Mr._Hamilton

Hello, all this is my first post in this forum and I'm in need of a little help.

The car is a 99' e430 with about 180xxx miles on it.

The problem has been haunting me since I bought the car about a month ago.
I'll try not to ramble but I'm going to give you guy's all the info up front (or as much as I have available.)

I was told the battery needed a charge so we jumped it and drove the car an hour home hoping the battery would charge up, it did not and would not start after we made it home. So we purchased a new battery and things got worst.

Now if we hook up the battery, the negative sides arch's and spark's a lot! To the point that the negative terminal starts to fry so we quickly unplugged it.

We left the positive side on the terminal and with a simple test light we tested the negative side for a draw. Their was a larger draw because the light was pretty bright. We where hesitant to put a multimeter on it just because of how strong it sparks so I don't know exactly the number of amps thats pulling but it appears to be a larger circuit.

We then pulled each fuse from every fuse box in the car (there where four fuse boxes total). Nothing changed so we figured it was a non-fused line.

Disconnected the alternator and nothing.

Disconnected the starter and again the light stays on which we found weird because disconnecting the stater should stop the circuit. So we figured the power wire from the battery to the stater must have rubbed out and is now causing issues with the cars ground.

replaced the power wire with a temporary wire directly from the battery to the starter and the light comes back on once the starter is connected.

I then bypassed the ground wire in the trunk and grounded in against the body of the car and the light still comes on.

So to recap, so far we have checked and double checked:
The battery (tested at the store)
The power wire (used temporary wire)
The ground wire (grounded the battery to the frame)
The starter (tested good a auto zone)
The alternator (disconnected)
All Fueses (we pulled each fuse x3 and we disconnected the red wires off the battery that powers those circuits)

And their is still a large draw on the battery. Sorry for the long essay but we are beat any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Plutoe

In your fourth paragraph---very strange in deed---why were you told the battery needed a charge and on the trip home did you get a battery or alternator message!!

In your fifth paragraph---you really need to read some battery replacement vids, docs or what ever, but the correct procedure for battery in----is positive first--then negative and then for battery out---then negative first positive second---who knows what you screwed up!!

More to com after I get a huge drink!!!

Mr._Hamilton

The po told me the car was sitting and the battery would need a jump and possibly a charge. No altenator or battery message came on during the trip and I made it home which tells me the alternator is fine. The battery was tested and charged, after 3 hours on the charger it only had 9 volts so I replaced it.


Thanks for the advice but i'm competent enough to replace a battery. What i'm looking for is a large draw on the negative terminal that should not be there. Which is the reason the battery kept dying in the first place.

Thanks for the expert advice and enjoy the beer i'll be waiting for your reply.