and have them look at your MAZDA. From the info/story you posted a good auto electrical Tech can at least find the problem in an hour or less.
If you don't have one of those in your area then find a shop that has a current certified ASE Auto technician.
ASE
Last edited by Callisto; 06-02-2021 at 12:18 AM.
#3
07-15-2021, 05:58 PM
I was literally just thinking how strange it was that my phone went from 100% to 15% over the course of one work day with only occasional browsing. I normally don’t charge my phone more than a few times a week and my snaptube vidmate usage hasn’t changed at all...
Last edited by winkybil; 07-16-2021 at 06:06 AM.
#4
01-16-2024, 11:25 PM
2013 Mazda 3 i touring
I got this vehicle back in 2014. Under 80k in millage. Its driven roughly an hour each day.
Ive had issues with the car but this one i dont know. Short version I have a drain on the battery. At first it use to be if left alone for a couple days now its dead after 12 hours. All domes lights are turned off and nothing is plugged into the cigarette lighter.
Full history:
after the recall on the dash about 6 years ago I think ive had an error. Error code b2bcd. A small sensor in the center dash. I complained to mazda that the light occurred when I got back the vehicle. I told them the error comes from the center console which you removed when you did work on the dash (this is what they said due to keep the car for a week to replace). They denined any wrong and in turn blamed me for having a obd plugged it. But the light went away for a week then came back. It never caused issues.
Three years ago I started having an issue where the car thinks the doors are open while driving. At this point I turned dome lights off automatic to prevent battery drain. If it starts the the door is open I unlock the doors and it stops. This does cause issues with locking the car sometimes due to it thinking a door is open. It has its bad days but lately the problem hasnt been as bad.
this month thr battery has been drained. First was after a three day weekend. I forgot the trunk light was set to auto so figured that drained the battery. It wasnt dead dead but not enough to start. Two weeks later the vehicle was dead dead. No nothing after 2 days. It took almost 20 minutes to jump it. I aasumed it was my cell charger, as it has leds, plugged in (grasping at straws). A week later its down again. At this point its been 4-5 jumps this month.
The battery was tested at autozone and was told it was fine, but may test again today. The alternator is fine ran the car on just the alternator for 20 minutes no issue. I put a call into Mazda to see if they can look it over. But I've been leary of them since one time they did work on thr car that was unapproved and tried to bill me for it.
What I'm thinking is due to the door senors its making the vehicle drain all night with the alarm. Is there a fuse I could pull temporary? If not then I'll have to disconnect the battery till I can resolve it
Any advice would be great.
I got this vehicle back in 2014. Under 80k in millage. Its driven roughly an hour each day.
Ive had issues with the car but this one i dont know. Short version I have a drain on the battery. At first it use to be if left alone for a couple days now its dead after 12 hours. All domes lights are turned off and nothing is plugged into the cigarette lighter.
Full history:
after the recall on the dash about 6 years ago I think ive had an error. Error code b2bcd. A small sensor in the center dash. I complained to mazda that the light occurred when I got back the vehicle. I told them the error comes from the center console which you removed when you did work on the dash (this is what they said due to keep the car for a week to replace). They denined any wrong and in turn blamed me for having a obd plugged it. But the light went away for a week then came back. It never caused issues.
Three years ago I started having an issue where the car thinks the doors are open while driving. At this point I turned dome lights off automatic to prevent battery drain. If it starts the the door is open I unlock the doors and it stops. This does cause issues with locking the car sometimes due to it thinking a door is open. It has its bad days but lately the problem hasnt been as bad.
this month thr battery has been drained. First was after a three day weekend. I forgot the trunk light was set to auto so figured that drained the battery. It wasnt dead dead but not enough to start. Two weeks later the vehicle was dead dead. No nothing after 2 days. It took almost 20 minutes to jump it. I aasumed it was my cell charger, as it has leds, plugged in (grasping at straws). A week later its down again. At this point its been 4-5 jumps this month.
The battery was tested at autozone and was told it was fine, but may test again today. The alternator is fine ran the car on just the alternator for 20 minutes no issue. I put a call into Mazda to see if they can look it over. But I've been leary of them since one time they did work on thr car that was unapproved and tried to bill me for it.
What I'm thinking is due to the door senors its making the vehicle drain all night with the alarm. Is there a fuse I could pull temporary? If not then I'll have to disconnect the battery till I can resolve it
Any advice would be great.
#5
01-31-2024, 10:48 AM
Cheap solution: Get a battery maintainer (trickle charger) and plug in when you are not using for any amount of time.
I had a similar phantom issue on my '07 MX-5, and that seemed more reasonable (to me) than paying a lot of money to troubleshoot, with no guarantee of a fix. It has solved the problem (and oddly, since I did that for a while, it seems to hold a charge better now. Wierd.)
I had a similar phantom issue on my '07 MX-5, and that seemed more reasonable (to me) than paying a lot of money to troubleshoot, with no guarantee of a fix. It has solved the problem (and oddly, since I did that for a while, it seems to hold a charge better now. Wierd.)
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