Battery issues?

[Smarty39]

Soooooo, my brother-in-law has an 01 Jetta 1.8T which has recently ran into some issues (which I assume is related to a dead/bad battery). One morning the car wouldn't start, so we boost it and all is well. Couple days later, same thing. Couple days later, again, needs a boost. Now, the car won't start with a boost unless the battery has been charged through a charger. So, I'm thinking the battery has just died...but is it possible that something is drawing power non-stop and causing this slow death? He recently had his stereo stolen, and against my insight, he went out and bought an aftermarket stereo and had FutureShop install it...could this be the REAL problem?

I think I will pick up a battery for him tonight, but if the stereo is the real issue, how can I check to be sure?

thankyoukindlythatisall

[stefan]

Re: Battery issues?

i took the negative off my battery and put an multimeter between the neg post and disconnected negative cable (while the car and all accessories/interior lights are off). I measured a 32 milliamp draw, which is fairly normal as far as I know. If you get significantly more then that, their could be a draw. Probably best to connect the meter and then separate the neg cable from the battery, as sometimes (especially with after-market stuff) you get a little surge when you first connect the terminals, then the current levels out. If you have a cheap multimeter like mine, you may not want to subject it to that. Good meters are usually fairly protected.

[Smarty39]

Re: Battery issues?

Cool...I don't have a multimeter (that still works lol), so I might have to pick one up. I just don't want to swap in a new battery if it's just going to drain again...