2001 V70 2.4T battery drain

[Fay]

Hi,

My mother has a 2001 V70, 2.4T that keeps killing its battery. She had the engine mounts, engine frame and catalytic converter replaced and shortly after that repair, the battery died. She replaced the battery (because it was old) and now the new battery is dying too. She doesn't drive the car very much and if it sits for more than about 6 days, the battery dies. So I think something is probably draining the battery because she's had the battery checked and supposedly it's fine.

She took it back to the place that did all the work I mentioned above and they said they would have to keep it until the battery died to see what was causing it.

So I have two questions.

1. Is it true that on this particular car that the battery would have to be dead to figure out what caused it to go dead?

2. Do you know of anything obvious we should check that might not have gotten re-connected properly when they replaced the engine mounts, engine frame and catalytic converter? It's just too much of a coincidence that she had this work done and then something starts draining the battery.

Thanks for any suggestions you may have!

[rbodor3]

Do you assume the battery dies because the car won't turn over? Do headlights come on?

My initial suspicion is the starter is what is actually problematic. After that, there might be some grounding wire issues, but more likely than not the positive lead on the battery terminal is is touching some piece of metal or isn't properly connected.

[Fay]

Thanks for the information. I should have mentioned what I meant by saying the battery dies.

I think it's a dead battery because none of the lights come on and the car won't start. If the battery is recharged with an external charger or jump started, everything is fine.