Battery Drain

[laserbill]

The battery in our 2012 Subaru Outback has a constant battery drain which the local shop diagnosed as being due to a drain from the alarm system, that we would have to take it to the Subaru dealer. Anyone have any issues like this? Any fix I can do myself?

 

[dmakris]

The battery in our 2012 Subaru Outback has a constant battery drain which the local shop diagnosed as being due to a drain from the alarm system, that we would have to take it to the Subaru dealer. Anyone have any issues like this? Any fix I can do myself?

Lot's of hints if you search under "Battery Drain". I just posted my troubleshooting steps under this link for a 2017 outback: https://www.thesubaruforums.com/posts/65841/

 

[JohnsonNash231]

Maybe it's the problem of bad alternator. The alternator charges your battery while the car is running, transforming mechanical energy into electrical energy. If your alternator is not working or is broken, your battery will not recharge, causing it to die

 

[BKHarrison]

My CrossTrek is new. I have had it only 2mos. There has been zero issues until, I went out of town for 1 week. When I returned, my key fob wouldn't unlock the car, the dome light was not lit & it wouldn't start. It was completely dead and I had to get it jumped. Nothing was left on. My lights were off & all doors were closed completely.
When I took it into a Subaru Dealership, they told me that it is fairly common for the batteries in Subarus to drain completely after it sits for several days. They took my vehicle in to diagnose the battery & it tested fine. The dealership even tried to charge me a diagnostic fee which I refused to pay. When I pick the car up today, I will talk to the Service Advisor to see if Subaru is looking into the problem. They act like it's a common problem & it's just "the way it is" and they don't seem to want to do anything about it. In fact. they told me I could either purchase an Optima battery or disconnect one of my battery terminals every time I go out of town for several days.

 

[dmakris]

My CrossTrek is new. I have had it only 2mos. There has been zero issues until, I went out of town for 1 week. ........ Subaru Dealership, they told me that it is fairly common for the batteries in Subarus to drain completely after it sits for several days. /QUOTE]

That dealer is giving you a bum steer. A week is not too much to ask of a healthy lead/acid car battery. My process to find my drain was to get an ammeter and pull each fuse one at a time to see where the drain was coming from. Everything off, doors closed (so no dome light on) and the car normally has 0.4 amp drain which is for the alarm system and car radio memory --things that have to stay on 100%. I have read other examples where the alarm system was to blame - but there could be many sources of the issue. If the alarm - you could make a choice to pull the alarm system fuse and live without it. But until you test current drain by pulling each fuse one at a time you'll never be sure.

In my case - 7 Amp drain was happening after I installed a nice Duluth seat cover. Turns out the hold down strap on the seat cover was pushing one of the seat power adjust buttons and that would drain my battery to zero volts overnight. Could not find that until I methodically pulled each fuse individually.

 

[BKHarrison]

Thank you for that info. When I arrived to get my car, the Service Advisor Lead told me that Subaru is aware of the problem & is currently coming up with a stronger battery. I knew that was a crock cause, except for the Optima battery, as far as i know, there isn't a stronger battery out there.
I plan to call Corporate to discuss this.

 

[Ecmbuster]

An AMP clamp on the negative side of the battery (Negative side to ground) will measure the parasitic draw. Wait for a while with the hood open and driver door latched (key removed) and measure the draw.
The magic number is about 0.50mA maximum.
If it is the alarm circuit, that one fuse can be removed and measure the draw. Removing the fuse can cause other issues and you'll need to look at the root cause. It it a door latch? trunk latch? defective alarm horn, defective alarm module?
Scanning the network for faults is the best step and without a multi-meter / AMP clamp or schematics will be complex it it's not your line of work.

 

[Cornelius54]

My CrossTrek is new. I have had it only 2mos. There has been zero issues until, I went out of town for 1 week. When I returned, my key fob wouldn't unlock the car, the dome light was not lit & it wouldn't start. It was completely dead and I had to get it jumped. Nothing was left on. My lights were off & all doors were closed completely.
When I took it into a Subaru Dealership, they told me that it is fairly common for the batteries in Subarus to drain completely after it sits for several days. They took my vehicle in to diagnose the battery & it tested fine. The dealership even tried to charge me a diagnostic fee which I refused to pay. When I pick the car up today, I will talk to the Service Advisor to see if Subaru is looking into the problem. They act like it's a common problem & it's just "the way it is" and they don't seem to want to do anything about it. In fact. they told me I could either purchase an Optima battery or disconnect one of my battery terminals every time I go out of town for several days.

Hey BK, I currently have a battery/charging problem on my 2017 forester, 76K. I bought this from my son. I am really disgusted by your problem on such a new subaru. Always here now trouble free they are. I might have laid hands on the service guy at your dealership if It was my crosstrek. I hope you find the help you need.