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  • Auto electric shop needed!

    Twice in three weeks I've gone out to turn on my car only to find the battery completely dead. I've gotten a jump and gone to Sears where I bought the battery, and they've looked but can't find anything wrong. They've recharged it and sent me off. This time they said "maybe there's a parasitic drain" on the battery, which they don't try to find.

    Anybody have a good and relatively inexpensive experience with an auto electric shop out in the Pearlridge/Pearl City neighborhood?
    http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/

  • #2
    Re: Auto electric shop needed!

    This may have nothing to do with your problem at all...but...my son had the same problem with his battery. The problem was the switch below the steering column that turns on the brake lights. It broke off thus the brake lights were on all the time. If not for our trusty mechanic acting on a hunch and checking the brake lights we would've never known.

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    • #3
      Re: Auto electric shop needed!

      Same thing happened to me. Turns out, one of my light bulbs (either my back brake light or the one inside my trunk) would not turn off, so it drained my battery. Just one tiny bulb, but leave it on for a couple of days and it does some damage. It was a mechanical problem, not electrical. The mechanism that shuts it off was jammed.

      Like D'Alani said, that might not be your problem, but it's worth looking into.

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      • #4
        Re: Auto electric shop needed!

        Originally posted by Honoruru View Post
        Same thing happened to me. Turns out, one of my light bulbs (either my back brake light or the one inside my trunk) would not turn off, so it drained my battery. Just one tiny bulb, but leave it on for a couple of days and it does some damage. It was a mechanical problem, not electrical. The mechanism that shuts it off was jammed.

        Like D'Alani said, that might not be your problem, but it's worth looking into.
        So did you just unscrew the trunk light bulb to solve the problem?

        Seriously, I'm wondering about that, because the trunk latches okay, but it doesn't "feel" like it's entirely closed, which would mean the light stays on.
        http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/

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        • #5
          Re: Auto electric shop needed!

          Originally posted by Linkmeister View Post
          So did you just unscrew the trunk light bulb to solve the problem?
          Actually, the mechanic discovered and solved the problem, so I'm not sure what he actually did. But ever since then, when he explained what the problem was, I always find myself taking a peek at those little lights (in the glove compartment, loose change compartment, the trunk, etc.), all of which are pretty difficult to confirm. And the mechanic was from Sears, which is where I bought the battery.

          The situation was similar to yours. My battery died so I bought a new one from Sears, only to have that one die shortly after (like less than a month later).

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          • #6
            Re: Auto electric shop needed!

            Years ago, HAWAII AUTO ELECTRIC INC. at 406 Kamehameha Hwy in Pearl City was able to help me with an auto electric problem.

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            • #7
              Re: Auto electric shop needed!

              If you have a camera phone then maybe you can shoot a video from inside your trunk, close it and see if the light remains on, if it does then have your latch adjusted.

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              • #8
                Re: Auto electric shop needed!

                Originally posted by D'Alani View Post
                If you have a camera phone then maybe you can shoot a video from inside your trunk, close it and see if the light remains on, if it does then have your latch adjusted.
                Now that's an innovative idea. Unfortunately, my Motorola Tracfone isn't so equipped.
                Years ago, HAWAII AUTO ELECTRIC INC. at 406 Kamehameha Hwy in Pearl City was able to help me with an auto electric problem.
                Hawaii Auto Electric might be the one the Sears guys said they send problems they can't solve to. Thanks!
                http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/

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                • #9
                  Re: Auto electric shop needed!

                  Originally posted by Linkmeister View Post
                  Twice in three weeks I've gone out to turn on my car only to find the battery completely dead. I've gotten a jump and gone to Sears where I bought the battery, and they've looked but can't find anything wrong. They've recharged it and sent me off. This time they said "maybe there's a parasitic drain" on the battery, which they don't try to find.

                  Anybody have a good and relatively inexpensive experience with an auto electric shop out in the Pearlridge/Pearl City neighborhood?
                  When you say they've looked, have they tried measuring the voltage across your battery when the car's running? I think the alternator should be putting out somewhere around 14 V to indicate the battery's being properly charged.

                  Since we're on lights, do you doors have side courtesy lights as well? From my own experience, the door light switch on the door jam no longer latched properly when the door was closed so the light was left on.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Auto electric shop needed!

                    So I went down to Hawaii Auto Electric and the guy suggested I call 'em to tell 'em what morning I want to bring it in (implication being, I guess, that it'll take a long time to test). He also suggested (after I mentioned the trunk light) that maybe I should open the trunk, touch the bulb, and, if it's hot, look at the latch.

                    So I did. Bulb was indeed hot. Tried fiddling with the latch and shut the lid again, and now it feels solidly shut. I need a big honkin' Phillips screwdriver to really tighten that latch, but maybe that's the problem. We'll see.
                    http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/

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                    • #11
                      Re: Auto electric shop needed!

                      Wayne's Auto Electric on Queen St..Been going there for the last 5 used cars..25 years+

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