Battery Dead

I think the battery drain issues we have with the s197 are starting to get worse on my car. Usually I can let the car sit a couple days and it starts with no problems. This weekend the car basically sat from friday to this morning. This morning I go to fire her up and nothing. The battery is less than a year old so I am sure its not that. Just to make sure I will take it back to Salvo's to have them check it. But I am sure its the battery drain grimlins. 

Funny thing is, John and I were just talking about this a couple weeks ago and I was telling him how I haven't had any issues. I should have knocked on some wood.

Have you tried putting one of those battery butlers?

http://www.americanmuscle.com/12volt-battery-charger.html

Not sure if it will help.  

Is your alternator good to go?  have you had your charging system diagnosed yet?

Havent had one die but have noticed that she struggles a bit if it sits while away on a vaca week...

Dominican7 wrote:Have you tried putting one of those battery butlers?

http://www.americanmuscle.com/12volt-battery-charger.html

Not sure if it will help.  

Is your alternator good to go?  have you had your charging system diagnosed yet?

I was able to get a jump this morning and she started up without a problem. Drove it work and just went out to see if it would start and she fired right up. At some point today I will duck out of the office and take it to get the charging system checked just to make sure its not the alternator. But I think this happened because I let it sit all weekend.

There are known problems, that we discussed Sean.  Security system is getting polled, the Shaker 1000 CD head unit constantly checking for CDs...pain in the butt.

I think the problem is the shaker 1000 (in my case). After getting the battery recharged I pulled all the fuses. This morning she started with out any issues.

One thing I did notice that I didnt before is the clock on the radio stays on (with the fuse in). Before the clock would go off when you turned the key off and opened the door. But last night it just stayed on. Even after I closed and locked the doors. The interor lights went out but the clock stayed on. So that leads me to thing its the source of my problem.

Your model years had big issues with the shaker 1000 staying on and drawing the battery down. Alternators were also a big issue during these years on Ford vehicles, not just the mustang. Sounds to me like yours is the shaker Sean.

Hell, I should just pull all the fuses that work the head unit and see if that kills the draw down I see on my multimeter...

I had battery problems about two years ago, swapped out the alternator. Haven't had an issue since. I took the shaker 1000 unit out a few days after I got the car based on some things I heard about it being a battery killer. Wanted to put a Navi unit in anyways

Did a test to see were the problem is coming from. Added the fuses back one at a time to see when I got a spike. The draw comes in when the fuse for the head unit is added. It appears although the head unit has been turned off it stills draws power.

The interesting thing is, each set of amps has its own fuse. So I would put the fuses in one at a time and use my multimeter to check for a change. Nothing on none of the amps. Then I added just the fuse for the radio and I got a spike and it just grew as added the fuses for the amps. So a new head unit seems to be in the future.

When I upgraded to an aftermarket head unit, I got this annoying popping sound every time the radio came on. I installed an amp and subs tho. But if you plan on still using the shaker subs/amp you will need a +5V Fixed-Voltage Regulator #7805 to stop the pop. Radio Shack should have them. 

If you do it yourself, I used this write up to guide me thru. If not let the installers know about the voltage regulator
 
http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/pioneer-avic-d3-installation-write-up.736028/
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062599

thanks D!

Right D, I had to do that myself, Sean I dumped that POS shaker in Blue early on, Upgrade to something nice, I got a nice Pioneer double din DVD player in Blue now.

Sean, I think pulling the head unit a good idea.  How about starting another thread about aftermarket units?  I've unfortunately sold my amp and subs long ago for weight savings, so I'd need to get the head unit, new speakers and I suppose an amplifier.  Don't know crap about radios so I may have to get a pro to do it.

Oh, WHICH FUSE controls the head unit???

Hey John, I'd be happy to help out, car audio is a small hobby of mine, I did all the work on Blue, and I'm on my 2nd stereo in her now, This one plays DVD's and even interfaces with my phone for way more than just hands free access.

Boss281 wrote:Sean, I think pulling the head unit a good idea.  How about starting another thread about aftermarket units?  I've unfortunately sold my amp and subs long ago for weight savings, so I'd need to get the head unit, new speakers and I suppose an amplifier.  Don't know crap about radios so I may have to get a pro to do it.

Oh, WHICH FUSE controls the head unit???

That's the plan just havent had time. Also i have not decided what I want yet. As it relates to the fuses, if you have/had the shaker 1000 it's a total of 3 fuses to totally disable the radio. Check your owners manual for wich ones. I did an online search and did not get the correct info, it seems from year to year they moved the location of the fuses in the box.

Boss281 wrote:Sean, I think pulling the head unit a good idea.  How about starting another thread about aftermarket units?  I've unfortunately sold my amp and subs long ago for weight savings, so I'd need to get the head unit, new speakers and I suppose an amplifier.  Don't know crap about radios so I may have to get a pro to do it.

Oh, WHICH FUSE controls the head unit???

Im looking to upgrade my aftermarket Navi, too. A thread on units would be cool, just to see whats new out there and help with installs.

D word and Sean, same offer to help with this, it's the one thing I do well with a car

What kind of system are you leaning toward? Ive been dealiving into the car audio aspect of things a good bit lately and have learned a good bit on things. Sooooo much out there on it.