Mitlov
Well-Known Member
My wife's ten-month-old Element is at the shop after the battery went completely dead--to the point where the power door locks wouldn't work, the sound system's memory was erased (so it needs an unlock code), and a jump-start from a Civic didn't have enough grunt to get the engine running again (a jump-start from the tow truck did, though). It had had problems consistent with a low battery for a couple weeks--dome lights only working intermittently, doors spontaneously locking for no reason (we had the auto-lock feature of the car turned off when we bought it, so it's not that).
The mechanics at the dealership insist that the battery itself is fine, it's just drained of power and needed to sit on a trickle-charger for a day. Considering my wife drives it every day and does 30-mile round trips on the highway once or twice per week, I'm skeptical.
The only thing I could think of is she has a habit of just leaving her cell phone charger plugged into the dashboard outlet all the time, and just hooks her cell phone up to it when she's in the car. Could the charger be causing parasitic draw even if there's no cell phone hooked up to it? I didn't think it could, but am I wrong here?
The mechanics at the dealership insist that the battery itself is fine, it's just drained of power and needed to sit on a trickle-charger for a day. Considering my wife drives it every day and does 30-mile round trips on the highway once or twice per week, I'm skeptical.
The only thing I could think of is she has a habit of just leaving her cell phone charger plugged into the dashboard outlet all the time, and just hooks her cell phone up to it when she's in the car. Could the charger be causing parasitic draw even if there's no cell phone hooked up to it? I didn't think it could, but am I wrong here?