each new battery drained, our solution Options

[firefly]

Our 1998 Celica GT ran beautifully for a year or two after we bought it, then suddenly the battery began dying at odd times, sometimes after a few weeks or a month; sometimes overnight; other times after having been driven and parked for as little as 20 minutes! After three successive new batteries, repeated measurements of each battery's functionality (always just fine, thanks), and intense tests and examinations by several mechanics, the battery gremlin continued to drain each new battery at random times, and no one seemed able to find the gremlin's hiding place. In the end, a mechanic suggested that we try purchasing a $35 battery maintainer and plug it into the Celica's battery each night. We did this, and it has solved the problem without too much fuss; I just have to unplug the maintainer and shut the hood before driving the car each day. I still wonder what causes this maddening issue, but I'm grateful I can enjoy my car again.

[firefly]

Many thanks for the suggestions--The alternator shows no signs of any problems; a mechanic tested every area of the car to try to pinpoint where the battery drain occurs but nothing showed up. I will look into whether the ignition switch might be loose. We only made one change to the car after purchasing it. The mechanism that raises and lowers the convertible top quit working, so we had a new one installed. But if there is a problem with it, wouldn't that have shown up during testing for the battery draw?

[6strngs]

Many thanks for the suggestions--The alternator shows no signs of any problems; a mechanic tested every area of the car to try to pinpoint where the battery drain occurs but nothing showed up. I will look into whether the ignition switch might be loose. We only made one change to the car after purchasing it. The mechanism that raises and lowers the convertible top quit working, so we had a new one installed. But if there is a problem with it, wouldn't that have shown up during testing for the battery draw?

Yes, unless the problem is intermittent, which is what it sounds like. It's possible that it was not shorting at the time that the diagnostic check was done, in fact, in my experience as a mechanic it always seemed that whenever you WANT the car to display issues is the only time it'll act perfectly normal

The convertible top mechanism sounds like it could be a culprit however depending on how they fixed it, a part like that would probably be expensive and hard to come by for a car like this so it's possible they may have wired in a universal motor, which is no big deal as long as they wired it correctly. Did you start having issues around the same time or shortly after the repair was done?