2011 Maxima - dead battery...again, replaced battery at 35K, issue repeats

droptopsolara

Hi, I love this maxima, except the dead battery issue is getting annoying.

Purchased new 3.5 SV premium / tech now 42K miles
Every few months, sometimes winter, sometimes summer, battery drains completely.
I've had AAA out several times, jumped it several times. I now resort to having a portable battery jumper with me....last time it was in the trunk and the battery was so dead the trunk lid would no open.
Dealer replaced battery at 35K. ...problem is back...
Seems to be a problem where the car is shut off, but seems likes accessories or something is still running or a phantom draw.

Will be bringing it back to the dealer again to see if they can spot the issue.

I have seen other posts on battery issues...anyone have a theory on what's going on with the battery drain issues?

PF_Flyer

Given the mileage, I assume you're not letting it sit undriven for extended periods where the draw on the battery to keep computer chips powered and things like that are not the issue. Only 7K miles between the problem happening again seems like there might be a short or leak to ground somewhere. Finding the where is going to be the tricky part. Could be anywhere from the key cylinder to a wire that's rubbed raw somewhere, but those are just guesses on my part.

Our collective "forum brains" ought to be able to come up with some ideas, right gang??

thecardoc3

Once a car has to have the battery jumped to get the car started it takes about six to eight hours to properly recharge the battery which means put the reserve capacity back into it. Most people don't do that, they falsely believe that just driving the car around a bit will suffice. That mistake leaves the battery in a constant state of discharge and that is what causes sulfation (crystals of sulfur forming in the plates) and eventually that kills the battery. Most likely there is a parasitic drain that exceeds the batteries capability to sustain. The allowable specification is 30ma, or .03amps. In the shop we use a low amps current probe to measure the drain that is occurring. If we see more than 30ma the next step is to measure the voltage drops across the fuses. What-ever circuit has the drain occurring on it will show a voltage across the fuse connections. It will be a small voltage, often in the x.x mv range (.00XXv) Once the circuit with the drain is identified, then there are strategies that can be put in place to identify the exact cause.