Do you have a voltmeter? If you dont, you can get a cheap one at a local hardware store for a few bucks. There will be a red lead and black lead that you'll connect to the batter. That's the first thing to do: check the charge on the battery, it should be around 12.8 volts. Then have someone crank the car, and watch the voltage on the battery. If it's dropping significantly, 10, 9, 8, 7 volts, then the battery may not be good. If the voltage doesn't move, then perhaps your battery terminal cables are not properly attached.

If that seems to be fine, then have the car jumped, and while it's running check the voltage again. If your alternator is working properly the battery should be reading around 14 volts, as it is charging. If is lower. 12 or so, then perhaps you got a poorly refirbished alternator (happens sometimes) so its not properly charging.

If it is charging, then you may have a short in the system that is constantly draining the batter. This can suck the most, as you'lll have to hunt down where your short is. It could be an internal wire or a light being left on. I've seen people with faulty trunk lids that keep their trunk light on all the time so it drains the battery slowly.

You have what is called a parasitic draw, this is a fairly common issue in the 8th generation Impala.

the most common causes of a draw on the Impala are:

1. The Radio

2. The Radio Amplifier

3. The IPC (Instrument Panel Cluster)

4. The BCM (Body Control Module)

And the radio amplifier being the most common.



Open the trunk and reach up (under the rear deck) and put your hand on the amplifier, if it's hot (make sure the radio has been off for a while) then this is the source of the draw.



NOTE: Be sure to have the battery checked both load tested and the specific gravity test!

something is draing the battery ! it might be the ignition switch doing it ! if it takes 4 days for it to go dead then it,s a slow drain ! maybe the trunk light is staying on !

You probably have a short somewhere that's draining power from the battery. I had a short in a old 5.0 mustang I used to have and I finally found it behind the cassette player. You are going to have to pinpoint what is drawing the battery down. Disconnect the negative battery terminal. Put a test light between the negative cable and the negative battery terminal. With the key out of the ignition switch and the vehicle just sitting there (make sure the doors are closed) the test light should not light up bright. If it does, there is a draw! Disconnect one fuse at a time until the test light goes out. When it does, u have found the circuit that the draw is on! Here is a hint, a lot of times it is either the dome light, trunk light or the glove compartment light that stays on. If you do not want to go through the hassle of the test, pull the bulbs out and see if that helps. Good luck!

Hey so I have a 2001 impala and I recently put a new battery,starter,crank relay,& alternator. When I went to start the car up it started fine. About 4 days later I went to start it and the battery was dead.

What could be causing the battery to drain?