HID's installed, no errors.. Now car dead?!?!

[teamdaraptor]

Installed HID's over a week ago, close to two now. Install went fine, quick and easy. Mounted them up with no problem. Bulbs fire up every single time the lights are turned on and car started..

Drove the car for over a week just fine, and now 2 days ago the car was dead when I went to start it. At first I immediately thought the HID's, because that was the only thing that I've touched since the problem, but I drove for over a week with them installed and no problems.

Has anyone had this problem? If so... suggestions? I've already had battery, starter, alternator checked. All checked out fine. No error codes thrown. Just DEAD BATTERY.



TIA

[BAB1990]

So you had your battery checked out and its fine, but you say it's a dead battery? Can you boost the car?

[teamdaraptor]

lol, I had to jump the car to get it started. From there I went and had the battery/alternator/starter checked. All were fine. Battery was replaced last year. December of last year, so we're approaching 1 year. I went out to try and start it today and dead. Drove it yesterday for a while after jumping. Shut it off and turned it back on just fine. But after leaving it overnight, no go.

[Exanimas]

Take off the HIDs, get it jumped again and see what happens.

[teamdaraptor]

well thats fine for now, but I don't have the stock halogen bulbs. Easy enough fix, but a PITA to go out and spend another 40$ for bulbs that aren't going to be used. I was going to disconnect the HID's regardless because that was the only thing that I could imagine would be causing a power drain.

[Exanimas]

well thats fine for now, but I don't have the stock halogen bulbs. Easy enough fix, but a PITA to go out and spend another 40$ for bulbs that aren't going to be used. I was going to disconnect the HID's regardless because that was the only thing that I could imagine would be causing a power drain.

Just buy them at Autozone and return when you have it all figured out .

[teamdaraptor]

Just buy them at Autozone and return when you have it all figured out .

No Autozone up here, just Advance. Idk their return policy. But ya, I'll just pick up some halogens and do that. More to come this weekend. Thanks for the input thus far!

[teamdaraptor]

Update:

Unhooked every possible cable to the HID's, and still dead. Battery. Doors open, doors lock (with chime) sunroof closes, just no cranking.. Really starting to be a bugger. Have to ride my bike to class this morning in 40* weather...

[A4 Moda]

Sorry to hear that.

1. Check all your fuses starting from Driver's side fuse panel
2. THe other possibility, completely unrelated to the HID install is that you have a short-to-ground somewhere that is drawing all the power out of your system and sending it to ground. Check for loose wires, burnt smells, or burn/flash marks on metal. This can happen in the engine bay, in the kick panel on the driver's side, and underdash panel that is right below your steering wheel.

GL. If it helps any, I wear a backwards hoodie sweater under my leather jacket on extremely cold days. Or throw on a thick scarf under the jacket. The wind that gets into your central body cavity is what kills body temperature. The extremities on your body can usually cope pretty well with cold weather for a short period assuming you aren't a smoker.

[teamdaraptor]

Thanks A4, I started going through fuses about an hour ago.. Funny that you say that haha, I was thinking ah wth, why not. Could be something in there thats doin it.. Got thru a few and gf had to go to class so I had to drive her. Anyway, I'll continue checking the rest out in a bit. As for smells, no smells anywhere. I DID however.... smell a tad of coolant burning the other day, but I doubt that has anything to do with it. I at first thought it smelt like gear oil (hers is a tip) and I had a manual that burnt thru gear oil like crazy so I'm familiar with the smell, but I couldn't pin point it. No leak marks on ground or anything... Will do more diagnosing tonight when I have time. Thank you for the input everyone. If you have any more ideas on what to look for please chime in!

[teamdaraptor]

Update: We have the satellite radio feeding off of the fuel pump fuse. Stupid best buy put it on another one and thats what killed the battery the first 100 times. I went in and rewired all of it, and put it on the fuel pump, since that's only on when the car is. Oddly enough, we haven't had any problems with it since then. (as far as battery drains) Now I looked at every fuse on the driver side door box and none of them are toast. One had a little browning on it, and I will replace that tonight just because, but I don't see it having any breaks in the actual metal strip. I'm really really confused right now.. I have no idea what is draining this. Like I said, lock/unlock with chime works, interior lights turn on with no dimming, sun roof works, but the car just clicks when I'm turning the key. Typically a sign of dead battery no?

[IVRINGS]

I would try taking the satellite radio power away for a day. Also do you have an aftermarket alarm?

[teamdaraptor]

No aftermarket alarm, but again.. the satellite radio is tapped into the Fuel Pump. This is the first instance I've had this problem since I've done that (satellite) well over 3-4 months ago.

[IVRINGS]

Then I would go over the car again and check all the grounds. Also make sure the terminals on the battery are clean and tight.

[akalito]

yeah make sure the terminals on the battery are nice and tight. this happened to my cousin gti after we installed hids with a relay. we didnt tighten the clamps enough and the battery was loosing charge

[Outerfroggy1]

1. Disconnect the positive cable from the battery
2. Remove key from ignition and close/lock doors
3. Take a test light and connect one end to the positive post of the the battery and touch the probe end to the positive cable (or cables if accessorys are running off the battery)

If the it lights up and stays on, you have a power drain somewhere in the vehicle (accessory running, short to ground etc)
If it lights up for split second but then goes very dim, this is most likely memory power for the ECU, stereo presets etc. completely normal
If it doesn't light up at all, there is no power drain on your battery. The next step would be to inspect the battery voltage/amperage and also the charging and starter circuits to make sure the battery is properly charging and the starter is seeing sufficient power to crank.

[teamdaraptor]

Well, Outterfroggy got me on the right track. I have this spray that tests the acidity on the posts, connectors, etc. I sprayed that on, and there is HIGH levels of acidity on the positive post, so needless to say, I will be getting a new battery by the weekend. I cleaned the posts, cleaned the connectors, she didnt want to start up at first, but once she got some juice in her she started right up. Drove around the block, just fine. Connected the HID's, everything works. Thanks guys for all of the ideas and input!! Even if they didn't work, they got me thinking, and well.... double checked some areas I haven't checked in a while :)


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