car draining optima yellow top battery

[SiRcivic27]

So I've had my optima for over 6 months. I'm back at school so it doesnt get driven everyday and yesterday I went to start my car and the battery was dead. Just enough so that I couldnt start my car but everything else worked. It had sat for the same amount of time this summer and it was still at 12V's when I started it. Jumped the car and it ran fine all day, started 6 times all day without problems. I turned off my alarm to see if the alarm was draining the battery but last year my alarm didnt drain a cheap ass battery but wasnt sure. Today I went to start my car and only had 8V's not enough to power the car up. Took the car to sears where I got the battery. They said it sounded like I dropped a cell, but the battery tested fine, they said its looking like the alternator while they were testing the alternator. Then when the manager told them they werent charging me to test the alternator it suddenly wasnt the alternator and the mechanics attitude totally changed... are they f**king me over because the mechnic didnt get his commisson?

Anyways the alarm is powered down so the only thing on is 1 single LED blinking in my eclipse CD player which could drain a car battery if it had 5 years... WTF?

Cliffs notes:
-Optima Battery 6 months old died with alarm armed over a week without moving (sat just as long this summer without problem)
-jumped it and ran great, turned off alarm so there wasnt anything draining battery
-car only had 8V's this morning and couldnt start
-Sears said the battery is good and the alternator is fine but the alternator was looking bad until the mechanic found out I wasnt paying to have the alternator tested and he wasnt getting his commission.
-what could be killing my battery, all lights were off, doors sealed and the alarm didnt go off at all.

 

[qwikxr]

you need to do a current test on the system..
and "easy" way, is yo disconenct the battery positive.. place a Digital Volt-Ohm meter in series with the cable and battery terminal..
With the key off, read the current draw with nothing on.. notate that reading.. it should be in the millivolts..
if it is high, like 1vdc, then start by pulling one fuse at a time, to watch for the draw to drop.. If no change, replace the fuse, move to the next.. Once you find the one that has the greatest drop, start looking into that circuit for issues...

 

[kzoobaggs]

also if you haver any amps in your car check if they are pulling any volts. Also try disconnecting the power completely from the alarm not just turning it off.

 

[aaren99]

wow, i have the exact same problem on my si. In the 2 1/2 yrs that i've had my car i've gone through 2 batteries.
The last time, my car was parked with the alarm on and unstarted for about 10 days and the battery was dead. After that happening it always seems that the battery will never hold a charge again. It will charge but you can hold a volt meter to it and it will keep dropping. Anyways i plan on doing this current test maybe I'll figure something out.

 

[cujo613]

when you run down a Yellow top, you have to throw a huge charge into it to jump start it.

It has to basically get put on a battery recharger with the output set to jump start.
I don't know why but you cant trickle charge them or get a decent charge from your alternator if you have ran them down, its the only way to recharge it.

 

[2.0crx]

an alarm will not drain your battery, unless it has a major malfunction in the brain. The L.E.D. on the alarm pulls hardly any volts ( i cant remember what it is, but very low) and if it sences*spelling your battery is low the led shuts off and keeps the alarm on. As for the yellow top just do as snoopy said, charge that thing all the way, and dont worry you wont hurt it. They are mad to be discharged and recharged alot. When my alternator went out i started loosing power every where, first with my dvd player than screen, and my lights got really dim and than she just died. I'd take it to like oreillys and ask them to test your alternator, here they do that for free. Does your battery light turn on when your car is running?

 

[Beelzebubba]

Your stereo memory, alarm, ECU,...etc... all drain a few milliamps. You didn't say how long it had been since you last drove it. Just that it doesn't get driven everyday.

when you run down a Yellow top, you have to throw a huge charge into it to jump start it.

It has to basically get put on a battery recharger with the output set to jump start.
I don't know why but you cant trickle charge them or get a decent charge from your alternator if you have ran them down, its the only way to recharge it

.

I don't have any physical evidence to confirm that (written instructions from Optima) but it is not the first time I heard it. I can confirm that setting the charger at 120 amp worked after setting the output at 2 amps overnight did not. I don't know why, it just did.