Battery drain after airbag replacement? (2006 MT

[112 dB]

I need a sanity check on my troubleshooting process for a recent problem with my car's battery dying after sitting for as little as an afternoon.

 

I have a 2006 LGT 5MT. I've owned it since new and it's always been serviced at the dealer. About 3 months ago, I took it into my local dealer for the passenger airbag recall.

 

Now, the battery is dying. Even leaving the car sit for an afternoon results in an absolutely dead battery and I need to jump it to start it. I've had the battery go dead before in the past after it's sat for a week. I was out of town for a few days last week and came back to a dead battery. I boosted it and it ran just fine for a few days. I figured I may have left a door ajar or a light on or something, although I didnt find anything left on.

 

Yesterday morning, the battery was dead and since then, I've had to jump it every time I've tried to start it. Even running the car on the highway then letting it run for 30 min to recharge the battery doesn't help.

 

The alternator is fine - I get 14.2 V across the battery terminals with car running and the A/C cranked, all the lights on, stereo cranked, etc.

 

The battery was my other suspect. But it's an Optima Red Top. It is 10 years old and my last Optima red top lasted me over 13 years while living in the frozen north and having been run dead multiple times. I now live in Florida but the car did spend its first 9 years in Virginia. This battery has been run dead a handful of times - but nowhere near the abuse I dished out on my previous one. I haven't load tested the battery but I do get 12.4 V across the terminals.

 

I don't have any aftermarket stereo or other electrical modifications to the car.

 

I disconnected the positive battery terminal and measured the draw with a multimeter. There's definitely a significant draw. I yanked fuses from the fuse box under the hood until i was left with just the 120a fuse that feeds the internal fuse box. I then pulled fuses from the internal fuse box. until I was left with this:

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=230319&stc=1&d=1463265487

The one fuse left is the one for the airbag. This fuse has ridges that block the fuse puller, which I took as a hint that I shouldn't remove this particular fuse, so I didn't.

 

I'm assuming that this (the airbag) is the source of the draw, given that I still see a draw at the battery:

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=230317&stc=1&d=1463265538

At this point the only fuses left in the car are the 120a under the hood and the 15a under the dash.

 

And removing the 120a fuse stops the drain:

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=230318&stc=1&d=1463265538

 

So... My conclusion is that the draw must be due to some issue with the airbag. I'm not sure what the draw is as I only have a cheap multimeter (all my tools are in storage currently) but it's going to be <15a as that's the rating of the interior fuse.

 

Am I missing something or making an incorrect assumption? (I will take the battery and have it load tested tomorrow)

 

Has anyone else had this happen? I searched the forums and found a number of threads regarding dead batteries after leaving cars sit for extended periods of time, but the root causes in those cases was something different.

 

Is this a known issue?

 

Is there any kind of warranty on the replaced airbag if it does turn out to be faulty here?

 

Should I start with the dealer or contact SOA first? The dealer has a good reputation but I've been a customer for less than a year. Previously, in VA, I dealt with Farrish Subaru (where I purchased the car and had it serviced for 8 years until their service fell off) and Dulles Subaru (where I went after I stopped dealing with Farrish).

 

When the airbag was replaced, the work was shoddy. They left marks on the interior windshield, scuffed up the leather steering wheel, and left some kind of dirt/grease stain on the driver A-pillar interior cover. Like I said, the dealer has a good reputation, and I've been happy with them (up until the airbag recall).

 

Any thoughts?

 

If you've read this far - thanks for your time .

[Sara32013]

I'm guessing the battery itself. Not all batteries are created equally, even within the same brand. 9 years is excellent for a battery. I know it's an Optima but Most batteries off the shelf only outlive their warranty slightly. The symptoms to me sound just like a bad battery. Realistically you should have started with the battery. It may have saved you all of the time pulling out fuses and and such. I could be wrong, but to me it sounds like the battery.

 

 

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[112 dB]

Yep. I'm a victim of Occam's Razor it looks like. I had the battery load tested today and it was beyond dead - it crapped out immediately once it was under load.

 

The apparent draw from the airbag is a mystery to me... or maybe it's completely normal. Anyways I now have a new red top in there and the car seemed to run a bit smoother today as well. Next time, I'll check the obvious issues before I start ripping the car apart.

[Sara32013]

Well I'm glad it was that easy!

 

 

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[Max Capacity]

Have you cleaned up the grounds ?

 

A lot of us have made new ground wires from the heads to the chassis. Also clean the ground bar off the intake by the brake booster.

 

Just good to do.

[pseank]

You must utilize a shunt to properly test for parasitic draw. The shunt completes the circuit with the meter attached and after 20 minutes you open the shunt to read the draw after all the modules have powered down. This could explain the readings you are getting.

 

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[lockmedic]

^^^^

 

That.

 

Also for the benefit of anyone searching later down the road:

 

-the airbag recall affects the passenger inflator only, which NEVER sees power unless it's about to go boom. So no way, no how, would replacing the inflator cause a parasitic draw (all other factors being equal). The control module could cause a parasitic draw, but it is not replaced or even touched under the recall. . . or for most any reason other than post-deployment repair/replacement.

 

This is what I call the "last man syndrome". When a problem is discovered after servicing, whatever the issue, no matter how unrelated to the repair, it must be the fault of the last man who worked on it.

 

e.g.: "took my car in fer an oil change and now my cousin (who lives in another state) has syphilis. Dang oil change monkey musta gave it to her!"

 

as a person who works on other people's things for a living (I'm a locksmith) it drives me crazy.

 

Anyway, kudos to you, OP, for figuring it out before calling SOA or the dealer.

[pseank]

^^^^

 

That.

 

Also for the benefit of anyone searching later down the road:

 

-the airbag recall affects the passenger inflator only, which NEVER sees power unless it's about to go boom. So no way, no how, would replacing the inflator cause a parasitic draw (all other factors being equal). The control module could cause a parasitic draw, but it is not replaced or even touched under the recall. . . or for most any reason other than post-deployment repair/replacement.

 

This is what I call the "last man syndrome". When a problem is discovered after servicing, whatever the issue, no matter how unrelated to the repair, it must be the fault of the last man who worked on it.

 

e.g.: "took my car in fer an oil change and now my cousin (who lives in another state) has syphilis. Dang oil change monkey musta gave it to her!"

 

as a person who works on other people's things for a living (I'm a locksmith) it drives me crazy.

 

Anyway, kudos to you, OP, for figuring it out before calling SOA or the dealer.

I am an automobile professional ant it drives me crazy too. Given the fact that they have to remove the entire dash there is alot that can go wrong. I have 2 2005 legacies. Mine a gt Ltd and my wife's a regular limited. I am waiting on the second letter to order the parts. I will remove all trim and am gauges before I go in to have the inflators installed but still don't want someone else rooting my dash out on flat rate commission.

 

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