battery problems?

[alti117]

alright so when i first bought my alero and installed my sony head unit i was told at futureshop that i had to buy a 150$wiring harness to connect the stock sterio to the original, being the cheap a$$ i am i just bought a standard harness and wired it up. as u probably know u have to wire the 12v constant with the accessory wire for it to work but it then stays on all the time even without the key in. so i ended up putting a toggle switch on the accessory to turn it off manualy. this seems to have done the job but before i put the switch in my battery died a coupple times and now it seems every time i start the car the battery feels as though its almost ready to die but iv been able to get the car to start every time. i know that a bad battery wont be able to hold its charge but is it possible that it could drain overnight etc.. or is it more likely that somthing else is draining the battery.
B.T.W sorry for writing long questions i just like to lay out all the facts X-D

[nickbain]

where in Canada do you live? Was it cold when your battery drained? How long did you battery stay dead for? How did you charge your battery after it died? Kinda sounds like a weak battery to me.

[jayson_waltz]

a bad battery could drain within a minute. its likely not your radio, all the expensive harness does it give you your door chimes. the 12v constant to the radio is just to store memory, its won't drain your battery unless your car sits for months on end.

[alti117]

it died maby 2 or 3 times when i didnt have the switch in and it would have happened overnight, the first time i just jumped it and drove to work which is a good 20 min of highway so it was charged again. the second time i had time so i put the charger on and let it charge for most of the day. after that i went and bought the switch.

[Steven01]

ha ive had exact same problem with my alero battery just over a year old battery i donno ever sincei took deck out it works fine. but thier reinstallin it for free a ddiffernt way soo unno go back and just say ever since u got this done u have had battery probems

[DaRockwilder]

Sounds like you got the 12 volt constant and the wire to switch the unit on backwards. You had to splice your sony harness to the adapter harness right? if so check to make sure you've wired it together properly. Sometimes the colors don't match in the harnesses.

[lonnie]

Well I have a question, is it the original battery, and how old is it if it isn't? Do your lights flicker from time to time? Have you checked the alternator to make sure it was charging? Just a few things to think about. Maybe time for a battery.

[racin4JC]

First thing is load test your battery to ensure it is up to par then test your alternator to make sure it is all clear. Then move on from there. (Both things can most likely be done at an autoparts store for free, or you can buy a load tester that will do both!)

[alti117]

im not sure how old the battery is because i just bought the car but it is very possible its the original one. im pretty sure my wiring is corect but im going to doubble check it when i get a chance.

[lonnie]

If that battery is the original then I bet its bad. Should be an Ac delco battery if its original.

[Steven01]

My battery is good and my alto is GOOD i dont understand why mine has this problem. My deck was installed by best buy.. Umm What where u saying about wires might be spliced rong.?

[DaRockwilder]

I was just saying that your constant power wire and the wire to switch the unit on are probably reversed. You shouldn't have needed to install a switch to turn the unit on and off.

basically the wire from the unit to turn it on is getting power all the time, and the wire that is supposed to get power all the time is only getting it when the car is on.

[lonnie]

My battery is good and my alto is GOOD i dont understand why mine has this problem. My deck was installed by best buy.. Umm What where u saying about wires might be spliced rong.?
Thats a thought but if something like that happens wouldn't you notice like you radio being on or something funny other then the battery dieing? My thought on that is that the 12v has to be going somewhere and it is going to leave a tell tale sign that it is moving somewhere. Something has to be hot, or on, or burning, or not working. If your bat is being drained then something has to be ON to drain it, or better said there has to be a load somewhere. Just pull your radio out down load the wiring chart and go through each wire in the harness. Do you have an alarm? If so there could be potenial problems there as well.

[Steven01]

no alarm just command start. with stock alram if thier is LOL. Hmm im not sure im not good with wireharnesses and stuff like that I just know how to install it. HAHA but i guesse. people tell me it could me a dead ground. But i donno its soo weired. It happend like 2 days then didnt happen for a week and then happend day latter. and yea. soo i pulled it out and unno how to wire up this stupied chim box shit. i tired befor and i coulnt get speakers to work soo i got bestbuy to intsall.