Dead Battery After Less Than 2 Weeks, Viper 4806V, SmartStart

Okay so I have a Viper R/S with Viper SmartStart. I recently got back from a out of state trip to find my battery nearly drained. Meter showed 5 volts. Now, this seems pretty excessive considering it only sat untouched for 11 days. Not EVEN 2 weeks. Is this normal? Before my long trip it was able to start up no problem after sitting for 2-3 days at a time. But this was the first extended trip away where it sat untouched this long. I imagine the R/S antenna blue LED isn't drawing nearly enough current to drain a battery in just 11 days. Is the SmartStart draining it because of the cell signal it needs?

Hard to imagine I'm the only one in history who has ever had this problem.

How old is your battery? With all the computers and electronics onboard it's not uncommon for modern cars parked for extended periods to have dead batteries when the owner returns. Long-term parking lots keep jump packs on the ready because it's so common.

I've heard this same thing a million times in 30 yrs. and its probably 1 or 2 out of a 1000 times its the rs or alarm or deck or what ever. Even once had a dealership tell a customer that a speaker install killed there battery. best thing to do is unplug the rs let it set for 1 minute and plug it back in. Most RS/alarms have a power saving mode after 24 or 48 hrs of no activity

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33 years as a installer now just a retired old guy. Favorite thing to install/topic are remote starts/car alarms. Stop using test lights!!!

You didn't state Make, Model, Year. The most important things to even get a proper response, so if we are responding blindly, I'd second what catback said.

catback wrote:

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How old is your battery? With all the computers and electronics onboard it's not uncommon for modern cars parked for extended periods to have dead batteries when the owner returns. Long-term parking lots keep jump packs on the ready because it's so common.

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A little over a year. I replaced it shortly before COVID lockdowns started. I'm just surprised because it has sat for longer than that before the R/S install without issue.

mgoetz74 wrote:

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I've heard this same thing a million times in 30 yrs. and its probably 1 or 2 out of a 1000 times its the rs or alarm or deck or what ever. Even once had a dealership tell a customer that a speaker install killed there battery. best thing to do is unplug the rs let it set for 1 minute and plug it back in. Most RS/alarms have a power saving mode after 24 or 48 hrs of no activity

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What would unplugging the R/S do? And is this something I would do after an extended period of it sitting? The reason I believe the dead battery is related to the R/S and/or SmartStart is because that is the only new piece of tech I have installed in the last year. True, I don't recall the last time it sat for 10 days straight.

t&t tech wrote:

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You didn't state Make, Model, Year. The most important things to even get a proper response, so if we are responding blindly, I'd second what catback said.

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That's fair. For reference, it's a 2009 Nissan Xterra. I have a dash cam, radar detector, and aftermarket head unit installed. But those have been in for a couple years at least and I've never had this issue. Then again, I don't know when the last time it sat for 10 days was.

ah a xterra (was guessing a chevy). I have owned a couple nissan and even a xterra and had a terrible current draw. traced back to the ground from the battery to the engine block, after I replace that the problem went away. My wife has a altima that has been in the shop several times in last 2 years with mystery current draw issues and only has aftermarket speakers. It has been through 3 batteries since covid lockdown. The RS/bypass module may just be stuck in a a loop and unplugging it will reset it if it is. If you have a cellular connection a update may be stuck downloading/installing. Had a compustar last week that had a really dim red led flashing that was draining the battery, after I unplugged it and let it set I plugged it back in and the blinking light went away and the the guy hasn't had a dead battery in the morning since. Make sure battery cables/connections to the battery are clean. I see alot of nissans with very corroded battery connections

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33 years as a installer now just a retired old guy. Favorite thing to install/topic are remote starts/car alarms. Stop using test lights!!!

Hmm, I did recently replace the engine head to body ground. It was in the way of a new intake so I just relocated it using a much longer wire. I wonder if the crimps aren't that's great and I should redo them? Battery is good, holds a charge and puts out the right voltage. Terminals and connections are super clean cause that's one of my biggest peeves is nasty batteries so I take care of them. I had to pull the fuse for the R/S and bypass in order to even start my vehicle after it died. Even though I had a battery tender hooked up, the bypass was in some sort of locked out loop. Possibly went into some sort of immobilization when I tried to start the car with only 5V? Pulled the fuse, started the car, put the fuse back in, and it's been working fine since. So I imagine that reset anything that needed to be reset. I guess I need to just keep an eye on the battery level on weeks where I'm not driving much.

Did you leave any cell phone chargers plugged into the cig lighter? Leaving dash cams and radar detectors plugged in can cumulatively use enough current to draw down the battery even if they are in standby if left for an extended period of time.

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Steve G

I use an automatic battery cutoff device in my truck that disconnects the battery completely if the voltage falls below 11.8v from sitting too many days without being started. I ran the reset button cable Into the cab and under my door seal so it sticks out of the upright windshield molding beside my visor. If I get in it after several days of not driving it and it’s not connected... I simply press the button and it reconnects the battery for 1 minute so it can be started. Saves me from ever having to jump the battery. I see it available on Amazon. It’s called the Li Lead Auto Starter Car Battery Protector.

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Steve G

iskidoo wrote:

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Did you leave any cell phone chargers plugged into the cig lighter? Leaving dash cams and radar detectors plugged in can cumulatively use enough current to draw down the battery even if they are in standby if left for an extended period of time.

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Nope! Nothing but the camera and the radar detector are plugged in. The radar detector require no power when the vehicle is off. The dash cam however might. I'll see if it has some sort of standby timer that might be keeping it on longer than necessary.

iskidoo wrote:

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I use an automatic battery cutoff device in my truck that disconnects the battery completely if the voltage falls below 11.8v from sitting too many days without being started. I ran the reset button cable Into the cab and under my door seal so it sticks out of the upright windshield molding beside my visor. If I get in it after several days of not driving it and it’s not connected... I simply press the button and it reconnects the battery for 1 minute so it can be started. Saves me from ever having to jump the battery. I see it available on Amazon. It’s called the Li Lead Auto Starter Car Battery Protector.

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That's a pretty neat gadget! Thanks for the heads up!