I’m experiencing a frustrating issue with my 2005 Toyota Corolla CE (manual transmission) and hoping someone can offer some guidance. About a month ago, my Corolla wouldn’t start, and I discovered the battery was completely drained, reading only 8.5V. The car hadn’t been driven for a couple of days, but nothing was left on that I could see.
Since the battery was still under warranty, I went ahead and replaced it. I also checked the charging system, and it seems to be working fine, registering around 14V. This battery drain problem only seems to occur when the car sits idle for a few days.
One odd thing I noticed was that the radio seemed to stay on even after turning off the ignition, although the clock display did go dark. I’m not sure if this is related, but I made sure to turn the radio off manually just in case.
For about two weeks after replacing the battery, everything seemed normal. I regularly checked the battery voltage, and it held steady. However, a few days ago, the battery was drained again, down to about 8.5V. I recharged the battery, and it’s currently holding a charge of around 12.7V with nothing connected.
This points to some kind of intermittent electrical drain. I’ve tried using an ammeter in line with the battery to check for a parasitic draw with everything switched off. Sometimes I get a reading of around 0.2 amps, but other times it jumps to 0.7 amps. I’m not even sure if this is a valid way to test for the problem, especially since it’s intermittent.
I’m really looking for advice on how to pinpoint this issue. Are there any known electrical problems with the 2005 Toyota Corolla that could cause this kind of battery drain? My next step is to try pulling the fuse for the stock audio system, just in case that’s involved. If checking the current at the battery is a valid method, how can I use this to effectively track down the source of the drain when it’s happening intermittently? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
