1989 FJ62 Battery Draining (1 Viewer)

[minturnmile]

I am a relatively new owner of a 1989 FJ62 with about 147k miles. After about 6 months of owning the vehicle, the battery died after sitting for about a week. I confirmed that none of the lights and interior electronics were on. I had the battery tested and the battery itself is fine. After a slow 24-hour charge, it started but again after a week of sitting idle. I was unable to start the car even with a jump from another vehicle.

Before I buy a multimeter, clean the terminals, conduct a parasitic draw test, or buy a new battery, does anyone have any suggestions on where to start?

 

[OSS]

A week is pretty fast- but the ECU on the 3F-E requires constant power even when engine is off.

It has been said that once a 12V wet cell battery is too deeply discharged- it’s permanently damaged, so your battery that you think might be fine actually might be toast…. which would explain the rapid discharge while engine is sitting.

To put things in perspective, I had a 1996 Subaru Forester that had very high ECU battery drain since the vehicle was new. If the engine wasn’t run for 30 minutes every week, (left to sit unused for a month) the battery would be almost dead).
The battery had to be kept always on a trickle/maintenance charger if the car wasn’t driven.
There wasn’t anything ‘wrong’ with the car (it was taken to a Subaru dealership a few times to check) it was just the nature of the ECU designs back in the 90s (I was told).

I didn’t own a 62 so I’m not intimately familiar with them, but a buddy of mine has one - and if he’s not driving it, he keeps a maintenance charger on the battery.
(Not necessary with a FJ60 ).

 

[cruisermatt]

Battery age?

 

[minturnmile]

Battery age?

The battery is 27 months old

 

[BG_TX]

Just confirming, you're pressing the button on the top of the steering column (column lock) and simultaneously turning the key counter clockwise until it stops - correct?